Timing Belt

["Myrtle" 03P5]

I was wondering if anybody has had to change there timing belts and if you have what mileage did you do it at. i just wanted to get a general consensus on what everybody has done when it came to that situation and if you did it youre self or if you had it done by mazda..

 

[dxaveP5]

100K or every 60K is what i learned.
ima bout to do mine myself.

 

["Myrtle" 03P5]

i bought the car used at like 96,000 and im at 122,000 now i was told to do it at 120,000 but i just havent had the time due to desert traning and just working 24/7 i just wanted to know how hard i would be to do it my self because ive been quoted between 500 to 1000$$$

 

[speed1016]

Changed mine 35k (blown motor, why not) and again at 100k

 

[dxaveP5]

wow, thats alot, but it usually is around 200 if u dont take it to dealership.
doing it urself is gona take a while especially if u have no experience in the belts/engine maintenance area.
im doing my belt with my teacher cause hes got tons of timing belt exp, from honda/acura dealership for like 20years. and he said its gona take atleast 2hrs min.
id find a local shop to do it. saves the hassle and troublesome if ur not the DIY type of person.

 

["Myrtle" 03P5]

yeah i just dont have the DIYS time lol or i would. i just wanted it to get done asap so im not driving down the highway and pop goes the weasle (lol) and ill be left screwed.... price wise i can go look around but would really hate to pay more than 300

 

[speed1016]

Don't pay more than 300, just look around first. How much experience do you have working on motors?

 

[bgibb68]

yeah i just dont have the DIYS time lol or i would. i just wanted it to get done asap so im not driving down the highway and pop goes the weasle (lol) and ill be left screwed.... price wise i can go look around but would really hate to pay more than 300

unless you goto a mechanic that will only charge labor he did you're gonna pay outta the arse dude....i was quoted almost 500 just to change the 2 drive belts...i'ld hate to see a quote for the timimg

 

["Myrtle" 03P5]

well before i joined the army i tinkerd with somethings but now im just used to working on the big ol klunky 6.5 liter turbo humvve engines. a little bit diffrent then the prote engine lol

 

[speed1016]

^ if you paid that for drive belts you got ripped!!! I hope you did it urself

 

["Myrtle" 03P5]

i was hoping i can get it changed before deployment i would hate for my wife to get ripped off

 

[bgibb68]

^ if you paid that for drive belts you got ripped!!! I hope you did it urself

well yeah i did it myself in like an hour.....i can't wait to get an alignment i'm gonna ask for that quote again and say well since i only did it an hour why so much and ask if i can change belts for them and pick up a 1/4 of the charge

 

[bgibb68]

i was hoping i can get it changed before deployment i would hate for my wife to get ripped off

i need to do mine but i'm planning on rebuilding the motor so i'm waiting for that....it would be dumb for me if tore it down to do the timing than a month later do the rebuild

wish i could help with that.....just check and ask around....don't goto dealer or any comercial shops

 

[DawsonPro5]

I had mine changed at 80,000 miles. I bought my car with 60,000 miles and have no idea how the previous owner drove it and figured it would be good preventative maintenance. (Plus, I knew someone that eff'ed their engine up when their belt blew.) I paid $550 exactly. That was changing both belts, water pump, pulleys, tensioner and they flushed the radiator. It was noticably quieter and smoother. No regrets.

 

[Criscobath]

96,000 miles and I'll do it again at 180,000.

 

[crazypj]

i bought the car used at like 96,000 and im at 122,000 now i was told to do it at 120,000 but i just havent had the time due to desert traning and just working 24/7 i just wanted to know how hard i would be to do it my self because ive been quoted between 500 to 1000$$$

I've just finished changing timing belt on wife's car.
Its actually pretty easy (would be simple if I had some sort of lift)
I put car up on ramps, then had to use engine hoist to lift front right to remove wheel and put jackstand under chassis
As the AC and alternator belts were breaking up I thought I'd do all of them, I expected the cam timing belt to be in same condition.
'Only' did 90,218 miles, cam belt looked in perfect condition, took some measurements and its only slightly worn (mainly on the back from tensioner?)
The part number and stuff is still visible
Thickness between 'teeth' to back, 2.00mm, thickness of teeth, 4.5mm 'tooth' width, 4.75mm.
The new one was 2.10mm 5mm 5mm.
both were exactly 21mm wide. I probably could have adjusted it and gone another 30,000 miles. ( I think I'm going to research tensioner a bit and check that at Christmas, when I get time off, not sure I have tension exactly right)
Used a Haynes manual so it took much longer than expected (didn't have anything on 2000 1.6 protege engine,)
Had to remove cam cover, couldn't get at top pulleys with it in the way (couldn't get top belt cover off either)
The examples of timing were not even close to what I have but the 1.8 looked close enough so that's what I used (plus I've done DOHC bikes for over 30 yrs)
I needed a puller to get crank outer piece off timing 'gear' probably could have pried a it but didn't know exactly what was holding it on ( just a tight fit)
I had a Triumph motorcycle timing gear puller that worked, but I took a while to find it
All together, including oil and filter, tyres, and checking everything I should have done at 60,000 it took about 6 hrs. I was expecting about 1.5~2 for timing belt and 45mins for rest of stuff.
I guess I'm a 'bit' out of practice (hand)
Its also the first one I've ever done.
Now I remember why I stick to working on bikes, you can ge at mos sttuff easy and its lighter.
PJ

 

[br289165]

What up on the motor rebuild?

i need to do mine but i'm planning on rebuilding the motor so i'm waiting for that....it would be dumb for me if tore it down to do the timing than a month later do the rebuild

wish i could help with that.....just check and ask around....don't goto dealer or any comercial shops

 

[br289165]

the $550 included the water pump itself?

I had mine changed at 80,000 miles. I bought my car with 60,000 miles and have no idea how the previous owner drove it and figured it would be good preventative maintenance. (Plus, I knew someone that eff'ed their engine up when their belt blew.) I paid $550 exactly. That was changing both belts, water pump, pulleys, tensioner and they flushed the radiator. It was noticably quieter and smoother. No regrets.

 

[Purrfectangel]

changed my alt and my timing at 116xxx. Timing belt was in better shape than my alt belt, probably could have gotten another couple K out of it. It should not take more than two hours, mine was 1.5 hours. Total bill was $284= 2 belts, labour and an oil change. The price can ranges higher or lower depending on what you change. That quote or price of 500-1000 was likely including the changing of the waterpump, usually you get somewheres around 260k out of a pump so if it's still good, let it be. I never had mine changed when I had my belts done. There was no need but it will have to be done the next go around.

 

[Jaleik]

I need to change mine on the msp, I had to get some parts at the dealer so I asked them for a quote and they said around 600 with the waterpump, went to a few shops and got prices ranging from 300 to 1100 (I laughed at that one so hard) im fairly advanced in mechanic but ive never done a timing belt, anyone would have a how-to for a msp?

edit: my alternator and belt were changed under warranty the very last week I was still under warranty so they are fairly new and I changed my serpentine belt recently so those are still good for a while, is it really neccesary to change the waterpump?