Q: I've been reading how important it is to replace the timing belt, and sometimes the water pump, at proper intervals to avoid major engine damage. I recently purchased a 1997 Nissan Maxima and there was no owner's manual or maintenance guide in the vehicle. Could you please tell me if the 3.0-liter V-6 engine in my Maxima has a timing belt and when it needs to be replaced?

A: L.S., the V-6 engine in your Maxima uses a metal timing chain, not a rubber timing belt. Timing chains generally last much longer than timing belts do, but they tend to be a bit noisier. According to Nissan, there is no scheduled maintenance interval for replacing the timing chain in your Maxima. Nissan says to replace the timing chain if it exhibits any cracks or excessive wear at the rollers. There is a small inspection cover on the front of your Maxima's timing cover that can be removed to inspect the chain. Replacing the timing chain in your Maxima is a major repair and takes about twelve hours to complete. If your car has very high mileage or there is excessive noise coming from the front of the engine, I suggest you have a technician inspect the timing chain. Also, to keep your engine humming, replace your engine's oil and filter every 3,500 miles and have the cooling system serviced/inspected regularly.

Q: I needed a winter car with good fuel mileage so I purchased a 1999 Ford Escort from a friend of mine. It has one problem, though, the starter doesn't work. Thankfully it has a manual transmission and I can get it to start by push-starting it. Thinking the starter was bad I removed it and had it tested. It tested okay. The guy at the parts store told me it might be a bad clutch safety switch so I bought one and put it in. Still, the starter will not work. Could there be a problem with the wiring? I don't know where to go from here. Please help.

A: E.J., it could be a problem with the wiring, the ignition switch, or the clutch pedal switch. If your Escort has cruise control, there are two separate clutch pedal switches, one for the starter and one for the cruise control. If the switch you replaced had a connector with green wires plugged in, that's the one for the cruise control. The clutch switch with the red and red/white wires is for the starter. Did you replace the clutch switch for the starter? If so, the wiring will need to be inspected. The red/white wire at the clutch switch should have battery voltage when the ignition switch is in the start position. If not, check the wire all the way back to the ignition switch. The ignition switch could be faulty. If the red/white wire has power in the start position, then test the red wire at the clutch pedal switch - it should have power when the clutch pedal is depressed. After the clutch pedal switch, the red wire goes to a connector and becomes a black/red wire. This black/red wire then goes to the smaller terminal at the starter motor. If you're not comfortable with looking at the wiring yourself, have a professional inspect it for you.