Not sure if it's been mentioned yet.. but if you have the VQ motor sitting out in the garage or something, would be an excellent time to inspect the timing chain guides and make sure they're in good shape. Half the Altima SE-R's had the upper timing chain guide break which makes a loud clattering noise and can eventually ruin the timing chain. It happened to my friend's, it happened to mine. It is NOT that hard of a job if the engine is out of the car, but with it inside (even in the Altima where it's factory OEM) it's a enormous pain in the ass. Nissan charges $1,500 or so to do it because of the labor, there was service bulletin released about this problem and Nissan did it for free for you.. if your car was still under the warranty mileage. After that you were screwed.
Also if you wanted them or expect you will want them eventually, good time to get the JWT cams. Almost impossible to swap them with the motor in the car. They're not cheap though. For all 4 I believe about $1000 but they make like 30 peak HP
Last edited by Storm88000
on 2014-02-21
at 05-36-06.