OK. Briefly:

I can't speak for your car, but I'll talk about the 1997 Protégé I did
earlier in the year.

I used a Chilton manual that was generally helpful, but attempts to be all
things to all models and can be confusing. You have to read it carefully
and, even then, there will still be some surprises.

First step was to drain the coolant. Then, jack up the car, remove the
passenger (USA) side tire land the chassis on a jack stand. This gives
access to the front of the (transverse) engine. On the Protégé, it was also
helpful to remove the headlight assembly and other plastic bits for access
reasons as well.

Next came the removal of accessory belts (alternator, etc) and the water
pump pulley. A hint here is to loosen the water pump pulley bolts before
removing the belt.

Once the belts and pulley were removed, you have access to the timing belt
covers on the front of the engine.

On the Mazdas I have done, the cam cover (valve cover) has to come off to
access the cam pulley (or pulleys...depending on the design). This is a good
time to replace the spark plugs, spark plug wires and the cover gasket. Note
that Mazda requires a blob of RTV on certain areas when installing the new
gasket. I also suggest stuffing rags into the spark plug holes so nothing
falls in there while you are doing this work.

Remove the belt covers and, using an appropriate socket, turn the crankshaft
until the crank pulley mark and timing marks are aligned per the manual
instructions. This is, of course, a lot easier with the plugs removed.

Mark the old belt, crank and cam pulley(s) with indelible marker at
reference points on the timing belt teeth and pulley. This is important as
you will transfer these marks to the new belt and re-install the new belt
exactly to these marks.

Loosen the tensioner pulley, remove the tensioner spring, push the pulley
out of the way and temporarily lock it in place. Depending on the design,
you may want to remove the pulley if it is associated with the water pump
assembly. It may help for easier removal of the belt. Depending on the
design of the engine, you may have to remove the crank pulley. If you do, it
is helpful to know if there is any specific key orientation and the correct
mounting torque when re-installing the pulley. On the Protégé, I had to put
a wood block under the engine to support it while unbolting the top engine
mount (to allow removal and replacement of the timing belt). The Chilton
manual did clearly state that this was required for another engine but
failed to do so for mine. It wasn't such a big deal, but highlights that
these enthusiast manuals can skimp on details.

Remove the belt and, when convenient, carefully transfer the marks on the
belt to the new one. Remove and replace the water pump using appropriate
gaskets and mounting torque. Put any idler pulley, tensioner spring and
tensioner pulley back on the engine block, install the new belt and don't
forget to rebolt the engine mount. Before setting the tensioner, turn the
crank pulley two revolutions and ensure the timing marks on the crank and
cam(s) align properly. Note that the marks you put on the belt will no
longer align. This is OK. There is a point to which you set the crankshaft
before letting the tensioner spring tighten; the manual probably states
this. On the Mazda engines I did, it was about 5/6 of the second rotation,
before TDC of the #1 cylinder.

Clamp down the tensioner pulley to the specified torque, put all the covers,
belts, hoses, sparkplugs, wheels, etc back on. Put in the appropriate
amount of coolant, check everything one more time and fire it up.

As you requested, Danish, this is the Reader's Digest version of the job. I
suggest you need a bit more than this general information to do this
properly and, of course, any outcome good or not so good is up to you. Good
luck; let us know how you made out.

Ken









"Danish" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for the posting.......i've understood everything you've said in
> your post. Can you give me a brief description of whats needs to be
> done? Will the block have to be lifted?
>
> "KWS" > wrote in message
news:<t75ld.498580$mD.182179@attbi_s02>...
> > I think a good number of the posters here have some experience doing
various
> > levels of automobile maintenance. So when you read about someone
replacing
> > this or that, it probably should not be considered a "professional"
> > statement, but most of these folks have turned a wrench or two.
> >
> > Mazda, like other vendors, uses twin cam engines where the cams are
driven
> > by a timing belt. The timing belt spins a couple of other things besides
the
> > cams, one of those is the water pump. That's why you will often see
timing
> > belt changes accompanied by water pump replacement. Conversely, if you
are
> > going to change the water pump, you should consider changing out the
timing
> > belt at the same time, unless it is reasonably new (which, if it is,
> > suggests that the water pump should have been changed at the same time).
> > Other replacement components are the tensioner and idler pulley.
> >
> > If, in reading this so far, you haven't a clue as to what I am saying,
then
> > you should consider a different level of involvement vs. the one you
> > described. My suggestion would be to enlist the help of a automotively
> > minded friend who can assist and guide you through the steps to get this
> > done while teaching you the fundamentals of auto repair. A decent manual
is
> > typically required, but there are some details that you will have to
figure
> > out for yourself, especially if you rely on something like a Haynes.
> >
> > In essence, it is merely a series of steps that must be taken in order
to
> > accomplish the job. It is fair to warn you that these steps require a
> > certain level of knowledge and skill. It's not at all rocket science,
but
> > can be daunting for a beginner. We all have to begin somewhere, however.
> >
> > I do stuff like this because, as you point out, it saves money. But the
> > other reason, probably more compelling for me, is that I simply don't
trust
> > the rank and file auto mechanics out there to do the job correctly. If I
do
> > it, I know it will be done right; that's worth something to me. If you
have
> > a mechanic you can trust (and there are certainly good ones to be
found),
> > then it's a matter of money and the inconvenience of drop off, pick up,
> > rental car, etc.
> >
> > Ken
> >
> > "Danish" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > Hi Guys
> > >
> > > I know this is a Miata forum but its also the only ram. forum for
> > > mazda. I'd just like to know what is involved in replacing the
> > > waterpump on the above car?
> > >
> > > I'd like to do it myself and save money on labor if its not too tricky
> > > and I can do it with the typical do-it-yourselfer tools.
> > >
> > > What are the steps involved?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Danish