After 5 weeks in Nissan dealership repair shop, I was told my timing chain needed replacement for $2400 after the unified meter and cam and crank sensors were replaced for $1230. Please advise.
Asked by notdrivingnow Dec 13, 2012 at 06:47 PM about the 2006 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SL
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Car sputtered and hesitated after red light stop. Drove slowly to dealer for maintenance. Was told the computer was broke, replaced the unified meter. After diagnostics, replaced the cam and crank sensors. 5 weeks later car still not working, then was told diagnostics is now showing that timing chain needs replacement, Bank2 timing is off, alpha is not right, and car is running like as if only firing on 3 cylinders. Vehicle has wrong spark plugs. Not sure what happened while at dealership.
6 Answers
The car is known to have the timing components go bad. If you get it fixed, use Mobil One extended Performance engine oil.
The biggest issue with the timing chain components is the timing chain tensioners. Usually if there is an issue with these you can hear it as its very noticeable. Timing chains DO NOT fail on their own on these engines as they are very robust units. Improper maintenance (low or old oil, lack of pressure) will cause the tensioners to fail, leading to other component failures. There is only 1 timing chain for the engine so if one bank of cylinders is off of timing the other one should be as well. I don't see how one bank can be off and the other one fine when they run off the same chain. Kind of makes me think someone or something messed with it. As far as plugs go Nissan uses very good plugs from the factory that have great performance and life so having the wrong ones is inexcusable. Just replace with OEM, there is no need to change.
if one cam skips but not the other it can be off without the other being off and there is a small chain on each bank making 3 in all. and the only time i've seen them fail is usually like u said lack of maintenance or other abuse. and a failing mass airflow meter or failing catalytic convertors could make car run badly without making light come on and makes alpha values fluctuate.
Timing chain very common on these engines, they wear, not stretch as most people think, appearing to be stretched due to infrequent oil changes and not using synthetic oil The main noise that goes away after a second or two comes from the primary chain tensioner being hyper extended to its limit, and it takes a second or two for oil pressure to pressurize the tensioner. The job is done by dropping the cradle assembly and lifting the body inn the air on a lift. Replacing the primary chain and hardware is cheaper than doing the secondary chains and hardware, but may prove problematic in the future I'd the job had to be done again, however i have as a lic tech never seen secondary chain issues on these motors, only primary.
i have a 2007 nissan maxima and it cut off while i was driving, im thinking it jump timing.. how can i tell if it jumped timing
Could a code on a single bank indicate a bad cam shaft positioning sensor?
