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My 97 is in the shop and I just found out I need a new water pump. They want something like $600 (just labor I think) to do it. I'm trying to decide if I should try my hand at it myself. I'm more familiar with doing suspension/brake related stuff, but I want to learn how to do more. What's the difficulty of this job? Are there any special tools required? What else should I think about doing at the same time?
Thanks!
Might as well do the timing belt, camshaft seals and idler pulleys if they haven't been done lately.
Might as well do belts and hoses while you're in there.
Hold on a Minute $600.00 to replace just the water pump! Really??
If I understood correctly. But that might have included some of the other stuff too.Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
Im a mechanic if you want to save some money. I need to to my timing belt/seals next week too.
Yikes! I'd definitively get some clarification on that one!
Probably going to try doing this job with a buddy. That said, I really don't know what I'm doing yet. But isn't that part of the fun?Quote:
Originally Posted by 00MugenS2
Told them not to do it hahaQuote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
BTW, for clarification, you get way more that a water pump if we do the job!
Do tell...Quote:
Originally Posted by black roadster
For $600 you better be getting an entire timing belt job: t-belt, water pump, idler pulleys, tensioner, cam seals, crank seal (with bolt and key, especially for a short nose 1.6), valve cover gasket, CAS o-ring, new main water hoses, new accessory belts, and I'd hope even new spark plugs. Possibly even an oil change for completion. Could even argue a thermostat if it's old enough (I would personally, but I can see why some people wouldn't).
Not at most shops. Book time on the water pump alone is 4.7 hours. IIRC, If you went to a Mazda service center you would be looking at over a grand parts and labor for TB and WP.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
If you take a non-warranty car to a dealership for work of that nature, you deserve to pay $1000. Sorry, but that's dumb. It's an enthusiast car: I'd be willing to bet there are more people here that would do a better job than a dealership, for about half the cost. That's how it is for practically any enthusiast car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
Exactly, i dont understand why people take there 15 year old cars to dealers
if i took my TTZ to Nissan to fix something they would probably mess something up and charge me more then the car is worth.
Zs especially. The local dealership to me in NJ would ask me if I could do their timing belt jobs for those since they didn't have any techs that could/wanted to bother (the parts manager is married to my sister-in-law's sister). But a timing belt job on a Miata is about as easy as they come.
Any general shop that has a tech that even slightly knows what he is doing can handle it with ease. I agree they will charge book labor, which is more than needed (usually is), but it's still a better option than a dealership.
An even better option, since it's a very popular enthusiast car, is to find one of the local tech guys and have them do it for you or help you with it (which is what it seems like the OP is doing here). I'd bet that it gets done faster, cheaper, better/more stuff done for the time/money, and just generally more care put into it. Hell, pay me $600 and I'll do all I said AND wash the thing when I'm done (I'm bad at washing cars though, so it'd be a little better than a touchless car wash).
Just do it yourself. It is not that hard, plus that will give you time to bond with your Miata. If you need to borrow tools for the timing belt, I got the crank bolt tool, crank seal installer and new just got today the FM cam gear ninja tool.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3..._MSM/photo.jpg
Lee
Sweet. I may take you up on that, if you don't mind being paid in the form of beer. I was just looking at that tool! Love the picture....but it is a twist off... ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Awdieee
I know it's a twist off, just want to try out my new beer opener. ;)
The crank bolt tool and crank seal installer are not with me but I am heading back to Arkansas next weekend and will bring them back with me. Let me know when you need it.
Lee
I was hoping to do it this coming weekend, but it looks like I won't be ready by then.
This looks like a pretty inclusive kit that isn't too expensive:
http://www.rspeed.net/R_Speed_Timing.../nab-72007.htm
Is it missing anything?
Any thoughts on the Gates "Performance" timing belt? http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda...t/61-0407.html
I haven't done a timing belt job before. Where and how to I apply silicone sealant? Any specific type/brand of silicone sealant I should get?
theromostat and radiator hoses
and Gates makes good belts/hoses.
