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Old 01-17-2018, 10:25 AM
geo6x geo6x is offline
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2007 Xterra
2007 Xterra
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 14
Default Success!

Finished the timing chains and all is well, finally found some time to post some observations/tips from my perspective. Toughest part of this job was the disassembly....alternator and power steering pump are a challenge...but good news: they tend to go back in a lot easier than they came out! A/C compressor was easy....just 3 bolts and an electrical connector and secure it and move to the side. As others have suggested, print out the pertinent pages from the "engine mechanical" service manual and pay attention to the order of your work. Good diagrams and illustrations in there to help you. A few observations (in no particular order):

- Not sure if removing passenger front wheel and fender liner is a must, but I was glad I did. Makes removing alternator and PS pump much easier in my opinion.

- The ring gear stopper tool (J-48761) is a must and it works great. It's designed with enough play so you can work it in position and ensure it fully engages the ring gear teeth. Loosening the crank bolt is a bear....i used my biggest 1/2 in breaker bar and still needed a 3 foot pipe for leverage.

- I didn't buy the tensioner shoe installer tool. I used a pistol grip clamp I have with plastic feet. I'm sure a big pair of vise grips with the jaws protected will work as well. (Note: the shoes have a little detent to secure them to the tensioner piston....they actually snap into place when properly installed. Make sure you align the shoe and the piston.)

- I made tensioner retainer pins from steel wire about the diameter of a large paper clip. I found that filing the end of the pin to a point made insertion much easier when compressing the tensioners with one hand while inserting the pins with the other.

- I chose not to remove the intake manifold/valve covers. I did enough studying on getting #1 cylinder to TDC and the new chains have the copper colored links to guide you. I used paint to mark everything before disassembly and took pics to be sure. The cams on my right bank jumped as I must have jarred them during sprocket removal. Others mentioned to rotate only in a clockwise direction or fear messing with the VVT so I heeded this input. (CAUTION: Re-positioning the cams with the #1 piston at TDC can ruin your day as you will likely strike the pistons with the valves. I took bender-offender's advice: remove the ring stopper tool, rotate the crank ~30 degr clockwise to ensure no piston is at TDC, THEN reposition the cams. Rotate crank back to #1 TDC and secure with ring stopper tool. All is well....no bent valves!)

- I'm at 104K mi so would have been crazy to not change the water pump when it's sitting there staring at me. Bought a quality replacement and changed it. Note that two of the ears on the pump are threaded for M8 bolts to help you unseat the pump from the rear case. This worked like a charm, just thread the two bolts in evenly and it eases right out. (I used the two bolts that hold the center water pipe to the front of the timing cover case.) CAUTION!: When the pump breaks loose, about a cup of antifreeze is going to puke out from the engine block....be ready for it. Make darn sure you have rags in the oil pan to protect it from antifreeze or other FOD damage. I had a big towel ready for the sudden rush of coolant.

- Take your time splitting the timing case apart. The factory sealant is stubborn but it will eventually come loose at the top using the built in pry points. Work from as many points as possible...don't try to pry it loose from a single location. Breaking the casting can also ruin your day. I did it carefully without removing the two cam access covers on the front case (even though I bought the special o-rings needed 15066-5E510). Just pull off the case as straight forward as possible.

- There was black gunk inside my throttle body (this is common) so i cleaned it out when it was on the bench. Be careful if you choose to do this. I moved the butterfly gently a couple times to get all the gunk. So far, the only anomaly I had after restart was a check engine light with code P0507 idle RPM out of spec. I may have caused this when I cleaned the TB and moved the butterfly plate. No problem, there's a procedure called "Idle air volume learning procedure" in the engine control (EC) manual....followed this and it brought the idle RPM back down to spec and cleared the code.

- As others have mentioned, take your time cleaning the old RTV off the outer and inner covers. I used a bamboo skewer with a point to clean out the grooves. This takes a bunch of time to get it all off.....I was a bit anal in getting it clean, but time well spent in my opinion.

A tough, time-consuming job but very satisfying when the truck started immediately and the whine is gone!
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