MP5 Timing belt replacement

[Bebotech]

So I am thinking of replacing the timing belt on my MP5. I know a little bit about cars but, have never taken on a project like this. I am asking for some help and advise on the matter. Open for all types of good advise.

Thanks,

 

[pcb]

There's a vendor that sells the entire kit to do everything,... there has been good reviews of his collection, and it's a great price.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...s-USA-Timing-Belt-Kit-for-your-Mazda-Protege5

It's a pretty big job but the how-to's are priceless.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123796676-How-To-Protege-Timing-Belt-Change

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123831120-Timing-belt-replacement

 

[canp5]

subn

 

[CF_KoiFry]

When tackling a job like this, first and foremost, check and double check all of your work. You'll be working with timing compnents of the engine...just a tooth off and you'll know, big time. A white out pen can be your very best friend. Mark everything! The position of the crank pulley, position of cam gears. Make multiple marks!

 

[Maroon]

It's not a fun job but doable. As mentioned, there are write ups on this forum.

Aside from trying to work in non existent space, the most difficult thing to do is get the timing marks lined up on the cam shaft gears. What an absolute b**** that is. There's a tool for it, but I just wrestled with it trying to hold two wrenches while slipping the belt on.

You may want to consider replacing these things while in there:

Timing belt idler (probably comes with kit)
Timing belt idler spring (also probably comes with kit)
Cam shaft seals
Crank shaft seal
Water pump

Although, I bought the crank seal from Rockauto, and the piece of s*** is leaking badly now. Hell, the original with 122,000 on it didn't even leak.

 

[Bebotech]

Thanks for all your advise guys!

 

[mtnbiker26]

LivelyJay's how-to is spot on and I was able to replace the timing belt myself. Prior to that I had done only basic repairs and maintenance. I was afraid I might forget how it all went back together so I took a lot of digital photos during disassembly and I also covered a table in a huge piece of brown paper so that I could place the parts on the table in the order that I disassembled them and I used a marker to make notes on the paper table top. For example, you might remove four bolts from the same area but three are short and one is long so make a note on the table next to the pile of bolts so you'll know which ones go where.

I would recommend having a helper that has some experience working on cars because disassembling old rusty parts without snapping the fastener is usually the hardest part of any auto service.

 

[thuzil]

Hit everything on the timing belt side of the engine with penetrating oil. Give it a good soak after your accessory belts are off if you are reusing them. Use kind force on the bolts because a sheared bolt or stripped nut will take much more time to fix than it does to ease it off with oil and heat.

As was said before. Do your idler, tensioner and water pump while you are in there.

Have a friend to help you get the timing marks all lined up. Make sure you rotate the crank many times using a socket once the marks look correct and check them at least twice after full rotations. They need to be exact or your car will not run well. So the horizontal marks on the E and I can gears must face inwards and be perfectly horizontal to the top of the head. Use a ruler for reference. The notch on the gear that sits in the crank must be perfectly aligned with the mark on the oil pump.

I have done this job about 10 times in my garage and the first time took about 5 days of on and off work. I can do it in about 2 hours now when everything goes perfectly.

Read through the how tos. Get the torque specs and a good torque wrench. The crank pulley goes on at around 180 foot pounds if I remember correctly. You can get the crank pulley built off with a good impact wrench and a 6 point socket. Be patient while rocking the pulley off. Don't hit it as it is cast and can chip.

Also, a mistake that I made was to over torque the water pump pulley. It is only inch pounds!

 

[pcb]

Make sure you rotate the crank many times using a socket once the marks look correct and check them at least twice after full rotations. They need to be exact or your car will not run well.

^^What he said,.. I thought I had it perfect 5 out of the 12 times I had the damn belt on and off. It wasn't until I rotated the crank a few times that it showed. (I didn't have a helper as mentioned above)

So the horizontal marks on the E and I can gears must face inwards and be perfectly horizontal to the top of the head.

I found that if you look from the drivers side you can see across the top of the head much better to verify the timing marks (you can look almost horizontally across the top of head,.. my cam gears have timing marks on the backside (I'm pretty sure they're OEM))