timing chain change ?

[CMF_freecookies]

i have recently bought a nissan micra 96 lx.
the odometer reads 199 000 kms.

i have had some people tell me that if it doesnt make any noise, not to bother changing the chain, others have said to change it irrespective.

its my first car, im a student, im only looking at keeping it for another year maybe, just as a run around.

does it NEED to be done ? and is it worth it ? also, roughly how much could it cost ?

thanks in advance for all replies ...

 

[mik]

my vote goes for: not changing it before you hear any noises.
thats the same opinion my nissan dealer had.

but it seems, that the chain "problem" is widely different. some people never changed them, and hadn't problems (even with high kms/miles), then i heard some stories about a chain cracking with the car at 110.000 kms
what i want to say is, that its a mechanical device, so the possibility that the chain breaks without any noises is somewhere around 5% i guess. shure you can change it, to be on the safe side, but else why change something thats fully working without problems/noises? it's not ment to be mainteaned, like a oil filter or something like that. that's my opinion. lets see what others have to say.

the chain-kit itself is about 150€
the price for the maintenance (if you can't do it yourself) is about 600-800€ (here in germany, don't know your prices there)

 

[CMF_frank2]

i agree with mik (and the prices)
my old super s was making a racket at 100k mls, and when i looked, 1 link on the top chain was about to let go (the car had been abused tho lol )

frank

 

[CMF_deNs]

With the cost/labour involved, you're better off getting a jap engine from the wreckers and chucking it in if it lets go. The cost you'd have to put into it to get someone to do the chain for you would probably come close to being the same as a complete swapover of a jap import motor if you just asked a random workshop to do it.

I say that because they're not a common car here, they're not cheap (relative to other cars) to get parts like that for and for $500 and some beer to offer mates to help put another engine in, it's almost not worth worrying about getting someone to change over the chain.

If it doesn't sound terminal and only has a bit of chain noise when it's cold, don't worry. If you can't hear anything, I wouldn't worry either. It only seems to be people in the UK that talk about their chains snapping! Haha..

---dens

 

[CMF_freecookies]

thanks everyone ...

yeah, probably not going to bother, its a first car. It hasnt been hammered, i bought of an enthusiast, but then again, that could mean he drove enthusiastically.

if its not making noise, im not worried, and like mik said, why would i fix somthing that works.

 

[CMF_nz_aj]

Frequency of oil changes or lack there of probably has more to do with it.
I've only changed the chain on one CG13DE. That motor was a bit sludged up & had done about 160,000km. It was the guides that were really worn. The chain itselt didn't look damaged but it had been running on metal where the guide had worn right through.
A bit of a chain rattle when the engine is cold is to be expected. It'll get to the stage where it sounds like a bucket of bolts when warm.
I wouldn't consider new guides & chain, they're too expensive. Good condition second hand parts can be obtained from a pull it yourself wrecker, or as suggested, just change the whole motor.
Keep in mind that the chain & tensioners are the same between CG10DE & CG13DE, so there is a wider choice of second hand spares. This is especially relivant in NZ where CG10DE outnumber CG13DE by about 10:1.