# 1999 Altima Lower Timing Chain Tensioner



## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

Can the lower timing chain tensioner and arm be replaced by removing the upper and lower timining chain covers WITHOUT removing the cylinder head and oil pan ?


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

you need to remove valve cover, then upper timing chain cover then lower timing chain cover. you don't need to remove cylinder head. to remove lower timing chain cover you will need to remove lower oil pan and unscrew 2 10mm bolts which attach upper oil pan to lower timing chain cover. 
why do you want to replace it? maybe it's the broken chain guide. chain tensioners break very rarely. chain guides break all the time on this engine. you can remove lower oil panel and the pieces of whatever is broken will be on the oil pan.


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## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

I maybe using the wrong terminology. The chain tensioner is a hydraulic unit correct ?(It uses the oil pressure tto apply tension to the "Tensioner Arm". The tensioner arm contains a plastic guide that the chain rides on (hence "Chain Guide"). That is the component that is broken. It sounds like what you have described is exactly what I need to do. The upper chain guide looks great and the chain is nice and tight.
So far I have the valve cover off, front motor mount removed and the Alternator as well. 
Onle thing that bothers me is that the serpentine belt idler pulley can't be take off by just removing the center nut. Have you seen this ?

Thanks so much for your input I appreciate it. 

Rick


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

chain tensioneres make tension from springs that push them. one spring for each guide. I doubt oil pressures has anything to do with tension. but not 100% sure. if you face the timing chain side of the engine they are on the left side. one for upper chain, one for lower chain. guides are plastic and very flimsy. on later ka24de there are no timing chain guides. you don't need them. guides are on the right side of the engine. 

to remove idler gear you need 19mm wrench. and take off upper timing chain cover. you don't need to unscrew any gears to remove chain guides. just the covers. to remove lower guides you need 6mm hex wrench.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

sorry about misinformation. I just found out that you can only remove upper chain guides. don't touch the lower chain guides.


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## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

But the lower tensioner arm is basically gone, pieces of plastic gone


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

so I have the same problem and my engine is apart. what you said about oil pressure regulated tensioners is right. how many miles are on your engine? you can replace lower tensioner.. they do wear out. but then you might as well do the whole timing chain job, which is a 12-24 hours if you have never done it before. you can only remove the upper upper timing chain guide, which you see when you take off valve cover. and the upper front guide. don't touch lower guides.


this is from internet:

To get rid of the "marble-in-tin-can" noise coming from the front of your valve cover by removing the two guides for the upper chain. The guides are considered unnecessary by Nissan as seen in their TSB. DO NOT REMOVE THE GUIDE FOR LOWER CHAIN.The procedure is written for a 96 S14 but should be similar for all DOHC engines.

Introduction:
There are three possible reasons why your timing chain is making the rattling noise.
1. Oil pressure is low: The tensioners that keep the timing chain tight are operated by oil pressure so if your oil pressure is low then the tensioner will not be working properly hence your chain will flap around and hit the guides.
2. Tensioner is stuck: If you have alot of oil gunk on your tensioner then the tensioner will be stuck and not extend out all the way to keep the timing chain tight.
3. Tensioner is broken: If your tensioner is mechanically broken then you need to replace it.


this is "upper upper" guide:








this is upper front guide:


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## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

Mine is a 1999 and I have the covers off. It does not have an upper "guide". That was discontinued in 1997 I think. There is a lower guide and I do not plan on removing it. The parts schematic shows a "Tension Arm" on the lower chain. That is what I am replacing. I have 205,000 miles and the chains are in great shape. Oil changes done every 4k miles faithfully. Why go through all the trouble of removing the cams, head, Aluminum oil pan and re-timimg when all I need is the Tension Arm. The upper guide looks brand new.


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## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

Ok I Lied. I had to remove the aluminum oil pan. I also had to reconnect the front engine mount to take the lower engine mount bracket off. What a PIA this is. Now I have the lower timing cover disconnected but can't get it off. I ready to have this thing towed to the junk yard !. I suspect I have to lower the engine to remove the cover. Anyone else have this problem ? I have taken off the alternator, compressor, valve cover, front engine mount , lower support , power steering.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

soo... actually you HAVE to remove upper oil pan before u remove lower timing chain cover. lower timing cover is trapped between small part of cylinder head and upper oil pan... sorry I forgot about it... and make sure you unscrew all bolts.


