Gary wrote:
>
> I have about 78K on a '90 and have never done the timing belt. Shame
> on me, but the car runs great. Can I get another 10K and delay doing
> it or am I flirting with disaster? If I gamble by waiting a while
> longer am I going to ruin the engine if it finally goes on me? Also,
> has anyone ever gotten over 80K on a timing belt on a early Miata,
> like my '90?

About a month ago my radiator blew out at 101,000 miles. Since I was
going to have to pull the radiator anyway, in order to save the cost of
doing that twice I decided that it would be a good time to replace the
serpentine belt, the timing belt, and also the water pump, which is
buried under all that stuff. A water pump is only about $80, and now I
won't have to worry about it going bad and costing me $200-$300 extra
for the labor to get into it. The old timing belt looked pretty good
despite having gone 41,000 miles past its scheduled replacement date.

Note also that in California the same timing belt is rated to be
replaced at 105,000 miles! So by that standard you should be good for
another 27,000 miles. But age makes belts deteriorate and your timing
belt is almost fifteen years old by now.

So I've heard, the Miata has a non-interfering engine, which means that
if your timing belt goes it won't eat any valves, your engine will just
suddenly turn off. I had a timing belt break on a Corolla at 180,000
miles when I was going down the Interstate in Tampa; I coasted down an
off-ramp right into the parking lot for a car mechanic's shop.

Yours WDK -



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