Chaning Belts @ 60K Question

Why would you change the pulley? ...and do you mean the Crank pulley? Since when do these things go bad? There will be virtually no wear on the pulley and they easily last the life of the car.

CW

Seems like your changing a lot of items at 60 overkill but thats your call. Changing the pullies if not causing problems is just more overkill but if your going with all the other items why not. Don't forget the fuel filter that is a important change item. dk

Wasting your money changing the hoses. They last 10 years easily on japanese cars. If you use parts store ones, they will likely burst before the factory ones would have!

BTW what pulley are you talking about?

I think he's talking about the idler pulley. It should easily last another 60K miles, and if it does start to go, the howling noise is a dead give-away. :-)

There is no separate fuel filter on a 2K Max. It's part of the fuel pump and is in the tank. It's not a standard maintenance item.

Well thats a real good reason to not buy a 2K Max. Thanks for the Info. dk

Yea I meant the idler pulley, changing the hoses after 5 yrs I don't think is overkill. I make long trips and can do the work myself so its peace of mind. The belts are showing some wear and I am sure it can make it to 90K buy why take the risk on my frequent 800+ miles trip. I will pull a plug or two and check for condition before replacing. Just wanted some opinions on the idler pulley, will leave that in place.

Thanks, Neil P

Dan wrote:

Steve:

The pulley I was referring to is the idle pulley connected to the serpentine belt. The hoses are only 23 bucks for the two and I can do the job easily and flush the cooling system while at it. I take very long trips recently, and to have a hose go on me that is almost 5yrs to save 23 bucks and 1 hr of labor with a cold beer is not worth it for me and the family.

Neil P

Steve wrote:

I suggest replacing the plugs right at 60k with OEMs from the dealer or Courtesyparts.com. The set may run you $60, but aftermarket plugs and 'upgrade' plugs have provided only mixed results.

Dave

Yes, 10-12+ years is not unusual for jap hoses, particularly if you use OEM coolant.

Never the less, give them a regular squeeze, and check for soft spots, etc. I had an Acura hose about to blow apart after only 5 years.

JM

Maybe if you make frequent 800 mile trips, replacing the idler pulley isn't such a bad idea after all. I had one go only once ('90 SE at 110K miles), and of course it went out during a trip between Maryland and Michigan. That's why I'm very familiar with the noise it makes. :-)

Neil wrote:

Well I guess you could replace it if it gives you a warm fuzzy (need to remove the rear seat to get to the access panel -- not really hard, but you do have to be careful). While you're at it, you might as well change those 100K+ mile plugs at 30K. Too bad there's no rotor/points/wires to replace. :-) Seriously, if a separate in-line filter was needed, I'm sure Nissan would have included it. It would be one more maintenance item they could charge for. :-)

Check the condition of yours. My 95SE with 100k has the idler pulley looking great. Some surface oxidation on the hardware but no problems with it mechanically. I have not heard of any 95-99 owners having these fail before 100k or even soon thereafter. The dealer has a pulley kit which costs about $50 if you are paranoid about it.

CW

As I said, unless you're buying dealer hoses, those $23 hoses are more likely to blow out than the originals. BTW the two hoses you are talking about are the least likely to blow on the whole car. If you're really worried about hose failures, replace the throtle housing and WP bypass hoses.

I will pull a plug or two and

If you have 60K on the plugs, go ahead and replace them, they've had it. And the PCV valve. You'll have a nice smooth idle again.

JM

Why not just let the pump fail and really get some repair money ;-) Nissan knows what their doing. dk