Timing belt and water pump

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sentra

Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
197
Location
British Columbia, Canada
I am planning on changing the timing belt and the water pump on my 1994 Nissan Quest/ Mercury Villager soon. I have been looking for replacement parts on Rock Auto, and i am not sure which brands to go with, although there are some well-known names in there.

Which one would you prefer: Beck/Arnley, Gates, or ACDELCO for the water pump; or Beck/Arnley, Gates, ACDELCO, Dayco, or Goodyear for the timing belt?

I have never attempted this kind of job before, but i am pretty confident that i can do it-- done quite a bit of reading.
 
Personaly, I don't think that you will go wrong with any of them(timing belts/water pumps). I have used GATES Timing Belts with great succuss over the years. And to be quite honest as far as water pumps go, I don't know but, I have heard good thing with all of the brands you mentioned. I have used AC Delco and Beck/Arnley and OEM.

Timing belts can be tough when it comes to having the right tools, enough room to work and some strength for removing the hard to remove bolts(some being reverse threads) and also removing items such as some portions of the A/C and P/S systems. You may also want to change out you cam and crank oil seals if they may be leaking or damp with oil. Opinions Please on this one!

My timing belt experience is a bit rusty but there are those here at BITOG that can guide you in the proper direction.

And since this is your first time, take you time and set aside several days in case things don't go as well as planned.
 
Last edited:
Gates timing belt, and an OE water pump. I've used Gates and it looked brand new after 100k in my Honda. Water pumps I don't mess with anything else, however.
 
I think the wp may be external on that one. Should get a new tensioner with belt. Not such an easy task, the tension setting if done like factory is pretty strange on that one. My daughter had a Nissan with similar engine. See if you can get a factory repair manual on ebay or something. I believe the engine is interference type. Also they did some belt changes right in that time period, so really need to get right one. Probably best to go to dealer with vin, the belts aren't so much money on those anyway.
I bought some stuff at autohausaz recently and was very happy with the service.
 
Guys, thank you for the replies. I have the factory repair manual, and i have also gone through the procedures mentioned by other people who have done the replacement. At the moment, my only concern is the lack of some tool or the need for replacement of a part that i didn't expect.

I will definitely take my time. The van isn't a daily driver, so it can stay on the jack stands as long as it takes to get the job done right. I would like this job to be a good learning experience.
 
Sentra,
Those Quest/Villiger mini-vans ran so well and for so long that most people neglected the rest of the vehicle. Take care of this thing and it will serve you very well.

My neighbors(retired), just got rid of their '96 Quest that they had towed with weekly all over Western New York State. They hauled around this large cooking/grill trailer all during the spring/summer/fall, as they went to many art/craft festivels throughout Western NY. You know, those fest's that go on all weekend long, way out in the country or when the small town streets close down and vendors set up their spot and sell their goods!

They had on the Quest, about 200K before burning up the tranny. I don't beleive they ever changed out the ATF. At least they hadn't when I ask them. I couldn't beleive they were towing with the Quest as this large, "open her up and set up camp" type grill was heavy. They would cook burgers, dogs, sausage, steaks, peppers/onions and sell cold drinks and Kettle Corn.

They're retired and just traveling around talking with folks. Go to Florida in the winter time, come back in the spring! They also have a Chrysler Town & Country Mini-Van for traveling but, they really worked out this Quest hauling around the behemouth behind the van as the rearend was sagging. FUNNY!
 
Last edited:
Goodyear Gator Back belt...something with kevlar in it. This is something, your gonna find out that you only want to do ONCE, and if your are not careful, you will be calling a tow truck to take it to a shop. There are things to think about, like "what if" the water pump leaks after you get it put back together? You might wanna scrounge up some cash and tak'er in.
 
Originally Posted By: sentra


I have never attempted this kind of job before, but i am pretty confident that i can do it-- done quite a bit of reading.



word of wise: if you never attempted timing belt replacement before, even on some simple/straightfwd engine layouts such as Suzuki 3cyl/4cyl before, don't do it. Give it to someone (indy mech, or stealership, etc.) to let them handle it.

Your likeliness of screwing things up will be high.

Q.
 
I say take it someplace too do. This is a vg30e engine, so it is a interferance engine, which means if you spin a cam or you get it off one knock you kill valves. This is a 94 model so it needs to be changed ever 105,000 miles. While your inthere or somebuddy is you should also change the cam seals. If they start leaking your timing belt will shred.
 
