# 94 altima broken timing chain



## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

My 94 Atlima has 260,000 miles. I read about the upper timing chain guides making noise so I never really worried about it. Anyone in a similar situation might consider at least removing the guides and if it has enough miles on it maybe even replace the upper chain. I wish I had.  A couple of days ago it died with no warning and no real noise. It would spin quickly but didn't fire at all. I took the valve cover off today and the top chain was broken. The top guide was broken in two pieces. I don't know if the loose piece jammed the chain and caused the failure but I suspect so. I read in here that some people thought it is a "non interference" engine, meaning the valves wouldn't hit the pistons if the chain broke. All I can say is all of my intake valves are open meaning they do not spring back up to to follow the cam lobes. Considering I have had two good years out of an $800 car, I am not sure I want to go spending much on it. I would love suggestions.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

260k. I saw many altimas with 300k and stil running.
depends you you. depends if you like working on cars.

if I were you I would replace the engine. because milage is kind of high.
if you do engine rebuild then you will definetely need to cut valves and
it's a lot of work.

how much for engine replacement? don't know.
if you can do it yourself it will be about 70% cheaper than the cheapest
mechanic's charge.

or you can be like " agh fuck it, I am gonna buy a new car. don't feel like
fucking with this old shit"


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

check ebay and different salvage yards for the newest 1st or 2nd gen altima engine you can. youll spend between 150-1500 depending on how good you search. going this route you get a newer, fresher engine that can hopefully last you a long, long time.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

Hey AsleepAltima, I read in another thread you have a 2001 engine and a 2000 trans in your 94. The place I found that I plan to buy an engine lists them in three groups. 93-97, 98-99, and 2000-2001. The prices are all very similar. Delivered to my door for less than $1000 with a 180 day warranty. The engines for 93-97 range in mileage from 127k to 198k but the 2000-2001’s range from 59k to 98k with most under 80k. My question is about the minor changes you mentioned. I will probably replace any accessories that happen to be on the new engine with mine anyway but I wanted to make sure it will still bolt to my 94 manual trans. Do I need to change anything about the clutch or flywheel or starter? Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

clutch and flywheel will come from your older engine as will the intake manifold and all sensors. you have to change a couple of minor things like the distributor and thermostat housing assembly, the alternator bracket and compressor bracket too. its an easy swap with noticeable differences once youre all done.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

That is great news. You rock! 
Now I just need to arrange the shipment of the engine and buy a cherry picker and so forth.
I'll let you know how it all turns out but it will likely be a couple of weeks.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

don't buy 2000-2001 engine.
they have issues.
1) air intake gasket blows up all the time because engine and 
air intake manifold are of different materials and expand differently 
when hot.
2) I don't think it will be a perfect fit for your transmission. I heard
those engines don't match older trannys exactly.


AND distributor is not a minor thing. 99% of people who replace distributor
which is the most poorly designed part by nissan, whould say spend 400$ and
buy it from dealer. if you buy it in autozone it will break within 2weeks and three months.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

i BEG to differ. i can tell you right now that youre not as experienced as you think you are. ive had some of my best experiences with my car with the setup i have now and the one before it. my 1st engine swap was with a 2000 engine AND my 94 transmission. the transmission blew from repeated nitrous induced launches and the engine itself NEVER had an intake problem. the 2000 engine that i had blew because i hydro-locked it in a bad rain storm. i now have a 2001 engine with a 2000 trans and i love the combo. still have yet to have an intake problem although it seems to be a problem with NON SWAPPED altimas. i have a good friend, who happens to be on this site (ULTIMATUC), that has a high hp ka and guess what? no intake issues there either. 
the distributor thing... how many have you had from the dealer and how many have you had from auto zone? i have an auto zone distributor on my car right now and how many problems do you think ive had with it? thats right - none. if youre going to help someone out, speak from experience, not from he said she said internet stuff. youre very helpful and i think ive even given you feedback because of it, but dont ruin it with posts like this. 
the reason i told him the distributor is minor is because he will be RE-using his original - not an auto zone OR dealer distributor. the swap is very easy to do and the only major part of the swap will be the intake manifold, which, if done correctly and a new gasket used, i can almost guarantee he will have no problems. i dont have any.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

Yeah Asleep that was my understanding. I found a 2000 with 77k miles on it just across town for $650. I was already planning to use most of my bolt ons and accessories anyway and it will be simple enough to see the ones with different connections etc. I have my "new" distributor from Advance Auto and it has worked great. I had to have the salesman look up what "Limited Lifetime Warranty" means though. Apparently they have had enough returns to limit you to one free replacement. $160 instead of $400 sounds great to me and if it dies I get one more! Let's face it that the reason there are so many posts here about how to determine if your distributor is junk is because the Nissan units die too. Sounds like they have done a good job imitating the original to me. I have been thrilled with the rest of the car and can't wait to put it back together.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

fine.
I left relevant feedback. I post what I think is right, 
not necesserally to agree with your posts and avoid "ruining" my reputation.
it's a good idea to know what issues people have with 
certain motors. what I said are things that so many people had
to concider those things issues.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

i understand your point, i really do. you just have to keep in mind that the people i see with the issues you stated are people with relatively stock engines that havent been swapped around. the people doing the swap i have done have had mostly good results.
i wouldnt ruin your reputation over a disagreement, it wouldnt be ethical.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

