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Timming Belt on 2002 XTerra is Car Worth the Money

3K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  screenburn 
#1 ·
Ok i am looking to pickup my first Nissan Xterra and the dealer cann't tell me if the timming belt has been changed. I looked over the engine and i cann't see signs the work was completed. They want $6,700 for a 2002 SE 2wd W/3.3L and 115K it has been 1 owner for its life time. I have looked over it really well interior is in great shape everything works engine bay shows no sign of oil leakage from engine or Transmission. Am i walking into a trap? I also do all of my own car work and am a little hesitant about a timming belt and spending that much money on a used truck. Please help before i make a mistake i will regret. This car will be my daily driver also.:reading:
 
#2 ·
Offer them $5700 to offset the cost of getting the timing belt replaced, since they are not sure if it has been, I would assume it hasn't. Then if you want to do it yourself you can buy the entire kit (t-belt, water pump, thermostat, drive belts, gaskets etc) from courtesyparts.com for $300-350 and follow the DIY on here to do it yourself. There is also a link to the Factory Service Manual on here as well. Before I did mine, my only mechanical experience was oil changes and brakes. So if you are experienced at all you can do it. Other than taking it all apart there's no real easy way to see if its been done, unless there is a sticker somewhere in the engine bay that says so.


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#3 ·
Ok they came down another $400 off the price. So the grand total is $6300 they were able to get with the owner and they said it has never been done. I need to drive it for 3 days before i can park it. Should I be worried about it breaking before then? I have next week off of work to do the work, before i make a trip to florida. How long should it take to do this? I have read on here anywhere between 4-6 hours. Also since it does not leak oil should i replace the crank and cam seals? How much more difficult is it to do this part?
 
#4 ·
There's really no way to say yes or no whether you will be fine for 3 days, but mine had 129k miles on it when I did mine, so I would think yes. As far as time, it took me a weekend by myself, and I spent most of that time staring at it trying to figure out what was what lol.


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#5 ·
And it's up to you on the seals, by it sure would suck to have to tear it all back apart to do them later


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#6 · (Edited)
That is WAY overpriced.

kbb.com

nada.com

11 year old truck, ~15mpg, 2wd, 115k miles, major service interval past due, I woldnt touch it for more than 4500.


For 6 grand I'll sell you my 02 S/C 4wd truck ~117k miles with the timing belt, water pump, acc belts and fuel filter done 10k miles ago. And I'll pay a pro to get the soft brake pedal issue sorted out this weekend.
 
#7 ·
Honestly Mac11 is right. If it had a S/C or had 4x4 then it would have been a good price but lacking both it is only worth like 5.5 with no dealer fees. I say they come down more or look elsewhere. What area do you live in? That determines price alot. To get a 2WD X with 120K here it only would cost you 4.5G's but to get a S/C 4x4 X with 120K it will cost you 10K easy.
 
#8 ·
I'm serious about my truck. 6500 ill deliver it to your nearest major airport and fly myself home.

265/70/17 nitto terra grapplers @ ~95k miles.
 
#9 ·
man mac wish i coulda found your x for sale when i was loking:laugh-big:
but now mines in as good or better shape then yours, mines @155k miles (2000 3.3l se 2x4) o well i enjoy maintaining my truck on things like oil changes and waxing and washing, and fluid changes, and small things like that but dont so m enjoy starter alternator or belt replacement or doing thermostat or troubleshooting electrical issues but when i need to i do all of those unless its a pressing issue and since im in college full time and work full time i many times cant do the work myself luck i work at autozone and a mobile mechanic comes by alot and i have him fix stuff for me that i cannot or do not have time for. like my rear main seal leak regular mechanics shop $700 plus parts him $175 plus parts and he did my oil pan seal for$50 and heater hoses for free all these i had no time to do and could have don heater hose and oil pan seal myself bu had no time to do it myself (he did it in the parking lot at my store) only thing i dont like on my x is the fact it has several paint issues such as a fade spot on top of rear hatch and a few rock chips and a fade spot on roof and big scratch on the rear passenger side door but i wash it weekly or more and wax it every 3-6 months and use interior protector on inside and threw seat covers on it and use the windshield sun blocker when parked no one beleives my x is 13 years old and just happens to share my bday on carfax it said manufactured 10/23/99 which 10.23 is my bday so my x is exactly 10 years younger than me

SORRY I HIJACKED AND WENT ON A RAVE ABOUT MY X EVERYONE CANT HELP IT
 
#10 · (Edited)
Well i bought it, overpriced as everyone says it is i could not find one in my area in better shape. I plan on buying all the parts to do the belt, water pump, seals, Plugs, and Wires this weekend. It runs good has brand new tires on it and was a 1 owner well kept vehicle. I cann't complain it has everything on it but 4wd, which i did not want anyways. I live in ENC now but will be moving to the orlando area in a month to start a new job. Wish me luck on getting the belts done this weekend. I will post some pics as i go. Also noticed when sitting a idle at a traffic light it seems to have a slight rythmic rumble when in drive. If i put it in neutral or park it goes away. I assume this is normal as the tranny does not slip when driving, just different then my lexus i sold to get this truck. I plan on doing the trans fluid and rear diff as well.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Well i bought it, overpriced as everyone says it is i could not find one in my area in better shape. I plan on buying all the parts to do the belt, water pump, seals, Plugs, and Wires this weekend. It runs good has brand new tires on it and was a 1 owner well kept vehicle. I cann't complain it has everything on it but 4wd, which i did not want anyways. I live in ENC now but will be moving to the orlando area in a month to start a new job. Wish me luck on getting the belts done this weekend. I will post some pics as i go. Also noticed when sitting a idle at a traffic light it seems to have a slight rythmic rumble when in drive. If i put it in neutral or park it goes away. I assume this is normal as the tranny does not slip when driving, just different then my lexus i sold to get this truck. I plan on doing the trans fluid and rear diff as well.
congrats on the vehicle if you're happy with it thats all that matters. markets are different in different parts of the country.

sidebar question, and just a question. If you don't want/need 4wd, what is your interest in an xterra as a daily driver?
 
#13 ·
I bought it because i do have a small trailer and some Jetski's and i needed somthing to tow them with and also for my kids to ride in. Plus it looks cool as hell, if i plan on doing wheeling later down the road i will pick up another one in 4wd. It was down to either this or a GMC Envoy and the Xterra won. It also is a simple vehicle which i like, this means less to go wrong and easier to fix. I love doing my own work on vehicles, and plan on doing a bunch to this thing starting tomorrow. Thanks for the posts
 
#14 ·
Ok i did the timing belt, water pump, crank shaft seal and trimming belt pulley. I also did new plugs, wires, and distributor and rotor. This was my first timing belt change and the tear down was not that hard took about 2 hrs to get it torn down. Having a air impact for the crank pulley is a must. Started out with a breaker bar but it would not budge. Used a neighbors impact and it came off quickly. The hardest part was getting the new belt on, had to align it per the instructions and tap it in place with a dead low plastic hammer. The whole job took me 2 days and 10 hours with help. I had a serious idle issue before belt was changed new belt fixed it completely. Runs like a new truck. With out the information from this site I could not have done it this easily. If anyone has questions about getting this done please PM me. I am not an expert, but found it not as bad as I thought.
 
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