Hey guys, I just picked up an 05 PF SE. I traded in my Acura Sedan that (luckily) i drove for about 200k miles and never replaced the timing belt. Other than that I did very good on the preventative maintence.

My question is; I will be racking up the miles on the PF, i travel for business and do about 30k miles a year. I know we have a timing chain on our motors, my questions is; what kind of preventative maintence do i need to do for the chain, and also, if the worst happends and it breaks while in motion, is it the same catastrophic result as it would have been on my Acura (bent valves and about a $2000 trip to the dealership)?

Also, with my PF having 43k in it currently, what sort of other PM routines should I get into? Oil changes at 3-6k (again, highway mostly) and transimssion fluid changes at around 30k variables. What else? anything to do w/ the 4 wheel drive?

Thanks guys, I'm new here but I'm very fond of forums, I hope to be a valuable member in the future.

Andy C - Denver,CO

You had to bring up timing chains...

There are other threads on this, you might want to do a search. Nissan has a bulletin out that applies to many of their engines, including the '05 VQ 4.0, NTB07-042, regarding secondary timing chain buzzing/whining due to degradation of the tensioner. The TSB calls for both secondary timing chains to be replaced. Haven't heard of any catastrophic failures on this motor, it would all depend on the top dead center piston to valve clearance - hopefully it's a positive number.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, as I'm almost out of warranty), I have 51k and no indication of the buzzing, whereas several others have seen it after only 40k. The best preventative maintenance is probably to use a good quality synthetic oil and change it more frequently than the manual recommends. Some have speculated that the timing chain wear is due to Nissan's recommendation for a 7,500 mile oil change interval on conventional oil. To be safe, I'm set on a 6,000 mile OCI with Mobil 1 synthetic.

As far as other stuff goes, I would drain and refill your rear differential fluid immediately. After 30k mine was nasty and full of metal shavings. I'd imagine this could go for the front transfer case as well, but mine is only RWD.

Thanks for the reply. I'll search, too and see what i can find.

LittleStevie wrote:Some have speculated that the timing chain wear is due to Nissan's recommendation for a 7,500 mile oil change interval on conventional oil. To be safe, I'm set on a 6,000 mile OCI with Mobil 1 synthetic.

That speculation is wrong, I have to say. I had my chain and tensioner replaced with just over 30,000km (18,641miles) on it.

Also changed the motor oil every 3 months (3000km roughly) with Nissan dino oil and filter. I get it changed every 3 months because I bought an oil change package, 4 a year free for as long as I own the SUV.

I asked the service manager why it makes the noise, and he replied they are set a little too loose.

FYI, did you know the Nissan GT-R engine is built only by 8 engineers by hand?

Npath wrote: That speculation is wrong, I have to say. I had my chain and tensioner replaced with just over 30,000km (18,641miles) on it.

Also changed the motor oil every 3 months (3000km roughly) with Nissan dino oil and filter. I get it changed every 3 months because I bought an oil change package, 4 a year free for as long as I own the SUV.

I asked the service manager why it makes the noise, and he replied they are set a little too loose.

FYI, did you know the Nissan GT-R engine is built only by 8 engineers by hand?

Sorry, I'm not seeing how having the chains/tensioners replaced at 18k invalidates the speculation, especially since you're using dino oil. Better lubrication (from synthetic and/or frequent changes) may help to mitigate the wear mechanism that is causing the chains/tensioners to loosen. Maybe Nissan should have specified synthetic oil in this motor.

I wouldn't trust the service managers' opinions on anything technical, they can be as misinformed as any idiot on the street (but worse, as they'll try to BS you into thinking they're knowledgable). If the tensioners were set too loose from the factory, they would have the problem from day one. There is definitely a wear out mechanism involved, and it would be nice to get a sense of whether synthetic oil and frequent changes help delay the problem.

Didn't know that about the GT-R engine, but how does it apply to this discussion?

LittleStevie wrote:...
To be safe, I'm set on a 6,000 mile OCI with Mobil 1 synthetic.

