Hi everyone, just bought a 1999.5 QX4- change timing belt at dealer or a shop?

[faz]

Hi everyone,

Just this past weekend I bought a single owner 99 1/2 QX4 in GREAT condition, with a few minor issues, with 118k miles on it. I have looked over the maintenance records, and also was told by the prev owner that the timing belt was not done on it.

I have called around the dealers and they seem to be asking about $1000 for the job. I have called around a couple of local shops and one said they have never done this specific car before, but have done many timing belts on various different cars before. They quoted me something around $350 labor + parts of course.

My questions are:

1- Is there anything specific about this work that separates it from, say, replacing a timing belt on, say, a Nissam Maxima or Honda Accord V6?

2- The engine on the QX4 is really the same as a pathfinder, or is it??

3- Also, does anyone in the San Francisco Bay area/ San Jose area have a mechanic shop that they recommend??

4- I guess the general rule of thumb is to not take any risks with the timing belt. But when I was inspecting the car myself, I saw the other belts are in almost perfect condition. Looking at maintenance records, they haven't been changed. The car has been a California car only, never off road, and driven by a father of two, very gently. Given the above, is it likely that the current timing belt may be in good enough condition to last another 30k miles??

5- are there any repair manuals that I can buy/download? (I guess I should first search the forum before asking this. )

Just to give you some background on me, I do all my own small maintenance like changing oil and brake pads and rotors and such, and even some valve adjustments on my motorcycles. Something like timing belt, I would rather have a shop that has done a few do.

Thanks, and it is great to have found this forum.

[elwesso]

Welcome to NICO!

IM sure there is a Nissan specialist in the bay area.. if you can find someone that works on Zs, they should be able to do the timing belt fairly easy.. The timing belt is straight foreward, and you want to replace other things like your water pump, Tstat, and cams seals while your in there!!! Its not necessary to take it to the stealership... You could get your parts at a discount from our sponsor, Infiniti of Scottsdale..... Call Joe up, his phone number is in my sig... he sells OEM Nissan/infiniti parts at wholesale... tell him you know Wes...

For a service manual, you can download them off http://www.phatg20.net...

[faz]

thanks wes.... it is great to have sponsors like Joe around.. .I will definitely give him a call for all my parts needs.

I couldn't find a manual on phatq20 site, so I just put a bid on a CD one on Ebay.

Everyone else, if you know a good mechanic in the bay area, I would love to hear about it.

cheers,faz