Mazda Demio 45k mile First Service.

danjo-xx

lol, true though, 9yrs old, running very well, have replaced oil, oil and air filters regularly and tyres but thats about it.

To prevent trouble coming soon I'm thinking of:
new battery
new plugs
new brake pads and shoes
Change brake fluid

Will get Advance Pitstop to do most, could change plugs myself, but is there any other "tune up" things that needs to be done to keep me engine purring

Muckie

I'd only change the battery when you need to, if its doing its

job you'll get another while out of it.

A glance of brake shoes/disc's with the wheel off will tell you

if they need changing. Also how feel when you brake.

colm_mcm

do a timing belt as a matter of urgency.

danjo-xx

colm_mcm wrote: »

do a timing belt as a matter of urgency.

Its recommended at 54k mls, so might be no harm to do it now allright.

@muckie might take your advice there.


I can change the plugs myself but is there any other important engine/ignition tune up required at 45k mls. she's running smoothly,
*tempting fate now*

CharlieCroker

+1 on the timing belt. Even though it says 54k, thats 4-5 yrs motoring for the average driver. The belt is made of rubber so it will perish over time and could easily snap.
I'm suprised you haven't done the plugs yet, they'll prob be manky when you take them out.

bazz26

danjo-xx wrote: »

Its recommended at 54k mls, so might be no harm to do it now allright.

Your belt is 9 years old, it's made of rubber and it wears irrespective of mileage on the clock over that time.

danjo-xx

cheers lads

danjo-xx

follow on question, car is 1999, should I just replacing the timing belt or go for a timing belt kit replacement, quite a bit of difference in price?

L1011

Kit is presumably the tensioners, etc? Replace the lot, and the water pump while you've got everything off. Car is old and this stuff wears out.

jozi

Do these need the timing belt done every 45k?

Parents have one of these, thing just keeps going!

colm_mcm

5 years or 100,000km is the interval from what I remember from all the 323's we've had.

jozi

Must mention it to dad then, think it went over the 100k not to long ago. Doubt he'll be bothered thou...

danjo-xx

.

danjo-xx

I'm having a bit of bother trying to pull the leads off the plugs, as the plugs are recessed into the block and there is not much room to get a grip, anyone know if it's safe to use a long nose pliers to pull the leads off or would that damage them as I want to reuse them.

colm_mcm

don't pull by the lead. by the big lumpy bit is ok, but don't pull by the actual lead.

danjo-xx

colm_mcm wrote: »

don't pull by the lead. by the big lumpy bit is ok, but don't pull by the actual lead.

yup I'm aware of that and am only pulling the lumpy bit but because the plugs are recessed the lump bit just stretches, cause I can't get a good grip on it, so can I use a pliers on it?

vincenzolorenzo

Is 45000 miles not a very short length of time for timing belt. I changed the timing belt on my focus a month or two ago after 90000 miles and there wasn't a bother on it - no cracks/marks/line/any perishing at all. Different cars I know but surely 45000 mile is a bit low?

mondeo

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Is 45000 miles not a very short length of time for timing belt. I changed the timing belt on my focus a month or two ago after 90000 miles and there wasn't a bother on it - no cracks/marks/line/any perishing at all. Different cars I know but surely 45000 mile is a bit low?

Most cars in around 60k mark ahve the belts changed, I have seen belts on cars with over that and they look fine. The actual belt would probably last more then 60k but as precaution your advised to change it because rubber does perish over time. Even if you never drove the car the rubber belt would still degrade over time. Air will rot it over years of exposure. I have seen belts hanging on with their lives, cracked and brittle about to snap. It's quite a scarey sight

Nonoperational

Always get the timing belt kit. Always!

JHMEG

A timing belt "kit" varies per car.

I bought a kit last week for a 97 Civic and all that it is is the belt itself. The water pump and tensioner on the Civic have no replacement interval. They are inspected but only replaced if they are not up to scratch.

Your Mazda might be the same.

danjo-xx

As said rubber perrishes, my car has only 45k mls but is 9 years old, so I'm panicking, rang mazda and they said they seldom have to fit the full kit, on the demio or replace the water pump until maybe the 2nd timing belt change, so that is good news (I hope ) in my case but it seems it all depends on your make of car.

Mazda will change it for me for €260 all in and will throw in a free wash and hoover, and a drop home as I'm local, for this month only, sounds a good deal to me, what you folk think....:)

Stephen

€260 to change a timing belt is very good indeed. It must be an easy job on that car

danjo-xx

Got the job done today for the price quoted and they also fitted a set of spark plugs for me for free:)

Enquired how much to replace pads and shoes, as car has 45k mls on the clock and they reckon they shuouldnt need replacing yet, btw no warning lights are coming on, so how long do pads and shoes last nowadays if your a careful driver, 45k mls seems a lot to me, shuld I just wait till warning lights come on.

johndaman66

danjo-xx wrote: »

so how long do pads and shoes last nowadays if your a careful driver, 45k mls seems a lot to me, shuld I just wait till warning lights come on.

Will depend really. Will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer in the first instance for original manufacturer equipment. Some cars tend to eat brake pads at an enormous rate as a mechanic once explained to me due to the design of the brakes. The differnce between various brands of aftermarket brake pads would be even more enormous.

The way you drive and road conditions will have a bearing. I drive the same make and model as a friend. I do mainly motorway driving and a set could easily last me 50,000 miles plus. Friend uses mainly secondary and poorly surfaced bendy roads and would be lucky to get 20,000 miles out of his. Also if you are carrying or towing heavy loads on a regular basis I'm sure this would have a bearing. Remember very worn pads will eat discs quickly too. As a general rule of thumb I would think 45,000 miles and nine years of motoring would require a change of brake pads though.

I would also be inclined to change my coolant pronto along with timing belt if I were you danjo-xx

zilog_jones

It's a non-interference engine so the timing belt snapping should not damage the engine. However if it's on the way out it could snap at any time while driving, so could be potentially dangerous I guess.

(Deja vu anyone? )