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## searay_43 (May 21, 2007)

I jumped a few teeth while trying to set my #1 cyl at TDC. My question is this: If I remove the camshafts and then set my #1 cyl at TDC how do I align the camshaft sprockets? There are yellow marks on the chain and on the sprockets but I' not sure of the orientation. I may head over to the local library to look at a chiltons manual for proper timing chain/sprocket alignment. I have never done twin overhead cams so I am a bit nervous. My thought is this: Set #1 to TDC and that is my lower timimg chain setting. Next intall the upper chain with the alignment marks aligned with what ?


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

good thing I am step ahead of you. lol. I am also installing timing chain. so the main thing is to clean your timing chain and find 2 gold looking chain parts(pitches? don't know how in english). there is one notch or a dot on your crank shaft gear and the other notch on the outer idle gear. the gold pitches(I hope my use of this word is correct) must align with those notches. make sure your 1 cylinder in TDC. you can insert very long screwdriver or something long and use it as indicator of TDC. when in TDC your cams of first cylinder point outside the engine... to the sides. if they point inside you need to rotate crank 360degrees. for every cylinder TDC there are 2 possible valve combinations: exhaust or compression.


so upper chain installation. there are notches on gears as well. there should be gold looking pitches too. on my chain I could not find. but number of pitches between intake cam pitch and exhaust cam pitch is 6(excluding gold pitches). number of pitches between exhaust cam gear notch and smaller idler gear notch is also 6(excluding gold pitches). I will post pic from hayness manual. I also thought I am screwed because my gold pitches were not visible. but in hayness there is a pic where I got the pattern. you can go to autozone and ask to see new chain kit. put your chain side by side and mark the position of gold pitches.

good luck.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

so align your gold chains with dots on gears not the notches. notches are inside the gears. dots are on the surface and look about 1/4 inche in diameter. round...


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## 00tonytone (Jul 11, 2009)

My 97 altima Gxe was making a noise by the timing chains and then it stoped running, when i removed the VC and oil pan I realized the Plastic Guide/tensioner on lower chain broke into pieces. I wanted to know if the aluminum oil pan has to come off to remove the lower timing chain cover, it looks like where the oil pump screws is attached to the lower timing chain cover. I got the top of cover to seperate but the bottom by the main seal doesnt want to move. ( I took out those 2 10 Mm screws that u mentioned).
Also do u know the timing sequence on this car. Im just going to change the tensioner/guide $30 bucks compared to the whole timing kit $350+. The sprockets and chains look good. Plus im taking a chance that i didnt do any valve damage on this engine that does have valve interference, but all 4 cylinders have 0 compression which i think means the cylinders didnt go to TDC.
A little advice to all who have clicking/ noise inside the timing chain covers. Get it checked ASAP and do not drive car like that, IT will cost U more $$$$ if neglected


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## altima95 (Aug 7, 2010)

00tonytone said:


> My 97 altima Gxe was making a noise by the timing chains and then it stoped running, when i removed the VC and oil pan I realized the Plastic Guide/tensioner on lower chain broke into pieces. I wanted to know if the aluminum oil pan has to come off to remove the lower timing chain cover, it looks like where the oil pump screws is attached to the lower timing chain cover. I got the top of cover to seperate but the bottom by the main seal doesnt want to move. ( I took out those 2 10 Mm screws that u mentioned).
> Also do u know the timing sequence on this car. Im just going to change the tensioner/guide $30 bucks compared to the whole timing kit $350+. The sprockets and chains look good. Plus im taking a chance that i didnt do any valve damage on this engine that does have valve interference, but all 4 cylinders have 0 compression which i think means the cylinders didnt go to TDC.
> A little advice to all who have clicking/ noise inside the timing chain covers. Get it checked ASAP and do not drive car like that, IT will cost U more $$$$ if neglected


I have a '95 Altima and have run into the same problem. I have upper cam sprocket cover off, as well as the LOWER oil pan, but cannot remove the lower timing chain cover. Do you have any suggestions? Did you find that you must remove the upper oil pain? Or can you remove something from within the pan, such as unbolting the oil pump? 

Thanks for any suggestions! I'm trapped right now!


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## cyron (Oct 26, 2008)

Does the check engine light come on when the chain slips?
My engine wasn't rattling, but went to start it the other day. It almost started and just started turning over. It feels like it's not getting spark, but it's pretty strong. It's getting fuel & I checked the fuses, but no go. Any ideas?


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