New to the forum - just bought an 01 Sentra GXE

[kingcommute01sentra]

Hi folks,

I just purchased an 01 Sentra GXE - silver - nice looking car. Its going to need some front end body work due to the previous owner wrecking it. I also plan to do some routine maintenance as well. I'm going to change the spark plugs, air filter, oil, and it needs a new valve cover gasket - seeping just a little. The 01 sentra has a timing chain, correct? When are those due for changing? The car has 105k miles on it. Also I'm thinking of changing the transmission fluid and filter - I've done this on other cars before - anything special about the sentra before I get started? Thanks for any advice you can give.

[nametakennow]

Welcome to NICO!

The chain should last the life of the car. As for the trans and stuff, nothing special to deal with.

[kingcommute01sentra]

Thanks for the reply - good to know about the chain. The reason I ask about the transmission filter is because when i was pricing filter kits at autozone.com they had a disclaimer with their filters that said something like "transmission disassembly required for installation". I'm assuming that they just mean taking the lid off the pan to drain the fluid - but I wanted to make sure it was something I could handle before I got elbows deep in it. Any other items I should be checking with a car like this where i don't know the maintenence history? Thanks!

[nametakennow]

Nope. Headgaskets are a common problem, but not universal, and there's nothing you can really do about it.

As for the trans, I'd check the FSM (link in my signature before my first post) to make sure of the process before I dove in.