I've had a recent issue with rough idling and low end hesitation. I am beginning to lean towards timing belt, but will have a mechanic look at it and let me know for sure. If it comes to the belt, I will most likely have to do it myself to save money ($25.00 for belt but tons on labor to a shop....so much I wouldnt even guess). Can someone chime in with an idea of the degree of difficulty of this adventure and approx amount of time I'm looking at. From the FSM and repair manuals, it doesnt look too bad, but looks are always deceiving. Also, any tips I should know about to aid in my adventure? It all looks pretty straight forward. Pull, rt wheel and well cover, find TDC, remove belts and tensioners, remove cover, remove camshaft pulley, remove belt tensioner and belt, then install in reverse making sure all marks line up along the way....then time it, and drive it.

I have not done this job on my Nissan, but was told it's like 6 hours!! The way you describe it, it sounds easy! I have replaced T-belt on my '89 VW Jetta diesel, and it wasn't too bad, except the bracketry covering the water pump.

while you're at it,you may want to replace water pump and idler pulley.

how many miles since your last belt replacement? the symptoms you describe could be signs of tune up needed : plugs, rotor, dist. cap, fuel filter, air filter. those are cheaper and quicker. I wouldn't look at the belt until the mileage says it's time to do it.

the only reason I feel its the timing belt is when timing the engine, i get a 2 degree "dance" at idle but tight and smooth at above 1500 rpms. within the last 1k miles I have changed: plugs, wires, cap, rotor, distributor, fuel filter, and a sea foam intake cleaning. I feel from a tune up stance, I am rock solid. Now all thats left is a few sensors, fuel pump, and timing belt as the culprit. I am running it to a mechanic today for diagnosis. As for how many miles on belt, I don't know. i bought the car with 160K and it has 179K now and there were no service records from previous owner. Since my worst case scenario is timing belt, I am planning for the worst. Once I tackle this, all thats left is a PS leak and a good paint job......and she's GOLDEN!!!

if you don't know the history + no service records, a timimg belt now would be a good idea. I had that problem where the timing mark jumps around on a few different vehicles. I'd also check for vacuum leaks or broken/cracked vacuum hoses.

Also, I had a corroded terminal on my distributor on my Nissan, and i had to solder on a new lead.