Timing chain snapped, engine went bang :(

[Rodm]

Hey guys, Noticed a new rattle sound a few weeks back coming from front of the engine. did a little research and figured it was possibly the timing chain. Went to my mechanic and booked it in. I only drove it a couple of times after that whilst waiting for it to head into the mechanics, then 2 days before it was due in I was driving at about 80 km/h and it went bang. timing chain snapped and blew out the side of the case, engine self destructed. This is on a 2010 D22, 125,000 kms and always serviced every 5,000. To say I am frustrated and shattered would be an understatement but I guess we move on. I have a brother that can fit a new engine, I am just thinking of the best was to do it. Thinking a low km engine would be the best way, if anyone knows of the best place in Vic to find one can you let me know?

 

[Rabbid-chop]

You poor bastard. Condolences brother. That's a worst nightmare in anyone's language.

 

[308bever]

i have a question, do you use the gears to slow down often and sometimes hard? it`s just that my old man always says brake pads are alot cheaper than timing chains... sorry for your bad luck, they should last 250+K and they should be able to rattle for months.... i would have thought )-; i`d be chatting with nissan to see if they`ll help out part way.

 

[jonney]

i think i would be looking out for a used engine from a wreck, this way you will have heaps of valuable spare parts from your blown engine such as the fuel pump etc etc etc . get onto the wrecking yards both around your city plus check out ebay and go for a low K engine, even if you have to also fit a new chain while the new engine is out of car it will be worth it both ways.
unless you can afford a brand new engine but i think most of the parts will be taken off your blown engine to get the new one going [ short engine versus long engine ]

 

[happy john]

A motor out of a wreck would be the way to go as Jonney suggested. It's unusual to hear of a 22 going so soon with excellent service history. Beaver I doubt Nissan would give a toss after 6 years, they have a bucketload of angry D'40 owners in the same boat.

 

[dmac]

Hey mate, mines a 2010 model too, I had a loud whine and a rattle at start up and I got the chain replaced, it was a costly exercise $3600 with an aftermarket chain. Now that I think about it I do wonder if I should of taken the risk and not fixed it so when it does go bang I can get a new motor with less kms for maybe the same price as a new chain replacement. Anyways good luck with everything and maybe shoot Nissan Australia an email and explain your situation and mention that it's a well known issue with these motors etc. They have been know to do "good will" claims outside warranty. I went down this path but just to prove a point and have a spit at Nissan, they came to the party and said they'll foot half my repair bill but can only use genuine Nissan parts and car needs to be at a Nissan dealer. Unfortunately for me my car was already halfway through its repair at the local mechanics. Mind you though Nissan Genuine parts are the ones failing.

 

[dmac]

Mine had 123000km on the clock and with full service history too

 

[jonney]

wasn,t it after 2010 models timing chains were replaced with better quality ones.

 

[ericcs]

wasn,t it after 2010 models timing chains were replaced with better quality ones.

that's a hard one to verify, my 06 has 210k and so far, it's still quiet and smooth, but i have heard that theory before!

 

[Old.Tony]

Depends on the chains that were available in Spain at the time. My 2009 Spanish model has a good chain - 230K on the clock now and it's only noisy because I pulled the baffles out of the air box.

 

[Rodm]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've flicked Nissan an email but I highly doubt anything would come of it. Started pulling the engine apart anyway, need to get it sorted. Still sourcing a new engine, there are quite a few around, can get a low km one with a warranty for $4-5,000. Still not money I want to spend but not much I can do about it. It's a shame to hear it's happened to others as well. One question, I know the vehicles were made in a couple of different countries, is there any differences when it comes to the engine/fitment?

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Did you end up getting a price for a crate engine from Nissan? I was talking to my brother in law about this a while ago for some reason, he's pretty high up at Nissan Australia, and he was saying something like 4k for a short motor but that could have been bullshit.

 

[Leprechaun]

Did you end up getting a price for a crate engine from Nissan? I was talking to my brother in law about this a while ago for some reason, he's pretty high up at Nissan Australia, and he was saying something like 4k for a short motor but that could have been bullshit.

Thats what a ZD costs, dont know about a YD though.

 

[Leprechaun]

Just had a look on Ebay, plenty of low k motors for $5k, (demand the ECU for that price as well)

I would go that way. Help from a few mates would have it swapped out in a weekend.

 

[jonney]

Did you end up getting a price for a crate engine from Nissan? I was talking to my brother in law about this a while ago for some reason, he's pretty high up at Nissan Australia, and he was saying something like 4k for a short motor but that could have been bullshit.

you can easily doublew that price for a genuine crate donk in short version too. i think there around 12k. long or short not sure.

 

[Old.Tony]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've flicked Nissan an email but I highly doubt anything would come of it. Started pulling the engine apart anyway, need to get it sorted. Still sourcing a new engine, there are quite a few around, can get a low km one with a warranty for $4-5,000. Still not money I want to spend but not much I can do about it. It's a shame to hear it's happened to others as well. One question, I know the vehicles were made in a couple of different countries, is there any differences when it comes to the engine/fitment?

There were two manufacturing plants for the D40, Spain (vehicle with VIN starting with 'VSK') and Thailand (VIN starts with 'MNT')

Oddly enough, it was the Spanish chains that seemed to cause more trouble, although some of the chains used in the Spanish cars were from Thailand. I can't say quantities in each, or when one factory ran out and the other sent over a crate to keep them going .. no idea, Nissan won't say and nowadays you'd probably struggle to find someone that remembered. The chain issue seems to have been fixed in 2010/2011 and nobody wants to revisit the past.

If you WERE to get a replacement donk I'd try to get the ECU that matched it as well.

 

[Rodm]

Thanks guys. Mine is a D22 just for info.

 

[jonney]

seems like the pre 2010 D-22 had more of the timing chain / guide issue than the newer models from 2010 to current 2015. also there are 2 models being Spain built and Thai built, the Thai built was fitted with better quality chains.
what i have gathered from a navara specialist from the U.K. is the main reason for the timing chain to break is caused mainly due to the Chain Guide wearing down to metal which in turn gives a metal to metal contact between both the chain and the guide , this causes the chain to break.
so really if this chain guide could be replaced every 50k i say the timing chain breakage issue would not occur unless the chain become very old with excessive high K,s.

 

[Stelianos]

there is no "Spain built and Thai built" d22 it was built in japan for some time 2008 and 2009 then its thailand ever since. also the guide wear and tensioner mostly applies to the upper chain which is duplex anyway, the problem is the lower one that is single row and models fitted with weak chains are in serious touble. even later models are in risk because of bad design.

 

[jonney]

so was it the D-40,s that were built in either Spain or Thailand ?