Guys, i appreciate the concern, but the following links describe the procedure fairly well, and that has given me the confidence to attempt it.

http://home.earthlink.net/~vqfaq/Villager_Timing_Belt/dale_wadding_timing_belt.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~vqfaq/ (Select "Timing Belt" in the first drop down on the left side)

Also, a friend, much more experienced in cars than i am, can help me if i run into any trouble. As i said previously, i would like this to be a learning experience, but at the same time, i don't want to cause myself a major headache.
 
It isn't that hard to change a timing belt.
I used to do our Civics myself.
As I have grown old and lazy, I paid to have both of the Accords done, although both were and remain daily drivers.
Take your time, don't get mad or impatient, and you'll be fine.
Another little tip is to make your own timing marks with something like fingernail polish while everything is still properly lined up, before you remove the belt.
I did this with the Hondas, on which I thought the timing marks were a little vague.
The only really hard part of the job is getting the bolt off the end of the crankshaft, although it will be a piece of cake if you have a compressor and an impact gun.
On one of our '86 Civics, I actually took it to the now long closed local gas station, an old school privately owned BP that actually did mechanical work, and got them to remove the cranshaft bolt.
It was that hard.
The guy who did it started out with a standard impact gun, and couldn't budge it.
He then said "I'm not done yet", and switched to something the size of a small chain saw, and got it off.
I had him reinstall the bolt (17 mm, IIRC) with a ratchet, drove it the mile and a half home, and took it apart myself.
 
Char baby, bought the Quest 7-8 years ago, with about 110,000 km on it, and a rebuilt title. Now, it has about 190,000 km, and it has been very reliable. Other than a broken sensor, i don't recall anything other than general maintenance on it, which wasn't stellar, either.

Both the engine and transmission are strong. The body is in great shape, too.
 
Good luck. Ive done 2 of them when I didnt think I could do it. One on a 1993 Mustang 4cyl, Super easy...super EASY. And the other on something that was evidently built for someone with hands the size of a 2 year to work on, which was an 89 Mercury Tracer (Mazda 323). Both ran many more miles without incident. Remember, you only wanna do it ONCE. I persnonaly will never own anything with a timing belt again for the rest of my born days. Cars with t-belts have been costly and caused more problems than they are worth. Thats just me. GO FOR IT!
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
Originally Posted By: sentra


I have never attempted this kind of job before, but i am pretty confident that i can do it-- done quite a bit of reading.



word of wise: if you never attempted timing belt replacement before, even on some simple/straightfwd engine layouts such as Suzuki 3cyl/4cyl before, don't do it. Give it to someone (indy mech, or stealership, etc.) to let them handle it.

Your likeliness of screwing things up will be high.

Q.


+1 ... for what it's worth. Looking forward to hearing how you make out.
 
Couple of posts there are really killing the DIY spirit!! Come on guys, I've done quite a few jobs the first time and didn't know what I was doing. It's the best way to learn. Sounds like he's done his research and feels comfortable going ahead with it. I would offer up any advise I had but no experience with the job or the engine. Take your time and ask or read if you're not sure.

Hope it goes well for you! Make sure to let us know.
thumbsup2.gif
Carry on!
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Personaly, I don't think that you will go wrong with any of them(timing belts/water pumps). I have used GATES Timing Belts with great succuss over the years. And to be quite honest as far as water pumps go, I don't know but, I have heard good thing with all of the brands you mentioned. I have used AC Delco and Beck/Arnley and OEM.

Timing belts can be tough when it comes to having the right tools, enough room to work and some strength for removing the hard to remove bolts(some being reverse threads) and also removing items such as some portions of the A/C and P/S systems. You may also want to change out you cam and crank oil seals if they may be leaking or damp with oil. Opinions Please on this one!

My timing belt experience is a bit rusty but there are those here at BITOG that can guide you in the proper direction.

And since this is your first time, take you time and set aside several days in case things don't go as well as planned.
Doing a timing belt is not really hard if you have some mechanical ability and the proper tools and most important a manual . A tip is to when the belt is all ready to button up rotate the engine 2 complete crankshaft revolutions by hand to make sure the timing marks line up. .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Dayco timing belt kit. Hope it's ok
2 3
Replies
43
Views
1K
50yr Street Mech
K
A range of belts for my Ranger
Replies
7
Views
586
Dave9
M104
Started engine with no coolant after timing belt/water pump job
Replies
18
Views
702
Trav
mosaud1998
Cloyes timing belt
Replies
6
Views
731
wlk
P
'16 Pilot - Timing belt replacement questions
2 3 4
Replies
62
Views
3K
Auto tech
Back
Top Bottom