T-belt time

[spacgoste]

I will be changing the belt in March. I plan too do the following: t-belt, water pump, t-belt tens, both front belts. does the cam and cramk seals need to be replaced? Am I missing anythingelse? thank you jerry

 

[bazooka joe]

don't think the seals are an issue...i'll be doing mine in march too...was going to do it last mar, but nver did...142k miles(confused)

 

[MaxPower]

Since you don't want to rip into the engine for another 105k, you might want to do the cam and crank seals. They require very little additional work. Also, you might want to consider replacing the idler and tensioner spring, too. You will probably have to replace the valve cover gasket, also. You can pick up a complete Protege timing belt kit from Finish Line Performance for $299.

 

[spacgoste]

Thank you for the response.

 

[bucksatan]

When you do the valve cover gasket remember to get some ultra grey sealant and hit the 4 points where the cover goes over the cam shaft bearings. It is basically a 90 degree angle and the gasket has trouble sealing at that point.

 

[spacgoste]

thank you i forgot about that. I was gonna read the manual(the download I got from here I think) before I started. The problem is holding the cams in line.

 

[MaxPower]

Check out the use of locking pliers to hold the camshafts in place (from miata net, scroll down to near the bottom):

http://www.miata.net/garage/timingbelt.html

Also, mark the old timing belt and gears before removal, then transfer the marks to the new timing belt to get a fool-proof check on installation (also in the timingbelt FAQ).

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

You can pick up a complete Protege timing belt kit from Finish Line Performance for $299.

Awesome info...did not know that!

 

[RABID_MP5]

Hey did you see the other tip on the Miata site? It might be a little labor and require a fresh utility knife blade or other cutting technique(suggestions??), but you can slice the old timing belt, still in place, in half the long way. Then there's room to get the new one halfway on before you cut off the remnants of the old. The proper positioning is thus preserved. I always wanted to somehow do this, didn't think of the obvious. This is mainly for when you're not doing the pulleys too.

Now that I visualize it, maybe you can just make several cuts parallel to the teeth, halfway across the belt, where the pulleys are (done on an open section and then rotated to the pulley). This might also let you scoot the old one over.

But the tip for using the crescent wrenches is probably even slicker. I hadn't thought of grabbing the camshafts back there. I have done a similar trick, after the belt is off, with box wrenches on the bolts that hold on the cam belt pulleys - just to hold the darn things in place where it appears they belong.