Its time for me to get the timing belt replaced. I'm considering ordering the kit from Courtesy Parts and having my local dealer do the install (I'm not up to the task myself). Just to compare prices, I called my local dealer to ask them if they sell the kit. They don't nor do they know anything about any "timing belt kit". So I figured that Courtesy Parts has put this kit together with the seals, gaskets, and other belts so that all of this maintenance can be done at once.
My question is, has anyone purchased this kit and had their local dealer install it and what was the labor costs?

Cheers

Having the dealer do the timing belt will probably be costly, even with the kit from Courtesy Nissan. There's a lot of labor involved (lots of pulleys and brakets to remove to get to the timing chain cover) to get to the timing belt and the dealer will probably charge you an arm and a leg. Depending on the dealer, they may give you a hard time using your own parts.

You might be better off looking for a reputable mechanic, it probably won't cost as much.

-Michael

yes, as far as I have heard, the "kit" is something that Courtesy put together themselves. first off, if you are going to order it, they forgot to add a gasket for the thermostat, I got one from Advance Auto for a buck. Secondly use the search feature, there is lots of good info on doing it, as well as a pix that shows a small hose that would be a good idea to change while your in there doing the rest. I second the notion about them maybe giving you a hard time about using your own parts, and might end up charging you at least three hours labor if not more.

I wasnt sure if I was up to the task of doing it myself either, but a friend of mine talked me into it, said it would be fun, so we did it, put about six hours into it, wasnt that bad to do, just take your time and notes, or pix as you go for future reference. I dont know what year/model you have, mine is the SC version, so a few extra bolts to turn than the non SC, but I still didnt think it was that bad to do.

Typically, they'll charge you over 4 hours to do the timing belt, water pump, t-stat, both cam seals, crank seal and tensioner pulley. The kit comes with a new tensioner stud as well. Ask for all of your old parts back. Tell them everything, especially the old tensioner stud. I've seen several guys get the stud in the kit, but when they get the old parts back, the new stud is in there. They can break off after the new pulley is installed, due to being over-torqued and then someone gets a new engine.

With the cost of coolant, they'll probably want to do an oil change as well, shop charges, etc, you could still be looking at over $600 (we charged $125 an hour for shop rate, so at 4+ hours, that's $500 in labor alone if they only charge 4 hours) in various little things, with you providing your own parts! They typically won't work with you on prices if you provide your own kit.

A good joint will also wash out your radiator fins with a hose as a courtesy. Wherever you take it, ask them to do that for you, since the radiator is out.

Now if you were coming to Colorado to go skiing, we could work out something, for a lot less $$$!

1. I got the kit from Courtesy Nissan. Everything was included, and no problems.

2. I used a good independent mechanic to do the job instead of a dealer. Labor cost was a little under $400, and that is here in NJ where mechanics tend to be pricey.

In addition, some dealers can be funny about putting in parts that you did not purchase from them. They want the profit on the parts sale, too.

I was very satisfied with the savings, and the result.

i have a 2002 x with 108,000 on it ,so i decided to get the courtesy timing belt kit.
got everything off and spent alot of time trying to line up the belt. the belt has 2 solid lines and 1 dotted line,i put the crank at tdc on #1 and lined up the cam pulleys with the marks on the back plate just how my book shows.the 2 solid lines do not lay on the marked spots on the cams but the dotted line and a solid line do, so that is how i set it up.got everything back together it started right up but was idling high and then i shut it off and tried to restart it and it started hard and did not sound right so i shut it down.i am going to tear it down again to try to figure out what is going on.
anyone have any suggestions on how i may better line up the cams and crank so hopefully i can get this belt on correctly .
thanks

From the Xterra Bible,.....

Number of teeth on timing belt = 133
Number of teeth between timing marks . . . .

between the LH and RH CAMSHAFT SPROCKETS = 40
between the LH camshaft sprocket and crankshaft timing sprocket = 43

dont forget according to the book, LH = driver side RH = pass side.

thanks i will being ripping into it this evening to see what the story is.

Its been a while since I was in there , but if you get stuck, or any questions , I'd be glad to try and help out if I can. I got the "Bible" on disk, so I can look stuff up, or maybe even remember things.

Yea, if you have any questions, I could probably chime in as well.

