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'98 Altima Broken Timing Chain; Need Advise
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faruqsabur
New User
May 17, 2012, 5:23 PM
Post #1 of 3
(4583 views)
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'98 Altima Broken Timing Chain; Need Advise
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Greetings,
I have a 1998 Nissan Altima GXE. It's 2.4l 4 cylinder engine and has ~165000 miles. I live ~20 miles from where i work. Recently, when i started my car to come home, i heard some noises under the hood. It sounded like some clanking or rattling but it was not very loud. I decided to get on the freeway and come home. Once i got off the freeway, ~2miles from home, the clanking sound was real loud. One stop light later the car stopped. I tried several times to get it to start again with no luck. I then had the car towed to a local shop (houston, tx). The mechanic told me that the timing chain was broken and he said that the engine could be damaged but he wouldn't know for sure until he took it apart. He told me it would cost ~$1300 to replace the chain. He said once the engine is out that there was a potential for that number to grow depending on the damage. The blue value on the car is between $1600 -$2500.
I have two questions:
1. I know in general timing chains are hard to break. I take fairly good care of my car with regular oil changes and other maintenance not necessarily on schedule but in reasonable amount of time. I don't drive really hard. Could the timing chain really break like that out of the blue? What else could be damaged that would cost more money?
2. Given the value of the car, is it even worth fixing, especially knowing that i could spend $1300 and still be out of a car. I do have a few other lingering issues that i need fixed, (4 struts, 1 motor mount replace), so i am concerned about getting into a money pit or throwing in the towel.
Thanks for our assistance.
Faruq
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 17, 2012, 5:50 PM
Post #2 of 3
(4553 views)
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Re: '98 Altima Broken Timing Chain; Need Advise
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Don't even waste your time with that. You break a chain on a KA24DE while the engine is running and you'll have bent valves or piston damage. Your best bet is to look for a low mileage engine from a salvage yard, with warranty, if you plan on keeping the vehicle.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on May 17, 2012, 5:50 PM)
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faruqsabur
New User
May 24, 2012, 4:44 PM
Post #3 of 3
(4470 views)
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Re: '98 Altima Broken Timing Chain; Need Advise
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Sorry for the delay in response, it took me a while to get back to this website. Thank you for the advice, I decided to look into prices for used and refurbished engines. I found out that that industry is booming. A few quotes that i got said it would take 20-30 days to do the work because of backlog. Also, unfortunately all the quotes i got were more than i was willing to spend >$2000. So i will try to sell it for parts to see what i can get.
Thanks again,
Faruq
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