Should Engine vibrate/shake after changing timing belt in j30

[Al Dave]

Just changed the timing belt in autoshop. Looking at the kit obtained from the infinitpartsusa posted in this forum which says:

This is a complete timing belt kit for the 1993 J30, which includes: A172M-0P5SMVW ASR 1 BELT-FAN A192M-0P5SMVW ASR 1 BELT - COMPRESSOR A195M-F65SAVW ASR 1 BELT-POWER STEERI 01001-00191 2 SEAL-OIL,VALVE 12333-F6500 1 PLATE CRANKSHAFT 13028-45P86 1 BELT-TIMING 13042-16V00 ASR 5 OIL SEAL-CAMSHAFT 13070-45V04 ASR 1 TENSN BELT 13072-45V20 2 SPRING-TENSIONER 14055-F6511 ASR 2 HOSE-WATER,BYPASS 21010-0P529 ASR 1 PUMP ASSY WATER 21200-42L06 ASR 1 THERMOSTAT ASSY 999MP-A7007P 1 GASKET SILICONE L

, I dont think that the mechanic really changed all this things. When I picked up the car they just showed me a belt and said they had to change the coolant. While picking they said the car had other problems. they check engine light is on. I said if they checked, they said no. I told them I did not see such a thing. They said, when I left it was on. Then when they started the car, I saw no check engine. The two mechanic spoke to each other in some European language. From their body language, and some words, I could understand that one of the mechanic put something in the wrong way, the other one later corrected it and thats how the check engine light went away.

I got a bit worried, because, now I could understand that the check engine light came due to their activity and just no to take the responsibililty they said it was there before. Because I am very consious about the car. I can do minor repairs but timing belt in an interference engine is over my level.

When I picked the car the cars idle behavior has changed. It seems to be shaking after every few seconds. I told them about this, they said they dont see any problem. They charged $500 for doing it. Now I am not sure if they did correctly or not. I asked them about pump, thermostat. They were like, are you kidding me.

I was wondering why the car idle response changed ?And also I felt that in the auto gear when it changes from gear 2 to gear 3, I feel a different behavior, a sudden shift. What could go wrong chaing the belt

That was yesterday,

Modified by Al Dave at 5:49 PM 4/20/2009

Modified by Al Dave at 6:12 AM 4/21/2009

Modified by Al Dave at 6:13 AM 4/21/2009
Modified by Al Dave at 6:13 AM 4/21/2009

[coolyun_98]

I am sorry to hear what happened to your J.

I have replaced the timing belt myself and .... I hate to break the news but A LOT can go wrong during a timing belt job. I have seen ignorant mechanics breaking camshaft locating pin (2000 bucks of repair) to inproperly installing tensioner (MIN 5000 bucks of repair if the timing belt slips).

Check all eletrical connections as mechanics often forget to re-connect those after a timing belt job.

If I were you, I will not drive the car (anything wrong with the timing belt can cause EXPENSIVE damage to the engine). Have the car checked by Infiniti mechanics.

[driverdriver]

Welcome to NICO!!!

I would advise to take the car (if you can get it towed) to a mechanic who has worked on 300zx engines. If you cannot find one, take it to a Nissan dealer(hourly labour is cheaper than an Infiniti dealer) that's been around for awhile and has techs who have worked on the 300zx engine or take it to an Infiniti dealer.

The J30/300zx engine is an interference engine. If the timing belts breaks then your basically looking at an engine rebuild.

[GerryO]

Could be that the timing belt is off by just one tooth on any one of five toothed timing gears and it's best to not start the engine until all is confirmed to be correct.

[Al Dave]

I think the problem is solved. I found a loose line beside the engine which I think should not be loose.

I went to the mechanic. He said this is the vacuum line. He struggled a little bit to find where to hook it up. Finally he did. And seems like the car got its life back. It does accelerate pretty nicely now. The vibration of the engine reduced but still there is some.

Thanks to everyone who replied. The problem gave me a scare, spent $$$$ on the car already without driving 200 miles so far. I thought it was the transmission, or timing belt slip messed up the whole engine.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully it wont come back. For the engine vibration, the mechanic suggests to do a engine tune up. But the vibration was not there when I gave the car to him. Any how, I am happy that now I can go beyond 20 mph. Thanks NICO.

[Al Dave]

Could be that the timing belt is off by just one tooth on any one of five toothed timing gears and it's best to not start the engine until all is confirmed to be correct.

You were absolutly right !!! Vacuum was not the problem as I mentioned yesterday. Same problem popped up today. I took it to a different mechanic. He said the timing belt might be off. Fixed it. I asked what happenned. He said the belt was off by a tooth. Reminded me of you. Thanks !!!

[yodawill2000]

Good deal !!!

[GerryO]

You were absolutly right !!! Vacuum was not the problem as I mentioned yesterday. Same problem popped up today. I took it to a different mechanic. He said the timing belt might be off. Fixed it. I asked what happenned. He said the belt was off by a tooth. Reminded me of you. Thanks !!!

Thank you for the good news closure report.

So many problems get posted, and too few concrete solutions and final outcomes.