I should get a new thermostat? Yeah, I was just looking at radiator hoses. I'll get those too. What about heater hoses? Should I? And how easy are they to replace?Quote:
Originally Posted by 00MugenS2
Rosenthal/Arlington Mazda,
http://parts.arlingtonmazda.com/prod...KMK001%29.html
See "Related Products" tab for Thermostat & gasket.
Yes to all of those questions. The heater hoses tend to spring leaks when they are the most inconvenient, so you should definitely replace those now while the coolant needs to be drained anyway. They aren't the easiest water hoses to install, but they aren't bad. Might want to look into the silicone ones so you don't have to ever worry about them again (same with the main rad hoses).Quote:
Originally Posted by GroceryHauler
I'd highly recommend a Mazda thermostat over a local autoparts store's offerings.
Awesome! Thanks guys. Adding that to the list. I'm going to try to order everything tonight.
I am getting the silicone versions of the 3 main radiator hoses and 2 heater hoses. What about the other, smaller hoses? Should I replace those as well? Looking at Rosenthal there are a lot of them.
It's never a bad idea to, especially considering the age of all of them (probably original from 1997), but most people don't until they have problems with them. Depends on how anal you want to get with preventative maintenance.
I think I spent $300 on parts and bought breakfast for the crew that showed up at my house. The work included belts, hoses, WP, TB, new tensioners, valve cover gasket, spark plugs and wires.
I had torn down the engine before everyone arrived to make it easier. Having everything installed and ready for a test drive took a couple of hours max.
I completed a water pump replacement this weekend (along with all the other stuff - timing belt, tensioners, belts, thermostat, gaskets). I did it by myself and it took 7-8 hours. I think I could do it in half that time now. I went really slow reading and re-reading, labeled everything and took pictures. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. And as was mentioned, it is great bonding time with your miata. :D
I started the job this weekend and, frankly, didn't make much progress. Right now I'm stuck trying to get the crankshaft bolt loose. Any suggestions? I wish I had a better air compressor/impact wrench.
http://www.teamcotton.net/miata/crank_bolt.jpg
First, adjust the regulator for your compressor to about 115-120 psi. I know most budget impact guns are rated for 90 psi max, but this aught to get a few extra ft. lbs. of power into your impact.
Second, try to borrow a hard-hitting impact gun from a friend (or buy a bigger one for yourself).
If that fails, put the car in 3rd gear and set the e-brake pretty hard (to keep the engine from turning). Loosen with a breaker bar.
I have had mixed luck when I was in a jam by putting the closed (boxed) end of a wrench over a nut and hitting it with a mini-sledge for pseudo-impact gun effect. Maybe use that as a last resort.
Well, I feel like an idiot. I just realized I bought the Flyin' Miata tool just for this (http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept...5-61000%20%20P). I'll give that a shot.
I've actually tried pretty much all those things already. 115psi (gun rated at 90psi). I think I need a bigger compressor. Mine probably doesn't put out enough CFM. Used 5th gear and tried a breaker bar. Tried breaker bar + mini sledge.Quote:
Originally Posted by boisking
The CFM isn't going to make a difference when you are talking a couple hits from an impact. The CFM is the Cubic feet per minute that the pump adds air to the tank. When you are doing something that requires a continues supply of air, then you need a compressor with a CFM higher than the tool (Sanders, grinders, etc) so it can keep up. But an impact is a quick hit. If the tank has 115psi in it, you are going to get several hits of 100psi+ of air to the impact regardless of what CFM the pump is.Quote:
Originally Posted by GroceryHauler
With that said, I will bet your issue is that your impact is garbage. I had a few different impacts that came with cheap CH packs of several air tools for 1 price. They sucked and wouldn't get anything off. I picked up a used Snap-On impact off of EBay and it made a world of difference.
That's probably it. I should keep an eye out for a good one on craigslist.
Pawn shops are usually a good place to pick up a used impact. Look for a truck brand (SnapOn/Mac/Matco/Cornwell) or you can't go wrong with an IR (Ingersoll-Rand). Stay away from Craftsman... this is one of those cases where they do not make a quality tool. If you never deal with Pawn Shops, you need to know that all the prices are negotiable. It shouldn't take much effort to get 25% knocked off the price.Quote:
Originally Posted by GroceryHauler