Timing Chain and Water Pump

[rashad]

Mileage wise, when is a good time to change your timing chain and water pump?

[SHAWN]

There is no mileage .... T-chain will last the life of the engine as long as oil changes are done every 3-4K ..... Water pump usualy will last around 120K area , usualy will make noise or leak coolant if its going bad .... But mine has 190K on it so ..... not really any need to replace unless its bad !

[rashad]

What kind of noise will it make?

[superblackz]

Originally Posted by rashad

What kind of noise will it make?

Timing chain if "worn" may just make more gear noise, it would have to be pretty shot to cause problems, but +1^ with oil changes should outlast the car.

Water pump usually shaft bearings go, leaks coolant around the shaft. This phase lasts a very short period of time however usually before the things leaks profusely - think rotating metal on metal screech sound. Other bummer is if it's bad enough the belt can come off, but that would have to be pretty badly fried.

At 117k both of these show no problems in my '95, just also remember that the water pump lasts longer if you do coolant changes at the right intervals - I am reasonably sure the coolant supplies some of the lubrication for the pump, but could be confusing this with another engine.

You picked 2 of the least problematic areas for the Altima, unless abused by lack of maintenance, both of these items last a very long time.

Also don't be misled by the infamous timing chain tensioner noise, that is a useless piece of junk that makes a mechanical noise on the timing chain side of the motor, it's just a nuisance. Search and you will find numerous posts on getting rid of it for the most part.

HTH