96 pathfinder...

I think I paid about $350 several years ago on my old '94, including water pump. You definitely save money getting the water pump updated rather than waiting for it to finally fail.

So should I do it based on year rather than milage?

i have a 94 and I have changed mine 2 times and each time I put on a new Water pump -

the 1st was at 77,000 the 2nd was at 137,000 because I went traveling all over NM, AZ, CO, UT, NV, CA, OR, and WA states for about a yr and I did not want any surprices while I was away

I am at 182,500 right now and RUNNING strong I am going to wait until about 217,000 to change it again - if I keep it that long.

I have a 4x4 with a 5 speed and the New patherfinders are not made with a STANDARD transmission - anymore.

I have completely rebuilt my frontend suspension - 2 times (most recently -

5000 miles ago)

I might just rebuild the motor - when needed - and add headers on it - because I really like a standard trnamission.

Or buy an Xterra 4x4 - with a Standard - or get a Big Dodge or a Big Ford

250/350 or Chevy -- not sure - but it has to have a Standard.

Anyway ALWAYS change your water pump when doing a Timing Belt - thats my opinon

$350.00 - thats sounds a little low - but it depends who does it -- make sure you pick a " REAL GOOD " known shop or go to the Dealer and TELL them you ALSO want the Water Pump changed.

I was planning on going to the dealer here. But the 94 that you had I believe had an older type timeing belt that needed changed earlier? 60,000? Mine says change at 105,000. Is it strictly 105,000 or is there a recomended amount of time you should wait before the belt can wear also? ie does a 94 with 10,000 miles on it need to have its timeing belt changed?

thanks.

you can inspect the belt -

I drive mine real hard - ya i remember mine said 60,000 - i changed it at 77,000 and it had some wear. -- but I wasnt going to push it any further and risk it breaking.

the 2nd time - i did change it at 60,000 additional miles - just becuase I was going to be away from home for a year - and home is where i have all my main tools and contacts - traveling and something happens - means big bucks for repairs. it really didnt need changing - but i wasnt taking any risk while away

well as you say - 105 - and your at 82 -- I personally would clearly ask the dealer for their recommendation - or ask how much it cost to just inspect it for possible cracks / missing links - but if you do that they might just tell you it needs to be changed

I have a good friend that is a machanic - although he only works on HIGH end foriegn cars - he has told me that the Belts now a days are very good and do last - he did my first change out as a favor - and he had thought 77,000 was a good time to chage it - eventhough its recommended at 60,000 for the 1994 model

you could find a GOOD foriegn car shop and ask them - compair recommendations.

there is a guy on this site that has helped me - and I'd take his recommendation he goes by Wil and or Truck address your post to him look through these POSTINGS for his name

I'm working on changing out my Starter - look for 94 stater install - thats mine - and Wil is assisting

your probably ok at 82,000 if it says 105,000 but remember when / if you change the belt - change the water pump

I do remember I had a Honda CRX in college and Traveling across southwest TX in the desert on the way to Big Bend - my timing belt broke in the middle of NO WHERE - thats was no no fun and super hot. I had to have it towed to DALLAS to my folks house - my father rented a truck and tow bar and came to get me. I cant remember the milage issue other then I dont think it was time for it to be change and it broke.

as i think of it now - 137,000 + 60,000 = 197,000 - I think I'll be ok waiting for 207,000 - not the 217,000 i had mentioned

Yes. You don't want the belt to break on one of those.

I concur wholeheartedly. It's far better to replace it too soon than too late!

The manual for my BMW gives mileage and time intervals (4 years or

60,000 miles)

What to do what to do....

Hiya. :-) Sorry I've been out for the better part of the day (and evening).

I have a '95 Pathfinder and while the owners manual DOES say 105,000 mile replacement for mine as well, I'm not willing to risk the bent valve minimum damage that is GUARANTEED to happen if the t-belt slips a bit and shears a few teeth because of wear.

Like someone else mentioned earlier, I drive mine a little on the harder side from time to time and I'd just rather not risk it.

I replaced mine when I first bought it with about 81,000 miles on it. I did the work myself and replaced the water pump, t-belt and tensioner. I checked both front cam seals and the front crank seal and all 3 were dry so I didn't replace them at that time. I will at the next belt change, leaking or not. They have a tendency to start seeping at the most inopportune times.

