Nissan is planning to do work on my car. I have 114,XXX miles on it. They're readjusting some valves and in there quote they put timing chain kit to replace the timing chain.

Is it neccessary for them to change it when I have no problems with it? They suggested on doing this since they are removing the head.

My personal instinct is no. What do you think?

 

I know it's expensive if they even touch the timing chain...

I personally don't know mechanics about it but my guy said it's very time consuming if it needs to be done. But that said, timing chains generally never need to be replaced.

 

timing chains wear out just as every other parts does. they stretch, but at only 114k.... Id be pissed if i had to do one at 114k. they have timing belts last longer than that!

anyways... unless you are having issues with how its running and they suspect the timing chain, or the tensioners i'd opt to have them leave it alone. most chains should be able to see 300,000 before serious stretch occurs to the point of running poorly. Generally when they get to the worn out point to be replaced its because they are loose enough to jump teeth on cam or crank gears.


I would walk away from that stealership, and not go back. UNLESS they say you have an issue with it and they must do this to repair a specific issue.


....THATS WHAT I WOULD SAY IF YOUR HEAD WAS NOT COMING OFF....

but since the head is coming off (why???) that means the front of the motor is disassembled, so i would replace the chain at that point,the tensioners, the water pump, any seals i could access, the whole deal while i am in there. But i question why they would only pull one head.
at over 100,000 miles If i pull one head, I will pull the other. If they are doing a valve job on one head, that bank will see slightly higher compression (less leakage on new seats) thus adding more pressure to the rings,and bearings and wear one side of your motor faster. Thats why I would do both sides. I could go on for days and days about this stuff.

If they have to pull half the chain off, why not replace it.
Why are they going that deep to being with?

 

Please feel free to enlighten me. But they suspect my valves (not knowing which ones) are bad. Had a ticking noise from the engine and my car, after driving and warming up, would drop rpms to turning off in any gear. Unless I held a constant rev on it.

 

Just some history on me. Wrenching on cars for 15 plus years. about 5 professionally. I have been through many tech schools, and advanced engine/ car classes. I no longer work in a shop. There is much more money outside of a shop.

But a tick would not make me say valves. There are many tests that would assist in that diagnosis, a simple vacuum gauge helps diagnose sticking valves, bent valves etc.. a car should idle warm with about 17-21" of vacuum. sticking valves are something like a fluctuation of 3-5 lbs.

a leak down test would also give some more evidence of a damaged valve issue. with air pumped into the cylinder a leaky intake valve you will hear air coming out of the intake, a worn/ damaged exhaust valve you can hear air coming out the exhaust.

a V6 should be able to run on 4 cylinders without dying. My V8 in my classic can run on 5, and the miss isn't very noticeable (over the big cam )
So for it to be dying i would look at my fuel injectors.

Is the car an automatic?

 

No it's manual

 

Could the timing chain or some belt cause the ticking? I only say because if I rev the ticking speeds up as well.

 

Well...now they sayI need a new engine and blah blah blah... Anybody got a incidenary gernade...

 

Have them replace it - the timing chains are good for 200k miles but it's good measure, the timing chain will break at the exact time you dont need it to.

 

dang sorry to hear that. what is there reasoning for a new engine???

 

Nissan said cyclinders were miss firing and they needed to repair the block along with the heads and a new engine would just be better and/or cheaper.

 

has nissan said what is actually wrong with your engine??? i hear symptoms, not problems.

did a ring land break? bearings fail? dropped valves? dying cam/ crank sensor? what is the PROBLEM?

 

They said after they "pulled" engine codes they didn't want to pull apart to find more potential major problems that would cost more than I was willing to pay after the estimates. But no statement on actual problem.

 

That's like cutting off your arm to trim your fingernails. Sounds like they don't want to spend shop time on a decent diag but are willing to charge you out the a$$ for a full swap. Second opinion IMHO...

 

they are factory trained... d bags. GM used to claim 1 million man hours in training go to their techs nationwide. Funny thing is, they have an estimated 500,000 techs nationwide. So that breaks down to about 2 hours of training a year. Sometimes small shops are way better than the stealerships. get it out of there and get another opinion.

 

+1 RUN!!! Sounds like BS to me

 

Werd! I'll catch up to Forest Gump

 

Just go far far away.

Some local dealer tried to get me for $1,500 for a clutch replacement. They want $$ and can smell it a mile away. Mind you my clutch is 100% functional and doesn't need replacement.