Timing belt - has it been replaced?

[jertapper]

How much stuff would I have to take apart to get a look (and take a picture) of the timing belt to show you guys and try to figure out if the previous owner ever had it replaced?

[SilverJ30t93]

Hey,

Not sure if you've tried or not but if it was changed at Infiniti service any Infiniti dealer can tell you by just providing the vin. Worth a try if you havent checked.

[yodawill2000]

If it was (at a dealership) it will be on a small tag on the front underside of the hood.It will show the mileage when it was done.

Etched soft metal tag.

[Victor]

Thanks for the info. Found my tag, said the timing belt was changed at 104,000 miles.

[yodawill2000]

Lucky you !!!Mine was done at 58.Guess the stealership forgot to tell the previous owner 94 belts were good to 105.

[jertapper]

I have never been a very lucky person....that streak continues.

No tag.

What are the chances that if it were done at the dealership they wouldn't do that small metal tag? If so, I could call and try to see if it was done, which is unlikely.

So, back to my original question, how hard would it be for me to get a visual inspection on it? Would this put me too deep into the process of replacing it that you wouldn't want to turn back and would just replace it anyway? If so, anyone want to buy a car?

[Ebbtide]

Well, you can get a pretty good look at it if you remove some of the bolts on the cover and pull it out a little. You'll need a flash light too. That said, a visual inspection might not tell you much. Best case, the belt will look torn up, dusty and cracked and you will get a definitive answer.

That should take about ten minutes total.

[yodawill2000]

Ive heard a few peeps say if you call Infiniti customer service with the VIN # they will give you the service history over the phone.Worth a shot to ease your mind.

[jertapper]

Ive heard a few peeps say if you call Infiniti customer service with the VIN # they will give you the service history over the phone.Worth a shot to ease your mind.

Well...I guess I'm going to just dive in and do this. I haven't poured over the timing belt document (zerothread?id=198122) but I saved it and perused it a bit. I'm at the point of seeing what parts I need to get for it. If I can get them tomorrow I'll dive in saturday and if I don't get it finished then I'll have all of sunday too. (I've never done this so i'm sure i'll take all of the 10 hours if not more)

a) timing beltb) water pumpc) thermostatd) tensioner pulley(s) [how many are there?]

The document says the auto timing belt tensioner...another post i read said all the tensioners...I'd need to know which ones to see about getting the parts. Will napa/carquest/autozone/advance/o'riley have these?

Do I need to get the timing belt from the dealer?

Any suggestions on which water pump brand to get?

The document also says "nissan thermostat". Does it matter or will the more expensive one from one of the above car parts chains suffice?

Any other suggestions on stuff I need to buy and what type(s) I should specifically get.

Also...what price should I be expecting for these parts? If i can't get them all locally tomorrow I'll have to figure out where to get them online and put it off until next week.

I couldn't find the timing belt at everythinginfiniti...sadly if this goes well i'm about to drop 800+ bucks on the shocks package with them. Ugh...can't wait to do that job too.

All help/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks guys.

Edit: I guess all the other accessory belts should be replaced too, huh?

[jertapper]

oh ya....called the dealership. No record of it being done with them.

BTW, it's over 130k miles right now

[GerryO]

JTBELT93 - Each MSRP:$456.31Price: $342.24

J30 Timing Belt Kit (1993)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

http://www.trademotion.com/par...34382

So much fun and such a learning experience. Got tools and torque specs? The allen bolt timing cover nuts and spacers are hand-tighten only, using a nut-driver type tool. There's a write-up floating around out there that lists a torque spec that will result in twisting them off.
Modified by GerryO at 10:17 AM 5/30/2008

[Victor]

I seem to remember reading that the 93 timing belt is inferior to the 94 and later timing belt. Wonder if that kit includes the improved timing belt? Would you let us know how long it took you to do the job and were there any unforeseen problems?

[jertapper]

JTBELT93 - Each MSRP:$456.31Price: $342.24

J30 Timing Belt Kit (1993)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

http://www.trademotion.com/par...34382

So much fun and such a learning experience. Got tools and torque specs? The allen bolt timing cover nuts and spacers are hand-tighten only, using a nut-driver type tool. There's a write-up floating around out there that lists a torque spec that will result in twisting them off.

Funny I could find the shock kit myself but couldn't find that timing belt kit. Their search returned nothing for timing belt or timing then I tried their tree of links and couldn't find anything. Thanks. I guess I'll just get that

Are you saying the write-up with the torque specs has WRONG torque specs? I'm going to need the real ones, if so. I figured the info could be attained here so I wasn't going to buy a book.

[yodawill2000]

If you go to the J30 "Kits" link it will show you the timing belt kit , If I recall the Belt part Number is the same on the 93 and 94 and above kit.

[jertapper]

Ok...I got a peek at the belt. Not a great one but took a couple good pictures and would like some input from those that have experience.

Can you tell if this belt is 137,240 miles and 12 years old?







I tracked down the name of the person we got the car from and I am going to see if I can get a hold of him. It's worth a shot to save a bunch of time and money.

While it doesn't look new, it doesn't look that worn to me. It actually looks worse to me in the pictures now that I look at them. It really looked good to me before I was looking at these. So nothing is really clear to me. Maybe one of you experts has a more definitive opinion.

[driverdriver]

You really can't tell the condition of a belt by just looking at it. You need to take it off and inspect it for micro cracks and abrasions. Of course if you take off the belt, you might as well put a new one on.

If your unsure, get it changed. The J30 engine design is intereference. Should the belt break, say good bye to your engine.

[jertapper]

You really can't tell the condition of a belt by just looking at it. You need to take it off and inspect it for micro cracks and abrasions. Of course if you take off the belt, you might as well put a new one on.

If your unsure, get it changed. The J30 engine design is intereference. Should the belt break, say good bye to your engine.

That's a very logical reply and I follow it, I just didn't want to hear it. hehehe

Unfortunately I need to get the deluxe shock kit also so it's a lot of money going out the door but I certainly wouldn't want to spend the almost 900 (inc shipping) on the shocks and then have the belt go.

Don't companies often sacrifice some power and have concave heads so that they can't hit the valves?

[jertapper]

I got this car at about 112k miles and didn't do enough research to think to ask the guy. Anyway, I just tracked him down and he said he didn't have it done and he owned it for about two years before I got it. So I guess I need to keep pushing on with my plan to do this.

I'm sure I'll post more as I get into this process and I'll purchase all this stuff from everythinginfiniti later on.

[TheJapJag]

If it was (at a dealership) it will be on a small tag on the front underside of the hood.It will show the mileage when it was done.

Etched soft metal tag.

Could someone provide a photo of said tag that indicates its location?

[gr8scott72]

Don't companies often sacrifice some power and have concave heads so that they can't hit the valves?

Very few engines are made this way anymore. The one that pops into my mind is the 3.4L V6 found in 4Runners and Tacomas. Those you just drive till the belt brakes, tow it to shop, and put new belt on.

[coolyun_98]

It looks like there are some very fine cracks on the belt. Can you actually see the condition of the side that is in contact with the sprockets? Can you still see those little treds on the belt?

Besides, it looks like you have a cam seal leak. Is there any oil behind your sprockets? If so, that needs to be fixed too.

You can definitely do a very good timing belt job.