100 000Km Service | Leaking Water Pump | Timing Belt

Hi all,

Well, it seems it is now my turn to undergo the 100k service due to a leaking water pump.

I already have the full service kit ready to go and I've started as of yesterday. Managed to get the crank pulley off and now starting to strip the rest of the covers from the timing belt and see what the tensioner is up to.

The hardest part so far was undoing the crank bolt. I first sprayed WD40 (the only penetrating spray I had at the time) onto the bolt and gave it a few strong reefs with a large bar and nothing... Let it sit some more and tried later at a different angle and it came loose after two tries - nifty. Purchased a pulley puler and off it came with no issues at all, now that was a surprise!

And how's that steering pump belt to get off, bit of a mongrel.

Has anyone had issues with the crank sprocket for the timing belt as this is the only part I do not have to replace? Do they experience a lot of wear, is it extremely important to replace?

I was also going to purchase a cam sprocket locking tool, but as no one here has one in stock I'm going to go without it and hope the cam sprockets do not turn around... (I noticed that Snapon tools has one for around the $50-$60 dollars cat #ML6000)

Cheers.

 

I don't believe you have to change the crank sprocket -

after 160,000 km my sprocket looked fine for the job. But you still have to remove the sprocket to change the oil seal which will be rock hard as will be the cam shaft seals. I bought a long shaft 10mm socket and this will pass through one of the holes in the inlet cam gear and engage one of the 10mm screws that holds the backing plates on so that the cam gear can't rotate. If I had my time over again I would do the cam seals at the same time as I did the plenum "pull" as when you take off the cam covers the inlet cams have a hex. cast onto them onto which you can put a spanner to stop them rotating. Be sure to read the manual and the excellent articles in the Tech section before you remove the belt. Make sure you rotate the engine to no 1 TDC and make sure the dots on the cam gears line up with the marks on the backing plates. Take your time. Good luck. Cheerz.

 

Chrispy's Tips!

1. Use the old timing belt to move the cams around, they WILL jump when you remove the belt. Wrap the belt around the cam in question and slip it around to where you want it.

2. If you want to change the crank sprocket get a 4" with a cutting disc and cut through the valley of the sprocket just above where the key is. Wack a cold chisel in there and give it a bash with a persuader, should crack the rest of the way through and then slip off. Careful not to cut into the oil pump housing or the crank. You need to get it off to change the crank oil seal. Don't loose the key either...

3. When putting the new belt on get some whiteout and mark the inside of the belt where the mark is for the crank sprocket, makes it easier to line it up as you can't see the mark on the outside of the belt as it's hidden by the bottom of the oil pump housing.

4. Once the new belt is ready to go on make sure that the tensioner bolts are loose and have some slack in them. Put the belt on the crank, then the passenger side exhaust cam and work your way round. An extra pair of hands helps here. Wack the crank pulley bolt back in and do it up till it bites. Get the belt around the staionary lower idler pulley and then put a socket on the crank bolt so you can move the crank to put tension one one side of the belt so you can slip it round the tensioner pulley. Once it's on nip up the bolts, undo the "Chewy" bolt and turn the crank over twice to make sure she is sweet.

5. Once your up to this stage put the CAS and intake pipes back on and give it a kick in the guts to make sure she runs well. It's a real pain getting it all back together then having to strip it all down because you where one tooth off. Don't run it for long, couple of minutes max.

Any hassles let me know, if you want a chat it's 0400 023 604

 

Good practise but not the end of the world if you let it off when it's at another point. Just rotate the crank VERY slowly, any resistance turn the cams over using the belt method, keep going until the little dot on the crank sprocket lines up with the notch in the oil pump, that is No.1 TDC.

Another thing the marks on the rear cam covers are indicative only! Only use the marks on the timing belt to line it up. Count the teeth to be double sure. Also make sure the blet is facing forwards! Big arrow towards you

 

You should point out that this is only necessary if the

sprocket is seized - mine slid off no trouble at all (thank goodness!!).

 

The last four I did where seized...

 

99 out of 100 are seized

You can also drill the spocket in lieu of using an angle grinder. When removing crank seal take care not to scratch the housing. Goods tips Chris.

 

Chrispy Help Guide 101

Hi Chrispy,

Thanks for the advise mate!

UPDATE:
I measured the tensioner rod distance and found it was 3.22mm - ahh someone has been here before...

I note, the water pump has definately been replaced before (orange sealant around pump sealing face) and the timing belt is not an original - has Dayco branded timing belt fitted. Perhaps this is a good thing... It actually looks in very good condition, but I"ve read this is no guide to how much life it has left. The blue Gates kevlar racing timing belt I have here doesn't appear to have any 'arrows' on it, just the locating marks. I'll take it out of the packaging and take a better look.

I've loosened off all cam pulleys (both sets of intake and exhaust), removed the drivers side inlet cam sprocket and the seals look in great condition - no leaks, which is a good start. I also noted that the cam sprockets haven't moved violently just yet, I'm being very careful around them. Now, off to replace the seals and remove that pesky crank sprocket

I purchased a nice plastic drift for re-seating of the cam and crank seals, as per one of the tech articles I had downloaded some time ago. A simple 32mm PVC joiner is a real nice fit and an end cap for persuasion

Another update soon fellow club members...

 

I find it better to move the cam pulleys so they don't move at an innapropiate time and hurt me Like mine did the first time

 

Cam Movement?

Hi Chrispy,

What side cams move: I've read it's the drivers side and the other side is already seated/rested and will not move? Or will both move if pulled about roughly?

So far it would appear the drivers side is stable and the passenger side is actually more prone to movement.

