I own a 2012 versa hatchback with 156000 miles on the 1.8l, are these a zero clearence motor or should i get on the timeing belt replacement. Im not shure what miles these belts should be replaced.

There's no belt, the MR18 has a chain.
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... h%2FEM.pdf

Thanks VStar650cl, i love this little car. iI need to buy a manual, Any sugestions, ie haynes or chilton manual!

Use the FSM here. Here's the link, they're downloadable PDF's that you can print out if you want. If you need help navigating or translating, I'm pretty much always here along with a lot of other knowledgeable folks:
https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals

I bought the Haynes manual. They're not that expensive (about $25) and a little easier to have everything right in front of you without the hassle of always having to go online and print everything. I guess personal preference. I'm not sure what the mileage recommendation is for changing the timing chain. It might not be a bad idea to find out what that is given the mileage of your car. Even timing chains don't last forever. I have a 2019 with no where near your mileage so your mileage without incident gives me hope for my car.

BTW, I agree with you that these are great little cars. I had a 2012 for almost 7 years. The only reason I traded it for the 2019 was to beat the $4,000 price increase on the 2020 3rd generation Versa. I still miss my 2012. I really loved that car. I plan to keep my 2019 for a very long time as I love this one too.

2019Versafan wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:09 am

Even timing chains don't last forever. I have a 2019 with no where near your mileage so your mileage without incident gives me hope for my car.

If the OP's maintenance has been good then the lifetime on the chain should be just about infinite. Chains on MR's and QR's usually outlive the rest of the vehicle. They're the probably the last thing on it that anyone should fret about. The chain on the HR16 is a little less durable, but only a little, and the bottom ends on all three are pretty much built from unobtainium, very hard to kill. Nissan builds great 4-banger engines, what can you say?

It's not always the case that timing chains last forever. The guides can deteriorate and break which can cause the timing chains to break or the timing chains can get stretched. These scenarios can be catastrophic for an engine. I think the OP is asking a wise question.

It all depends on maintenance and the age of the car. The guide material Nissan started using around '10 is very superior to the earlier stuff, so if it isn't running in dirty oil, it's pretty bulletproof. "Stretch" in chains is a complete misnomer, the chain is actually lengthened because of gradual wear at the rollers. A few thousandths of wear at each roller adds up to 1/4" of "stretch" across a 125-link chain. If a chain is rolling in clean oil, that takes a looooooong time to occur, usually longer than the useful life of the reciprocating parts. The moral of the story is, change that oil!

I was taught how to take care of a car by my engineer father who was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. He was a stickler for keeping the oil changed and he also taught me that timing chains don't last forever as I've previously noted. Mercedes-Benz, the inventor of the automobile, also recommends changing a timing chain at 100,000 miles.

Benz is Benz, their maintenance recommendations are based on $250K cars with $50K engines and the assumption that if you can afford a $250K car, you must have $100K to spend on maintenance. I'll just tell you that in 10 years working in this dealership, I can recall a grand total of five bad chains on 4-bangers (excluding Jukes), 2 QR's, 1 MR, and 2 HR's. They usually throw a rod or eat a piston long before the chain ever gives up.

My engineer father had more than 4 decades of aviation and automotive engineering work experience and MB has been building cars for more than a century. It's inaccurate to say that timing chains don't need to be replaced.

Suit yourself, but on a well-maintained Versa, it's unnecessary work.

All mechanical things need maintenance and they eventually break. BTW, my engineer father was also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

I said, suit yourself. If changing stuff unnecessarily that isn't broken makes you feel better, that's different. That's a matter of feeling better, not engineering.

I'll be happy to debate with you further when you have more than 4 decades of engineering work experience like my father had. As of now, you don't have that so let's just end this thread now. The OP asked a good question to begin with.

I'm only going to say this once, it's a long story and I won't tell it all here. I spent 25 years designing electronics, including agricultural devices that were a lot like ECM's. I am an engineer, and you need to quit speaking for your dad as if you got a brain transplant from him. If he wants to debate, or if you want to show us your SAE or five decades of automotive experience, that will be a different matter.

FYI, an electrical engineer isn't an automotive engineer. You're mistaken if you think you know as much about cars as an automotive engineer and SAE member. Elon Musk shares your view and his cars are a pile of junk that's now under federal investigation.

It's time for this thread to end.

2019Versafan wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:22 am

It's time for this thread to end.

Yes, because, it's time for you to quit "engineer splaining" to people when you're not an engineer. I'll happily debate your dad, or anyone else who who is one. I'll be happy if you just show us an ASE, no less an SAE. I have one of those too, as well as a Nissan master tech certificate. How about you?

Back to the original discussion, here's a question for dad: Using RBI analysis per API RP 350, even though the CoF for a given part is very high, if the proven PoF for the part across a large statistical base substantially exceeds the typical life of the engine, should that part be replaced as maintenance or simply inspected? You dad will tell you the answer is, inspect it. That's a Versa timing chain. Now you can look up what all that meant. He won't need to.

Rogue One wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:57 pm

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:09 pm

if the proven PoF for the part across a large statistical base substantially exceeds the typical life of the engine

* To keep this perfectly accurate, proven Ft for the PoF

It continues to amaze me that someone who is an electrical engineer and not an automotive engineer thinks they know more about cars than the automotive engineers. You don't and you never will. You just keep with your mistaken view that timing chains don't need to be replaced until one breaks and destroys your engine.

2019Versafan wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:37 am

It continues to amaze me that someone who is an electrical engineer and not an automotive engineer thinks they know more about cars than the automotive engineers. You don't and you never will. You just keep with your mistaken view that timing chains don't need to be replaced until one breaks and destroys your engine.

I'll take that non-answer to mean you have no qualifications whatsoever,

My aviation/automotive engineer father did all of the work on our cars and I was his helper so I had a front row seat. You're not an automotive engineer like my father. Electrical engineers will never have the knowledge about cars that automotive engineers have. Electrical engineers only deal with a portion of what goes into building a car. You will never have my father's automotive engineering experience and your own words show your lack of automotive engineering experience. Your claim that timing chains don't need to be replaced is false. Your personal insults further show the weakness of your position. You need to finally get the message that this thread needs to end.

I'll take that non-answer in the same light. My dad was a building contractor and my wife's dad is a shipfitter, that in no way qualifies me to tell anyone how to build a house or her to tell anyone how to weld destroyer plumbing. You need to get the message that you're unqualified to talk about any kind of engineering (or repair).

Tell you what, getcha something like this to hang above your toolbox. Then maybe we can discuss what your dad knows and you don't know.

So sorry but your Master tech plaque doesn't hold a candle to my engineer father's bachelors and masters degrees in engineering, more than 40 years of aviation and automotive engineering work experience and membership in the Society of Automotive Engineers. When you can match that engineering resume, I'll be happy to talk to you. You're not an automotive engineer and you don't have the knowledge about cars that automotive engineers have. Time for you to get over yourself and get the message to end this thread instead of spewing more personal attacks that further highlight the weakness of your position.