Variable Timing control solenoid

[Tonisher]

I’m pulling a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 liter engine out. So my question is I have the bad engine out of the car put I need to switch over the Variable Timing Control Solenoid. The only thing I afraid of when I pull the VTC solenoid will it mess out the internal timing of the motor. Also when I pulled the motor out of the vehicle the VTC solenoid wires pull out of the clip. I went to the junk yard to see If I could cut off the clip and wire and splice it to the car wiring harness. The bad new is every Altima wiring harness and motor has been cut of removed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Topic

[dreamer2355]

If that engine is the QR25DE i would recommend doing a leak down test or seeing if you can do a compression test on that junk yard motor before you install it or even give the Vin# of that salvaged car to a dealership to do some research on that motor.

I’m sure you know about the issues with that particular engine such as the butterfly valve screws becoming loose and being sucked into the engine along with the premature wear due to the piston rings not correctly seating.

Nissan recalled alot of those engines. Me and my wife had a QR25DE in our Sentra that started to consume a qt of oil a day before it finally gave up. Unfortunately Nissan did not replace the motor as we had an 02 Sentra and the recall was for 03 to 06 Altima’s and Sentra’s.

[Tonisher]

Its my mother car she bought it from a used car dealership. She purchased the car for $5000 with blown engine. The car was using about a Qt of oil a day also.

The cat and the o2 sensor’s went bad she replace the cat and both o2 sensor’s.She purchased at used motor that has been compression check with 90 day

warranty. When pulling the motor I forgot VTC clip. The clip ended staying with the motor and the wire pulled out of the clip. (Is there any way to fix?) The new

motor had a bad intake manifold and the VTC solenoid was missing. So I was going to just swap over the VTC solenoid but my friend told my it may mess up the

internal timing of the motor. (Do you know if this will mess up the timing?) Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks for the response.

[Third Gear]

Actually, one time I thought about buying one of those cars and either driving it or reselling it because I saw a really clean low mileage one with a blown engine. I did some research on that engine and thought better of it since there are so many problems.

Sometimes dealers can get replacement connectors. I did this with a GM car for the fuel injector connector – it came with like 8 inches of wire, connectors, and it just needed to be spliced into the harness. Or, depending on how the connector is put together you might be able to find a weather pack connector repair kit and re-crimp those wires into new female terminals and get it together.

It’s my understanding that the Nissan VTC just controls oil pressure to the intake cam to adjust the timing/duration – similar to Honda’s VTEC. Timing shouldn’t be affected by removing/installing the sensor.

You can test the sensor by using a wire with an inline fuse to apply battery voltage to the sensor – if it clicks, you’re good.

[Tonisher]

Cool thanks for the info, I will see about checking with the dealership.

If they don’t have it I will look into buying weather pack connector repair kit.

Thanks again

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’ve learned a few things myself reading through these posts, thanks guys.

[Tonisher]

Thanks Third Gear. I went to the dealership today for some parts and to see if they had the VTC clip. Great news they had a few random clips and sure enough

they just so happen to have it!!!

THANKS ERIC FOR THE WONDERFUL SITE. I’VE ALREADY LEARNED A FEW TIPS AND TRICKS MYSELF.

P.S. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. YOU HAVE HELP SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE IN CYBER SPACE.

[Author]

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