But when you get it apart, worry less about the marks lining up with the backing plates and just get the marks on the belt lined up with the marks on the cam/crank gears. Make sure you can read the belt (the markings go on the top, you should be able to be standing at the front of the engine, looking at the engine and read what's on the belt). Make sure the tension is right and you're set.

thanks for the suggestions guys,took it apart and discovered that my tension was way to tight.i rechecked the markings on the belt with the pulleys and read the book again on how to check the belt tesion and than rechecked for a third time ,put it all back togather and it runs nice and smooth.took it out for a 30 min. drive and it still runs smooth,so i guess i got it right this time.
thanks again

I just replaced my timing belt last month at 105k. I used the Courtesy Autoparts kit. I could not believe how loose my old belt was. I undid the nut for the tensioner and tensioner swung all the way out not realy putting any tension on the belt. It must have been streched pretty good.

On instalation I lined up the marks, let the spring hold tension on the belt then locked the tensioner in place. Then I pushed down on the belt and checked to make sure there was roughly 1/2" deflection which there seemed to be. So I think I am ok there. The one place I did screw up was the tensioner stud. once I got the whole thing back together I turned around and realized it was sitting on the bench behind me. I also realized that I hand torqed it instead of using a torque wrench. Will I be ok on that or am I going to have to open her back up and redo the tensioner stud once it warms up around here?

As long as you put the spring washer on the top, with the beveled washer on the bottom. How tight did you get it? A good grunt or just a little 'eh' to keep it there? If it walks out, there will be trouble. But if you gave it a good grunt, then I'd bet you're OK.

Decent grunt, I wasn't aware there was a difference between the two washers. I got distracted reading the specs on how to set the timing belt in the factory service manual on my lap top, and neglected the stud.

Yep, there's a bottom washer that has a bevel cut into it that faces up against the tensioner. Then a wave washer that goes on top of that, then the nut.

Hmm,... I kept the two together as a pair, but don't remember if I saw a difference between the two or not. The wafer washer may have been pressed pretty flat. I guess the best course of action would be to wait until it warms up. (about 2,000 miles) And replace the stud and ensure the bevel/wafer washers are on correctly.

Wait, Bevel washer, is it convex in shape Like this --> ) <---
If so I think I remember it now, it went against the tensioner. Sorry, This was 30 days ago and I hadn't had my full cup of coffee yet this morning.

I'll have to remember that name, bevel washer. Bevel washers in my industy are wedge shaped and go on S-Beams to level against the web of the beam.

The 'wave' washer is supposed to go right under the nut, but really, it doesn't make much of a difference.

The 'bevel' washer is similar to the first pic you have there, with an edge that has the angle on it to fit up against the little curve on the tensioner.

But, you should be OK. In fact, if you don't want to replace the stud, you don't have to. At the dealership I used to work at, we never did unless the customer wanted it. Never, ever, had an issue. Courtesy sells them with the kit, but that's the first I've ever seen it, was when I installed a Courtesy kit on a friend's Frontier. After that, if it was there, I did it, if not, it was up to the customer.

I think you'll be OK. But if you're bored one day, I enjoy a good t-belt tear down. My fastest time was 1.75 hours, not including warm-up and bleeding (on my own Xterra, I was always fiddling with it).

And you're right, the terminology can be all messed up! I'm probably calling them the wrong thing, but it's just something I learned to call them.

Question. My 2001 has 68k on it but it's almost nine years old? I plan on doing the timing belt "soon", but since the regular maint. is 105k, I'm thinking I have some leeway... Anyone have an opinion on how critical it is for me to change the belt "sooner" than "later"... Rather not jump right into a big job in the middle of winter, or even put off till next year...

its 50/50.... althought they say it should be done at 105k, there is also the thought that after so many years even without the miles it might be time to replace. If you planning on doing it, then by all means, go ahead. sooner wont hurt anything, but the belt like tires, after so many years could show signs of age ie stretch or even cracks from drying out some. Mine at around 85k after 6 years didnt show any signs of dry rot, but did show that it was stretched.

So, could you wait til after the winter, yeah probably so. Should you wait til after winter? again, its up to you. It should be fine til then, I'm sure others will chime in with their info.

It still has rubber in it. Consider if you'd let a rubber alternator belt run for 9 years or not. If not, then change it sooner than later.

At 105k my tensioner could not tension the belt any longer when I released it. from here on out it is 60K on the nose for me. Too critical of a part to let slide.

Anyone have any opinion of the ebay kits? Looks like they are cheaper because they don't include the tensioner assy-belt part... How critical? Not trying to be cheap, but never one to replace a part if it's not needed.

Seriously, just buy the factory belt. Buy aftermarket what ever you want, just get the factory timing belt / tensioner.