Buying Timing Belt / Waterpump Kit

bigdog · Postby **bigdog** » Wed May 04, 2011 11:02 am

What Manga Blue said. Also, it helps to have or make the crank locking tool and a seal installation tool. I installed the crank seal without these and pushed the seal into the housing too far - and it leaked. Cue new seal and installation tool. The locking tool makes the job much easier/quicker - they come from Flyin Miata here: http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept=121

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed May 04, 2011 12:06 pm

zossy and wun are spot on. A quote of $220 seems wrong- the usual cost incl bits is in the order of $800-1000. Ask a dealer or perhaps the MX5 factory for time and cost. The opening post indicates a real saving in DIY- and $220 is not worth the effort. I reckon 2 hours is not possible. Jerrah's points bear out what a tricky job it can be.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:02 pm

I hear that another way of doing this that's become popular around Melbourne lately is to pay someone who says he's a Mazda specialist to do the job badly. Then lose 2 months sleep over arguing about getting it fixed and then finally give up and take it to Dean to pay to get the job done properly.

mazdatenfive · Postby **mazdatenfive** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:58 pm

Does anyone hire the special tools required. ie Crank locking tool and a seal installation tool

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:41 pm

I did mine on my own, bought a pvc piece from bunnings to seat the cam and crank seals. Made a crank holder out of a piece of scrap metal.

Use a workshop manual, take your time, triple check and its quite easy.

Plenty of online help if you google it. Plus the satisfaction and cash savings are great!!

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:56 pm

There's a template for the crank locking plate on miata.net somewhere. In any case an air rattler does a better, safer job of getting it off. You don't need to lock the crank to put it on again, just a reasonably big torque wrench. The seal can be tapped in using a block of wood as a pad. Just don't drift it any further in than flush with the face of the cover.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:05 pm

sorry gents in getting caught up with "detail" but someone might be interested. I bought a rennenmetal crank holding plate and to make such an item at home most will struggle to make it accurately or properly- I assessed it and opted for the right tool- which you might not need if the bolt removes easily. The product has instructions plus is powder coated and post is so easy- cost about $30 landed.

Removal of crank bolts with home air rattle guns - these often do not have enough torque and a long bar is also not always effective and handbrakes in gear etc are not the same as the plate Manga obviously knows how to do these things and probably has the right equipment and know how.

I gave up on a Magna - tried rattle gun and long bar and then took it to a local mechanic. He told me to use the tried and effective long bar and hit the starter motor method - I opted to let him do it!

There are testaments on the forum of how this "easy" job can go pear shaped.

My observation was that there is too much information - some of it with different methods and write ups often contain too much extraneous description. The Mazda manual seemed the best method. I ultimately opted not to do it- I got a reasonable quote and went with that.

the rennenmetal plate is as follows www.rennenmetal.com/proddetail.asp?prod=2255

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:13 pm

In this instance I think I will do the same as Mr Morlock. Yippee !!! we finally agree on something

$225 is not worth saving to do it myself.

gussy · Postby **gussy** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:15 pm

I was asked a while back what the going rate was for a timing belt change was. $800 - $100 dollars was the advice. All the bit and pieces required including a genuine Mazda waterpump can be bought on MX5 Parts in the UK for less than $200 delivered. So that would leave $600 - 800 left in labour charges...
To the guy who got it done for $220 well done, it's probably a 3 hour job tops for someone who knows what their doing, and it's still $70 bucks an hour at that cost. Not bad..

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:01 pm

gussy wrote:I was asked a while back what the going rate was for a timing belt change was. $800 - $100 dollars was the advice. All the bit and pieces required including a genuine Mazda waterpump can be bought on MX5 Parts in the UK for less than $200 delivered. So that would leave $600 - 800 left in labour charges...
To the guy who got it done for $220 well done, it's probably a 3 hour job tops for someone who knows what their doing, and it's still $70 bucks an hour at that cost. Not bad..

I am buying the parts seperately. The quotes I have gotten for labour include $225, $300, $350 and $400. All are from businesses who have been recommended on this forum.