*update on swap*

I have a 2001 KA24 with 48,000 miles in my garage sitting beside my 260,000 mile 94. I have swapped most of the accessories and have removed both intakes and exhaust manifolds. The changes seem to be fairly small for the most part but 1/4" here and 1 inch there add up to massive headaches so most things are being changed. It is a shame since the new parts are so shiny. I was amazed at how little room I found in the engine compartment for separating the engine and transaxle. I know I am more comfortable working on tractor trailers but holy cow. I am tempted to remove the transaxle before I put the engine back and then try it that way. Any tips on how to get the engine and trans to match up without pulling the trans? I already removed the trans mount and that gave me an extra inch or two but it sure is tight.
I was also caught off guard by the bushing in the crank. Apparently my donor was an automatic. While switching from flex plate to flywheel I saw that strange bushing in the automatic's crank? What is that all about. I was concerned until I pulled it out and it seems there is plenty of room inside for the new pilot bushing. I am not rushing this install and my main goal is to get everything hooked up the first time and not have to do a lot of component removal because I forgot some bracket or other. It has also seems challenging to find sturdy bolts to hook my lift sling to. Haynes seems to expect the intake and exhaust manifolds to be off the car before it is pulled. I could see the exhaust but I had trouble removing the intake manifold on the floor! No way am I doing it in the car. Fortunately these engines are pretty light. Wish me luck and I will post the results eventually.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

its much easier to do the swap with the engine and trans both out of the car. it actually is a lot less work that way. as far as the pilot bushing goes, if you take a quick look, the shaft on the trans is not the same size as the inner diameter of the bearing. in fact, the shaft wont even go into the bushing like it does on other cars. i dont know how it gets its support that way, but its the way it is.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

AsleepAltima said:


> its much easier to do the swap with the engine and trans both out of the car. it actually is a lot less work that way.


So are you saying I should pull the trans and put them together on the floor and then put the unit in the car? Or should I pull the trans out of my way, install the engine then install the trans? I am game for either but I would like your opinion.

Yeah that is what it looked like on the pilot bushing to me. The cars are just too good for me to question whether it works but it doesn't do what I thought pilot bushings and bearings do.

Thanks again.
Robin


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

i honestly would pull the trans. theres really only a couple things to disconnect. the biggest being the axle shafts. it will save you some heartache.


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

*Sweet success*

:cheers: 
It is done and the new engine runs great! I can't thank asleep enough. I did drop the trans on the floor and slid it as far over as I could. Then I put the engine almost on the floor itself. I was able to lift the trans by hand and got lucky with it almost falling into place. I had one loose fuel supply clamp and a little trouble getting coolant to fill the engine initially. I am so excited to have my beloved Altima back with a much lower mileage engine than I would have had without your advice. 
 Now how do I sneak that turbo in without the wife noticing?:thumbup:
Thanks again.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

good shit! nice to know you got it done. any differences in power, sound, etc. that you notice? now about that turbo... when you figure it out - let me know too!!!


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## miss_my_altima (Oct 6, 2006)

AsleepAltima said:


> any differences in power, sound, etc. that you notice?


It is really too early for me to say. There is definitely much less in the way of valve train clatter and the noises associated there. It broke my heart to take the shiny almost new brackets and manifolds off the new engine and replace them with my old grimy parts. I probably spent close to 2/3 of my time cleaning stuff for aesthetic appeal. I could easily have spent twice that time but I did want to get the car back together at some point. I also put the distributor in at very close to 0 degrees TDC and haven't put a timing light on it yet. It runs so smoothly I kind of forgot about it. There is a slight lag when accelerating hard but setting the timing and putting in some fresh NGK plugs with fix that I am sure. I didn't even pull the plugs but judging by the clean new "Purolator" plug wires (slightly thicker your average shoe lace) I am sure they are going to be Autolite. I am also now aware of just how worn my sway bar bushings and other suspension parts are. One thing at a time you know.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

oh yeah, i know all about one step at a time, lol. make sure you get a timing light on there asap. timing can hurt your new engine.


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

just to give you a heads up I have a set of autolites on my car and the "plug" at the top where it seals against the intake may not fit exactly. My #1 plug keeps popping up. It hasn't affected anything yet (and its almost been 2 years) so they work nicely. Just wanted to let you know.

Darktide


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