UPDATE:

I've fitted cam seals to drivers side and now onto the passenger side. I didn't get to have a go at the crank sprocket - let it soak in for tonight and look at it tomorrow.

Oh, yeah I also prefer the Nissan factory manual method of seal removal as they pop right out with the right movement - easy. Stuffed around the first time with the other method of pushing down on the seal and trying to lever it out and that just brought about marks on the outside of the sealing surface and I wasn't going to risk it.

Thanks for eveyones help so far - very good!

Cheers.

 

I normally find the drivers side cams the ones that want to jump, the passenger side will move if you turn them more than 45deg or so.

 

In future for the record, bin the WD40 and go with INOX. I've had to bust off some impossibly hard shit before (i.e a big mofo EGR nut) and WD40 just wouldn't make it budge. But after 30 min soaking in INOX I managed to crack it no probs, the shit is magic.

 

Is INOX the one that is full of Lanolin? That sheep juice?

Does work well though...

 

Haha, sheep juice? lol Not sure about that, website is here though...

http://www.inox-mx3.com/product_detail.php?productID=10

I dont work for these guys but dang it does a good job, it got me outta a few tricky spots. Yknow shit like "MAN this is NEVER coming off!" type situations! lol

 

Inox

Hi 300zxt,

Yep, that's all I had at the time WD40. But when I'm at the shops next I'll pick up a can of Inox for the tool cabinet. Was at Repco today - should have got it there...

Some items I did get was a small rectangular inspection mirror, now that is priceless as I used it constantly today, i.e. to see if the spring was still seated correctly inside the seal when I seated it initially onto the exhaust side cam end and to see if I had scratched the sealing surface - all good, phew!

Hmm interesting drives side - O.K. I'll be very careful, thanks.

Finished off by de-greasing the timing belt covers and engine block, plenty grimy. I feel I will be doing the cam covers later. Oh well, just anther excuse to pull the Zed apart 'agian'.

Wish me luck, tomorrow is crank sprocket day...

 

The cheapest $2 per can degreaser from supercheap does the trick!

You're doing good man, I've rescued a couple of Z's from what seemed like certain death if they were left in the previous owners hands. It seems like the shit never ends but trust me it does! lol You'll be proud when shes all clean and roaring to life. Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference. The engine bay in my 89T is dusty as shit, but if you look past all that it's actually mint.

Good Zeddin to you!

 

Crank Sprocket Stuck Fast...

Hi guys,

YEP, as you said - the crank sprocket is stuck fast indeed. No amount of Inox or persuasion is going to move it by the looks. I will now try the drill method: along the keyway and then bust the rust seal by a chisel. Back to the tool shop and purchase a 90Deg drill adapter and start drilling. I would imagine the sprocket is easily drilled through, as the teeth seems really soft (as I've damaged some already) I will have to wait till new parts arrive: sprocket and rear washer). By the way, who has seen a pry bar with such a slim end that can get into the small gap between the oil pump and the sprocket any way??

Speaking of new parts, has anyone replaced the two short male water hose protrusions from the block, just below the alloy water hard pipes that branch over to the left hand side of the engine to the radiator and so on. As the ones on my engine are fairly corroded and I do not want a leak, too much to take off to get to again.

UPDATE:
All inlet and exhaust seals are in place and I've cleaned up the alloy mating surfaces ready for the hard water pipes and the water pump.

I accidentally moved the crank out of sequence of the cams so will have to be very carful when I put the belt on and ensure it is all 100%...

 

Common scenario

Replace them with good 2nd hand ones (off forum) or new. For those to have corroded so severely, a plenum pull is advisable (in near future, if not aleady done) as other steel coolant pipes may be similarly affected.

 

Plenum Pull - Hard Pipe Replacement

Hi K-zed,

Yes, I have completed the plenum pull around a year ago and I did find similar hard pipes corroded in much the same way - especially the two large hard pipes at the rear of the engine. Good thing with them is I was able to use a small wire brush/wheel on a drill and they come up good not too much metal eaten away. One of the smaller ones in the similar location was the actual culprit for the plenum pull.

I may be incorrect but the spring clips that hold the rubber hoses onto the hard pipes loose their tension over time (or the rubber hose hardens) and allow a small amount of water between the hose and hard pipe - leading to corrosion in that area. So far I have replaced most of the black spring hose clips as I was not happy with them. I'll replace the small hard pipe hose ends with new ones. I found the part #: 14053M, and order them tomorrow. Hope they don't cost too much?

I have two new silicone hose replacements to go over the new hose ends, I will also use hose clamps as I did before with the plenum pull and no leaks. I haven't looked it up but I believe the tension on the hose clamp for silicone is similar, about 50ft/pd?

Thanks for your help.

 

Crank Sprocket - Finally OFF!!

Hi all,

Finally, the Fu*#*** sprocket is off the crank shaft!

Man, this was the hardest part of the whole project so far. I attempted the drill along the key way method first and has some success - I was able to move the sprocket slightly away from the oil pump housing after many hours of frustration using persuasion and forcing e.t.c. Then, after stuffing around I got serious Dragged out the angle grinder from the shed and cut about a 1/3 along the key way, forced a chisel between the gap and a resounding "chink" - I had split the metal (what remained) along the rest of the key way and it easily slid straight off and I had a big smile. I still do as I enjoy my nice glass of red wine to celebrate this stage.

Tomorrow:

• Install new crank sprocket (after cleaning the corrosion off)
• Install timing belt
• Ensure correct teeth between (as I have slightly moved the crank)

See how we go after that lot, should keep me busy for the day...