Rebuild of my 1993 Nissal Altima GLE
A few months ago my 1993 Altima started a pretty serious oil leak. Since I was going to have pull the engine to get at the oil leak and my clutch needed replacement I decided to to a full rebuild while it was out. In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to document what I've done. If you find any errors or would like to offer a suggestion, feel free to do so here

Before we continue, I must first provide a disclaimer:

I am not a professional mechanic and any information found here is strictly speaking from my own personal experience and/or opinion. If you choose to use any of the information provied, you do so at your own risk. I cannot take any responsibility or liability for the correctness or accuracy of this information. Proceed at your own risk.

Now with that out of the way, here's what I did: First I had to remove the hood, WAI, and Battery to get a better look at what I was up against.

I then started removing things that were in the way. I used masking tape to label just about every hose and wire that I disconnected so that I could remember where they went when I was putting it all back together.

Both the A/C compressor and the power steering pump had to be removed before pulling the engine out. This way I could leave the pressure lines intact. This is important because most people won't want to mess around with the high pressuer lines on the A/C pump. Also, because I was going to remove the Engine and the Transmission, I needed to remove both front axles. This was particularly messy because the oil that was leaking out, dropped onto the right axle and got spun all over the inside of the engine compartment.

I initially tried to remove the engine before removing the transmission but found that it was a pretty tight fit trying to get the engine lifted at just the right angle to get it to separate from the bell housing with the transmission still bolted to the left engine mount. I ended up pulling the entire assembly (engine and tranny) out intact and separated them after the engine was out. This prove a much simpler solution.

Now that the engine was out I inspected it trying to find the oil leak. It appeard to be there between the upper and lower timing chain covers and a little along the head gasket by the #1 cylinder.

The next step was to remove the head. I took lots of pictures as I went along so that if I couldn't remember how something fit back in, I could check the pics to refresh my memory. As I disassembled everything, I examined each part for wear and made a list of the things that would need replacement. Once I had the head off, I could start on some port work. The details of that job are described more in depth here.

I also decided to repaint the block. The pistions got new rings but I decided not to replace the crank bearings. They were in pretty good shape with hardly any wear. Here's what the block looked like when it was cleaned and painted. Gotta also thank my friend Dan for loaning me his engine hoist and stand.

All the parts were cleaned and many got a new coat of paint. I ordered the full rebuild gasket set from TopLine™ and replaced all the gaskets and seals, including the front and rear crankshaft oil seals, and head gasket. With every thing cleaned off, it was now time for re-assembly. I also used a fine wire brush on my hand drill to clean off the timing chain covers, oil pans, and the valve cover. ( I also used a polishing wheel to polish the lettering on the top of the valve cover. It looks pretty nice in contrast to the matte finish of the cover itself. Here's how it all looks reassembled.

All that remains now is for my new clutch to come in and I'll be able to put the engine back in the car. I ordered an ACT Clutch from South West Auto Works but it hasn't come in yet. The sharp eye will also notice I'm still using the stock crank pulley. I wanted to get the lightened aluminum underdrive pulley from stillen, but funds got a little short. I'll have to wait a couple months to get that and the new set of headers I had planned on putting on. Check back later and I'll post more on stuffing this baby back into the engine compartment.

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