I hope that works for you. I have used Mobil 1 and changed it every 5,000 miles since I bought mine with 16,000 miles on the odometer.
At almost 85K, mine probably needs the timing chain tsb bulletin done to it. Fortunately I have a 100K warranty.

LittleStevie wrote: Better lubrication (from synthetic and/or frequent changes) may help to mitigate the wear mechanism that is causing the chains/tensioners to loosen....
...There is definitely a wear out mechanism involved, and it would be nice to get a sense of whether synthetic oil and frequent changes help delay the problem.

Maybe mine has been delayed due to synthetic. Seems like I hear of the tsb being performed with much fewer miles than mine has.

I found this thread informative. It may be in the Maxima forum, but this problem appears to be the same with the VQ35 as well as the VQ40.

http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generation ... noise.html

I don't know what Nissan did, but the old VQ30s like my Maxima has never had this problem. Its something I plan on listening very closely for just before the warranty expires on the PF.

is this problem fixed in 2006+ modely years?

LittleStevie wrote: Sorry, I'm not seeing how having the chains/tensioners replaced at 18k invalidates the speculation, especially since you're using dino oil. Better lubrication (from synthetic and/or frequent changes) may help to mitigate the wear mechanism that is causing the chains/tensioners to loosen. Maybe Nissan should have specified synthetic oil in this motor.

I wouldn't trust the service managers' opinions on anything technical, they can be as misinformed as any idiot on the street (but worse, as they'll try to BS you into thinking they're knowledgable). If the tensioners were set too loose from the factory, they would have the problem from day one. There is definitely a wear out mechanism involved, and it would be nice to get a sense of whether synthetic oil and frequent changes help delay the problem.

Didn't know that about the GT-R engine, but how does it apply to this discussion?

I'm changing oil every 3000km roughly and they suggest every 6000km. So, seeing that I'm going only to half the life expectancy of the oil, then the oil should still be doing it's job rather than it breaking down further. That's the way I see it.

GT-R engine came to mind when I thought about engine work. )

Npath wrote: I'm changing oil every 3000km roughly and they suggest every 6000km. So, seeing that I'm going only to half the life expectancy of the oil, then the oil should still be doing it's job rather than it breaking down further. That's the way I see it.

True, it's something to consider, but 1) You're still using dino oil, and synthetic may offer better wear resistance, and 2) There are other factors involved (i.e. maybe you're a leadfoot! or lots of city driving, cold weather, dusty air, etc.), and one case isn't enough of a sample to prove/disprove a theory. We'd definitely need many more responses before a conclusion could be drawn.

BMXPath wrote:

LittleStevie wrote:...
To be safe, I'm set on a 6,000 mile OCI with Mobil 1 synthetic.

I hope that works for you. I have used Mobil 1 and changed it every 5,000 miles since I bought mine with 16,000 miles on the odometer.
At almost 85K, mine probably needs the timing chain tsb bulletin done to it. Fortunately I have a 100K warranty.

Sounds like it could be a little while before mine goes...I don't like my chances of it starting in the next 9000 miles, unfortunately. I'll probably still raise hell at 59k that Nissan should cover a design flaw under warranty, whether or not it's making noise or not.

LittleStevie wrote:True, it's something to consider, but 1) You're still using dino oil, and synthetic may offer better wear resistance, and 2) There are other factors involved (i.e. maybe you're a leadfoot! or lots of city driving, cold weather, dusty air, etc.), and one case isn't enough of a sample to prove/disprove a theory. We'd definitely need many more responses before a conclusion could be drawn.

I'm not really a leadfoot, but do lots of city driving. The environment is usually pretty damp half the year. It rains most of the fall and winter so, no, it rarely gets dusty in Vancouver.

With this certain topic and all the engines that may succumb to this problem, the dealer I went to said they've only come across 3..., mine may be 4, in the past 4 years.

Do any of you guys know when they rectified the problem with the timing chain?? Ive got a 08 which has been with me for bout a year,not heard of nything yet from the engine and hopefully i wont, but just wondering if mine also still falls into the same boat..

I'm pretty sure the issue was resolved beginning with the '08 model year. You should be ok.