How do I remove the inner timing chain cover on a 1998 Nissan maxima 3.5L

You have a chain,which doesn't need changing.

no way of doing so. need to remove cover. i have been doing this since 1996 and have never seen chain driven nissan jump timing. have seen some timing belt cars jump, but never chain driven engines. i think you have something else going on. i have done many and many timing chain jobs on frontiers and maximas, but not for a timing chain jumping issue. upper timing chain shoes wear out and engine gets noisy. i have to say i have seen some with the primary chain stretched a bit, but car still ran fine.

Remove the three bolts retaining the upper chain guides and lift it from the cylinder head.

To allow access to the camshaft sprocket bolts, unbolt the upper timing chain cover and carefully pry the cover away from the cylinder head

Set the number one piston at TDC on the compression stroke by aligning the timing marks on the crankshaft damper.

Fig. 6: The number one cylinder is at TDC when the timing marks are aligned as shown (clikc image for zoom)

Check that the mating marks on the sprockets are aligned as shown in the illustration. If not, the crankshaft should be rotated another 360°.

Fig. 7: It may be helpful to paint marks on the chain and sprockets if the marks are not easily visible

Remove the camshaft position sensor. Mark the position of the sensor before removal to help keep the ignition timing correct.




Fig. Line up the mating marks on the lower timing chain with the marks on the sprockets

Hope this helps.

The camshaft inner chains have gold links on them to line up with the mating marks on the camshaft inner sprockets.
The Main Drive Chain has two blue links that line up on the camshaft outer sprocket mating marks and a gold link that lines up with the mating mark on the crankshaft sprocket.

this engine uses a timing chain, chains require no replacement unless the engine is being repaired or the chain or spockets fail

it has a chain, generaly they dont break but the chain guides do come apart they are plastic,its a big job to remove the chain cover.

HI you need to remove all the bolts that attach rear cover to block and remove the oil pan to gain access to bolt that hold rear timing cover to upper pan hope thie helps.

Hello and thank you for using FixYa!

To replace the water pump, you will need to remove all the drive belts. Then there are 2 black covers on the front timing cover. One cover is for the chain tensioner, the other is for access to the water pump. I would recommend you replace the tensioner the same time you do the water pump. The reason is, you need to remove that tensioner so the chain has slack. When the chain has slack, you can then unbolt and pull the water pump out. It could get stuck, so there are bolts that you need that you would use to run in to pop the pump free.

Hope this helps , Thanks Jay!

all you need to do is just back up on the chain and it will give you the space you need to remove thw water pump you may all so need to first see is you have water in your oil if not then it not you pump can you tell what color your oil is ?

99 has only a chain......looks like 97/98 have both