Hey guys..

I recently bought a Pathfinder V6 here in Brazil and I need some help. We don't have much V6s here in Brazil, so the garages don't handle these engines very well, specially imported cars such as Nissan.

The thing is that the previous owner took it to the garage and they replaced the cylinders head on the driver's side of the engine and it just screw*d the engine. It still works, but it is out of timing.

I have managed to remove the first spark plug of each block (Passenger and Driver's side) and also all the stuff in front of the engine to try to fix the timing, but I am running into some issues:

- The timing belt doesn't have any marks, though it is new
- Cam cage and crank marks are not aligned

I know that the #1 piston, passenger's side, first from front to back, needs to be at TDC.
I also know that the camshaft on the passenger's side, needs to be on the compression stroke.

Now, with this info, if it is correct, I got Crank and Passenger's side Camshaft aligned, right?

In which position should camshaft be on the Driver's side?

I am not a mechanic, I just try to do things on my own. I can speak English, but technical terms might be wrong.

I searched for timing issues in the Forum, but all of the results include the utilization of a marked timing belt, so that's why I am posting this. These auto parts are quite expensive here, so I hope I don't need to replace the timing belt.

Hope you guys can understand what I meant!

Welcome to the forums.
I will assume this is a VG30 engine?
Get some paint and make your own marks on your belt!
There should be 40 teeth between the cam marks,
and 43 teeth from the drivers side cam mark to the crank mark.
Don't make the new belt too tight or it will whine.
Too loose and it will rattle and not last long.
Check the tensioner and water pump while you have all this apart.
Good luck

Thanks buddy!

Yeah, sorry I didn't mention, it is a VG30e engine.

Right, that should be easy, but none of the camshaft sprocket marks are aligned with the marks in the engine block, if I consider that the passenger's side camshaft should be in the compression stroke.

How do I align the camshaft on the driver's side if the marks are not aligned?

Thanks for the tips on the tension as well.

Turn it with a wrench. Is it close?
It might spring past where you want, but turn it back.
As long as the dots on the gears have the right number of teeth between them, it should be OK.

Right.. it is not that I can't turn it.

I just don't know if it should be in the exhaust or compression stroke.

Keep in mind that the marks are not aligned.

If the crank is on #1 TDC, the right cam mark should be at about the 10 or 11 o'clock position
The left (drivers side) cam mark will be at about 1 or 2 o'clock.
There are little dots on the black steel plate behind the cam gears that will be close (but not exactly) lined up with the dots on the cam gears when you are done.
Use them to get the cam gears in approximate position.
Get these 3 things close, then move the cams as needed to put the belt on with the painted marks on the cam gear dots.
The cam timing will be correct.
Dont worry about compression/exhaust. The cams turn half the speed of the crank.

Great. Let me try it out and I will post the results here.

Thanks for your help so far.