When I get about 60,000 miles on this one, I'll replace it again. Could I go longer? Probably, but I'm just not willing to bet my valves on it. :-)

If you're looking to do have some preventative maintenance done while it's in the shop, this is the PERFECT time to have it done. For the t-belt change, they'll have basically everything off the front of the timing cover and the radiator out so bear that in mind.

When I did mine I didn't know the past maintenance of the vehicle so I went ahead and replaced the following at the same time: all drive belts, thermostat, radiator cap, plug wires, dist. cap/rotor, spark plugs, fuel/air filters, *ALL* coolant hoses and clamps, etc. And of course I only use genuine Nissan parts. :-)

The plug wires I probably wouldn't have `had' to replace until about

90,000 -100,000 or so, but I figured with everything else being new, why not? I was bitten by the `bug'. LOL But that's just me.

When I was in the shop we typically did them at 60,000 and we were VERY up front with the customers. `Your manual says they're good due to a redesign until 105,000 miles so the choice is yours but here's what will happen if it breaks....'. We had pretty good customer relations and the shop end of the dealership was known for its honesty so with the exception of a few Quest's, we almost always got the job. Quests being non-interference engines, they would `just' leave you stranded (and with a tow bill) and no engine damage.

I believe the only Pathfinders we had towed in with broken (well, stripped teeth) t-belts were on VERY early '90's models that the owners had gone over the 60,000 mile mark. I do remember one had right around 62,000 on it when it slipped. So that owner didn't even get the equivalent of 1 oil change over the recommended t-belt change mark.

Sorry for the long post, but in the end I'd rather you have too much information than not enough. I'm sure Nissan wouldn't have redesigned the setup and additionally put it in their manuals that those belt/cam gear designs would go 105,000 miles safely if they couldn't, but when you really stop and think that most parts manufacturers recommend regular fan belt and hose replacements every 4 years or so due to ozone and other degredation of the rubber materials, I'm just not willing to risk my engine when I can spend comparitively so little to ensure there are no problems.

In the end I was out $144.49 for the water pump, t-belt and tensioner assembly (gotta love wholesale Nissan prices ;-) ) but in almost 4 years, I've never been stranded. :-)

Hope this all helps you Root.

Wil

Thanks for the informative post...

Where did you get the wholesale nissan parts?

Truck:

Are you sure about the Quest engine being non-interference ? I thought all the Nissan V6 motors were interference engines including the early 90's. I confess I never checked though.... I just changed the belt when required :-)

Always glad to lend any info.

Wholesale parts? From my local Nissan parts department that I've created a very good business relationship with over the years. I have a `hobby' (more so a few years back than I do now...) repairing vehicles from the house as a `hobby' so that let me put in for a license (free as long as you don't use a fictitious name, that costs a few dollars for the state to research to make sure the name isn't already in use) to collect sales tax which you can take in and use to set yourself an account up to do wholesale buying from some dealers.

You usually have to buy -X- amount of dollars in parts per month to maintain your account though. It's nice though because some of the parts departments offer free delivery service for purchased parts so you can spend your time doing paying work (sorry, hobby work for friends and family...) vs. running for parts all the time.

Wil

Yes, the Quest engines are non-interference. If I remember correctly it had something to do with the Nissan/Ford venture to make both the Nissan Quest and Ford Villager on the same assembly line and Ford getting the last word in on some things engine related when it came to engineering. I know there was a trade off for it to be non-interference though, compression perhaps. It's been a while.

Back when I was in the shop the worse thing you could do was point out to any of the salesmen the words Ford and Nissan stamped over EVERYTHING that was steel, usually side by side (especially under the hood in PLAIN view). We use to heckle the sales guys a bit after you'd hear them out on the lot trying to sell people on the `advantages' of the Quest over the Villager that the prospective customer had just test drove over at the local Ford dealer. :-)

What was also funny was that on the Quests the Ford stamp was heavily painted over and on the Villagers the Nissan stamp was heavily painted over. LOL Same engine, same transmission, same suspension, same brake setup (we ran out of front pads and had 2 Quests in the shop and had to send the parts runner up to the above mentioned Ford dealer to get us 2 sets of pads, LOL), etc. A few swapped badges on the assembly line and a slightly different stereo package and a few other minor things (tail lights, etc.) were all that separated those vehicles. :-)

Wil