This past Sunday I got up early and changed my timing belt (with help).

I got my shipment from xterraparts.com earlier in the week and here are the parts that I used..
Timing Belt
Tensioner

I was going to get the full boat that Xterraparts has online but the bank was not going to allow too much more spending before they gave me a call. So I got the bare minimum. I had replaced my drive belts a few months ago so there was no need to do them again and everything else seemed to be in good working order.

Anyway.. We started about 10a.m. on Sunday and after a few trips to Autozone (for antifreeze and a puller for the harmonic balancer) and a trip to Lowes for a larger impact wrench (you need a 600ft/# wrench to get the bolt off of the crankshaft to remove the main pully) we were off and running.

A note about the belts condition.. The belt itself was in fair shape but the real issue was with the tensioner. It was not holding proper tension on the belt which could have caused the belt to fail due to increased stress.

Between lunch and the trips to the stores we were finished by 4 p.m. So overall the event took us about 5 hours start to finish.

Below are a few pictures of the adventure.

About to remove the radiator..


Radiator out and top cover of the belt is removed..


Here you can see the timing mark (11 o'clock)


Here is the old tensioner in place (but not holding much tension)


The old and the new


This could not have been done (or so I would like to think)without the shop manual. There is a lot of things that have to be removed to get to this belt and unless you have a decent amount of mechanical knowldge you SHOULD NOT try this at home.

NOTES:

The minimum parts that you should get for this job is the belt AND the tensioner.

If you have a lifted Xterra you will not have to jack the truck up to get to the bottom of the radiator.

If you have an ARB you will not have to remove the Fabritron skid plate to get to anything.. I do not know about the Calmini skid

I was able to get by with only removing the number one spark plug (the manual suggests removing all of them)

Also helpful pages:
http://nissan.sadik.net/howto/tbelt.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~vq_faq/Villager_Timing_Belt/

And, for those who never change timing belts:
http://203.79.125.146:10085/shared/technical/break_cambelt.htm

Good tools, patience, common sense, and FSM are highly recommended

One question, why did you replace these? Do you have a ton of miles racked up? Just curious.

Carlton is probably the only Xterra owner (at least on the boards) that has over 100k...

Brent

I am about to hit 106K It is suggested to change the belt at 105K..

One of RMXC's members traded in a 2000 Xterra last year with over 120k on it, and is now racking up miles on a 2002. He travels a lot

Thanks for your post Carlton. This is truly what makes XOC great. Getting tech tips and pictures like that are invaluable to someone who likes to "do-it-himself".

Anybody need any tips on installing new flooring, tile or vinyl, in a bathroom, give me a holler.

I have done two belt changes in my time, one on a 1993 Honda Accord, and another on a 1991 Camaro RS 305. Not a fun job on either car. My dad has gotten pretty good at it. He still says he prefers the old timing chains on his Toyotas. Apparently, when the timing chains would break, it wouldn't be as devastating.

Great info.

I have a question...I recently purchased my X (2002 XE) new off the dealer's lot (last week). He told me that the X has a timing chain and not a belt...He brought this up out of no where ...most likely as a selling point. Am I to understand that this is NOT the case and he was either lying or ignorant??

Matthew

The four cyl. engine has a chain.. the v-6 has a belt

A broken chain is just as bad as a broken belt, perhaps even worse. Either way, the pistons will strike the valves, and with the chain it might end up chewing up the camshaft or crankshaft drive gears that the chain runs on too.

Brent

Thanks

Does the radiator HAVE to come out on the V6? I see that Carlton has removed his, but I didn't have to on any of the other cars I worked on. Granted, I did have to loosen an engine mount on the honda (sideways 4 banger), but never the radiator. What a pain in the ass. I know that little Jetta I had was going to need it soon, and I did NOT want to take on that little turbo.

Yes.. You have to remove the radiator to get the harmonic balancer off. With the radiatior in place there is just not enough space to get a puller in there.

I am sure that there is someone that will find a way to do it but for me it just made things easier to pull the radiator.

It is possible to leave the radiator in place, but why? Pulling the radiator out is easy, and will take much less time than trying to work around it. Besides, a slipped wrench or puller can equal a damaged radiator. Not cheap.

Not to pick on you Carlton, But you don't need a impact wrench or puller to remove the harmonic balancer. When I was a tech we would install a breaker bar on the crankshaft bolt and block it up against the frame or some hefty part under the vehicle. Bump the starter and the rotation of the crankshaft would move the breaker bar and break the crankshaft bolt loose. You have to note the rotation of the crankshaft and be careful to not hit the radiator or yourself.
Once that was removed we would "walk" the harmonic balancer off the crankshaft with 2 pry bar and cafefully once again. The breaker bar and pry bars were wrapped in duct also. On a lift this could be done under 10 minutes.
Gator

I mentioned that trick on another board. I think Carlton said he had heard of it but preferred to do it with the proper tools.

Brent