Soooooo, my timing belt went on me one day when I was on my way home. I had it towed to a mechanic I've never used but he seemed pretty decent. It is a small shop in Lowell, MA and was really the only place I could get it to. Anyway, he replaced the belt for cheap money for me. I picked it up and there was a major hesitation so i took it back and he made some adjustments and I picked it up again. It's better but it's still sluggish when you first accelerate, when driving up hills, and accelerating on the highway. I've also noticed that the engine compartment is getting hot (the temp gauge is showing normal). I know I'm lucky that there doesn't appear to be any valve damage.

I'm hoping that it is just some further adjustment tot he timing belt. I'm bringing it to a different mechanic to look at it (I am no mechanic but have a mechanically inclined mind) and I plan on getting a tune up as well. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what would cause this? I have been going crazy searching the web for possible causes. PLEASE HELP!!!

By the way, it's a 2002 automatic non-supercharged with 155,000 miles. The first mechanic told me I could get another 100,000 miles out of it. I'm hoping he's right. Just not sure if he had all of the right equipment to do things like a compression test, etc.

You should get at least that out of the truck.

A few things. This is an interference engine, so if your timing belt went while running, you could have some bent valves/valve rods. That would be a big problem, but you may have been lucky.

Also, the timing belt has to be aligned properly. There's a mark on the belt to get it to TDC. If that is not correct, your timing will be off.

My first concern would be the valves. You may be able to do a compression test to find out if there is a problem, but the only way to be sure is to pull the heads. There are a lot of thinks to check here.

The timing belt is not difficult for any decent mechanic and requires no special tools. If it was done right the first time, my guess is you have some valve issues. You may want to start searching for heads off a wrecked Xterra of the same vintage.

how long is the belt good for? what Mileage should it be changed on a supercharged 4x4

The manual says 105k, but me, I change it at 90k. Also, if a truck is eight years old, it's time for a change.

Both mine looked like new when I changed them, but still...you never know.