Well, I have to deal with my timing chain issue one way or the other. I post here to try to get a feel for what other’s have done when faced with a similar situation. She’s got 200k on her, and has the rattle. Could the top guide just be replaced (making the chain less slack a bit, in-turn lessening the rattle)? If I get the whole timing chain and components replaced, will she be thrown out of rhythm now that a taught chain has been reintroduced? Is $1400 worth it for the timing chain job to be executed on my car with it’s present engine? Would it be much more to pay to have another DE put in with less km’s? BTW, $1400 is what I’ve been quoted by three shops (including one Nissan dealership).
remove the upper timing chain guide and voila, no noise. PErsonally ive NEVER heard of a de breaking a timing chain, i would just take off the upper timing chain guide, it will be fine 
No one has a quote for me from when they had this work done to their car? I don’t think I’ll get much better than $1400 but you never know. I’ll see if I can get the top guide taken off and whether a difference is noticable or not.
Also, does anyone know of a place to get the valve cover gasket for under $50. That’s the price I’ve been quoted so far. I figure if I don’t need it when I get the top guide taken off, I’ll need it if I get the timing chain job done, so I might aswell get it now.
The valve cover gasket is about $15. You can try to install it yourself if you want to save some money.
24 bucks at CT and u do it urself…its like 6 screws…took me 30 minutes to do mine.
my rattle isn’t too bad, but when i looke dinto it I got quotes from 600 to 800 bux, nothing like yours. These are all at small local shops where i’ve had work done on my family’s cars before so I trust the quality of work. look around but avoid the Franchise mechanincs (CT is an absolute waste of money, quoted me 1100 plus tax to do my clutch)
But try removing the guide first, if you can’t do it yourself, any local mechanic should be able to for no more than 50 bux, maybe even less.
DRE
You’ll need alot more than a valve cover gasket i tell ya…
You’ll need alot more than a valve cover gasket i tell ya…[/quote]
expand…
i beleive he was referring to when u do the timing chain.
i paid about $850 from nissan a few years ago but that was for the SOHC,
ian we have the DOHC, i called and asked my self, there is much more work involved in the 91+ apparently…
dont know what else to say…
you do want a 5-speed swap dont you? well…
you can buy my whole DOHC for $350… no timing chain rattle 
How much are you asking for your motor Iquabob?
Here are some places in the states from which to get the timing chain kit. All parts are in US prices.
Nissan Timing Kits at Import Performance Parts $229 US
Success! $215.03
http://www.professionalautoparts.com/ni_1992_240-sx-002_a_T552-1359_6.html $214.29
AND THEY DO BREAK!!! MY 1991’s timing chain broke!
I’ve been contemplating doing the timing chain as whenever I start my car, my chain is rattling, (Upper guide already gone) chain hits valve cover. I’m assuming the upper tensioner has gone bad.
But for the hours, it may be worth simply swapping in another motor… Although, I’m sure Iquabob put his KA through its paces! hmmm…
i’m asking $350…
if nobody wants it at that price then i’ll keep it for my own little project :twisted:
Well, in a perfect world I’d get a full frame-up job done on her including a new motor with a 5spd swap…but this world is far from perfect.
I inquired about getting a newer used KA24DE through a Nissan Dealership and having them install it, they said $1000 for the KA minimum plus the labour, so around $2500 easy. Add another $500-$1000 for the 5spd swap while they’re at it and we’re at $3500 approximately.
I don’t even have the $1400 to get the timing chain done, so the above is not even feasible 
.
I realize other places could get a motor for cheaper and labour could cost less but when it’s reached that high, $1000 isn’t going to make the job any more feasible.
I don’t want to take her to a backyarder because of the detail this job involves (referring to the timing chain job). I’ve read up on what has to be done, and this job is pretty large. Things have to be exact, one tooth off could mean crunched valves. True, the more advertized places (dealers/large operation shops) make mistakes, but I’d rather a large operation make the mistake, knowing that they can afford to make them, then have a smaller operation who is clinging to life make one.
I’m rambling, I know. I’m just having problems dealing with my issue(s).
for that price you can do a basic sr install…
that doesn’'t help…I don’t want an SR (too much hassle with emissions and insurance IMO).
Has anyone had good experiences with shops/dealers up there (I’m in the Niagara region) in doing this job (timing chain and/or KA install)? I ask to try and get some comparison with what I’ve come up with down here.
Hi, it would appear I also have the timing chain problem. 23 quoted me at 2500 to get it done + more for water pump and stuff.
- Heh… 23… get it?? Get it? Ni… San… Nissan! Damn I’m cool…
- No. No you’re not. And stop talking to yourself… Ass.
Yea, I know, it’s pretty lame, but chances are it made atleast one person laugh
Well… anyway, I’m gonna try this remove top guide thingy and see if it works. The clicky sound is very slight and unnoticeable, and my dad thinks it’s this, b/c he likes to predict doom, it’s his hobby. I on the other hand feel it’s sticky valves, since the car hasn’t been driven for a long time.
Aaaanyway… I’d also like to know about how much I can keep driving it if the chain guide is fukt. Because I’m not paying 2500 to fix a KA that I intend to swap out at a later date anyway. But I’m too poor for an SR swap now.
Blargh… Also… where the hell do you ppl get SRs? All the places I found were either shady as hell or in the USA. If there’s a person on this board that has a reputable connection (meaning other people on here can say: yea, he’s trustworthy), then I’d really appreciate a pm from them. I don’t intend to pay to get the swap done at a shop, since again, I’m poor, and me and my dad do have some knowledge of fixing cars. I’ll prolly grab an engine lifty-thingy from CT, but I’d really appreciate if someone that has already done an SR swap supervise it. No actual labour required by them, just supervision, and I am prepared to pay. This is down the road though… not like now… I got school now
Thx a lot, and sorry that I’m being a n00b
Try Varun aka slipperysilvia or Martin, MRWmotorsports.
The chain guides etc aren’t hard to do.
A buddy of mine has a SOHC KA and we replaced all his guides and the tensioner over a weekend. We were all inexperienced and it was the most complex thing any of us had done on a car up to that point. (We’d just done brakes and oil etc…)
It was pretty simple, just a lot of stuff has to come out.
Our instructions were actually for a DOHC model but it wasn’t all that bad.
You remove the shroud for the fan, the fan itself, drain out coolant, remove the coolant hoses (for space), unbolt the the valve cover, take a few bolts out of the oil pan, remove the pulleys and accessories, remove the front cover from the motor, replace the guides and button it all back up.
MOST of the time it’s not the chain, it’s just the guides have worn, they are just plastic over metal. They wear grooves and allow more slack.
It had a nice noisy rattle all the time, we replaced the stuff and it ran fine.
You’ll need a few tools though… a pulley puller obviously, and the bolt that held on the crank pulley was 22mm or something (I could be wrong) and my set only went to 20 and the TINY crappy tire in my town didn’t carry them that size.
BUT, when compared to $1400 it’s NOTHING. Without the chain it was only like $200 for the parts + tools (I’m guesstimating but it was about that)
Tip to anyone that works on a car.
ZIPLOCK BAGS + SHARPIE will be your BEST FRIEND!
Any bolts you remove you put in the ziplock bag marked with what you pulled it out of.
I insisted we do this and we had NO instances of “wtf was this for…”