Hey guys(and the 2 or so girls here maybe), how's things? New member, longtime lurker. A little about me and my whip. I actually work for a Toyota dealer in Parts, yet I decide to drive Nissans because let's face it: While ridiculously reliable, Toyotas are little more than appliances in most regards. Great cars, but no soul. And definitely not fun to drive(making an exception for the FR-S-its a damn Subaru really so maybe not). Loved my Maximas, have owned a few. Got this Smoke colored Alti SER back in October. And it's already started falling apart on me. I want to love this car, I do. I almost bought an Acura TL 6 gear(should've in retrospect lol) instead but being a Nissan guy won out. SO, my issue and question. Car developed the dreaded timing rap noise and escalated QUICKLY. So quickly in-fact the car is now POSSIBLY i.e probably going to need a motor as of yesterday. So I guess my question is: IF the VQ jumps time will it still run at all? I know a Subaru will, albeit not well lol. Whatever though, worse case scenario is I drop a used motor in her and update the usedy with new guides, tensioner, seals, et al before installing. Lotsa work, blood, sweat, tears, and beers ahead but I'm mechanically inclined and have "people' if I get stuck. Just spitballing. So what're your experiences? Anyone lose a powerplant to this issue? If so, what did you do? Or maybe the guide just went bye-bye and its salvageable? Thanks for reading and I'm glad to be here. KoN

I'm just a neeb here, but since nobody else is bothering to help, here is my answer.

No the VQ35DE won't start if the timing is off by much. To know this take/borrow a compression tester. Take any spark plug you can get to easily out of the head.

Install the compression tester, and have someone crank the engine [most testers will hold the highest reading, but some of the cheaper testers will bleed down which is why its good to have a helper].

You should see from 120-160 psi on the gauge. If you have that reading then you have compression, the engine should crank.

I just finished rebuilding my SE-R code red so if you have questions you can pm me. One thing I can tell you is that if/when you rebuild the engine pay very close attention to the cam timing. [to check if you got it right squirt a little motor oil into a cyl, then hold your palm over that cyl while someone turns the engine over. You should feel air pressure pushing against your hand]. Also, upgrade to a stock oil pump from an uprev engine, and if you have the money buy some ARP rod bolts for a little extra insurance.

Damn fine of you to reply Ser(see what I did there?). After a little more time spent with the hot rod it would seem to be just a tad more FUBAR than jumped time. Well equally as FUBAR I'd say I suppose. The wifey had been driving the Altima rather exclusively over the 3 or so weeks leading up to this current drama(I was driving our Sienna due to cargo capacity and work duties). I'm almost beyond surprised about what happened while she was at the watch and driving the car. I've taught her well about auto basics. Well, she was fooled by the timing rap. I asked if she had checked the oil...She said "No. How does the oil affect that noise?" Well you can imagine where this is going by now..Yeah, I finally get the car towed to work and hey! Rod knock, and a bone dry block. FML. So I picked up a VERY clean used engine from LKQ for a scant $725 that came out of a 2007 Alti SE w/81k on it. Removed the intake, and valve covers..spotless. Score! Now I'm trying to figure out just how and what I need to swap to make this work. Te intake mani on the 07 is composite. We have aluminum. Will it work? Hmmm..Also, Nissan went to a serpentine belt setup in 07 vs the 2 v-belts on our cars. The VCG's are different because the valve covers are now also composite. The rollers and belt tensioner are different too. As well as the bomba de agua. I've heard conflicting info on whether or not I'll have to swap the upper oil pans as well? Any experienced users here done this swap? Thanks for looking and replying

It should swap right in, as long as the transmission bellhousing bolt pattern is the same for both engines.

Make sure you take pictures of all of the wiring connections on your old engine before you pull it out. This should help you find out what goes where on the new engine.

One tip, if the new engine uses the same engine mounts [SER] be sure to leave the motor mount wires disconnected. Why, well when they go bad the can take out your ECU. Manual trans SER's didn't get this idiotic setup with the mounts so you might want to consider those when the old mount go bad.

Also, not knocking this site, but you have a better chance at getting a reply here on this site of which I'm a member. Here is my SER build link.

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/2005-2 ... build.html

I know this project is already done or gone for u by now but if anyone reads this for further need of information on the topic, the timing rap u describe is cause by the timing guide that the tensioner pushs up against to keep tension on the chain
The noise and possibilities of jumping time and ruining the motor all 3 timing guides and hydronic tensioner can be replaced it's a lot of work while the motors In the car but if it's done personally could save a whole lot of money in the long run