Mazda 323 (late 98-02?) 1.5 -timing belt or chain?

cargrouch

Tried googling this but only get US websites. Thanks in advance to anyone who can give an informed answer on this. I get the impression that mazda generally use chains, but as they say - there's always one.

As an aside - were Mazda going out of their way to confuse people in the mid to late nineties with 323 and 323f variants? I've tried explaining that I'm looking for the square 323F (looks more like an estate than the previous "sporty" models) and you'd swear I was from mars the response I get!

bazz26

cargrouch wrote:

Tried googling this but only get US websites. Thanks in advance to anyone who can give an informed answer on this. I get the impression that mazda generally use chains, but as they say - there's always one.

As an aside - were Mazda going out of their way to confuse people in the mid to late nineties with 323 and 323f variants? I've tried explaining that I'm looking for the square 323F (looks more like an estate than the previous "sporty" models) and you'd swear I was from mars the response I get!

Afaik the 323 was belt driven but I am open to correction. Ring around a few dealers to confirm.

I had a similar query recently with the Mazda 6, I rang my local dealer who quoted me €350 to change the timing belt on the 6. No problem there but after confirmation from some helpful people on here and ringing another dealer the 6 actually uses a timing chain. Doesn't inspire me with confidence in the first dealer!!

Regarding the different models of 323, the 1994 - 1998 5 door model was known as the sportier 323f, the 1999 - 2003 5 door model was just known to most as just the hatchback model rather than the 323f.

OMcGovern

I've a '96 Mazda 323F myself.... and it's just over 60,000 on the clock.
So I believe it's due for a timing belt/chain change.

Anyways, if you're getting the job done in Dublin, would you mind posting the price and where you got it done ?

I'm not familiar with car mechanics, but I thought, as a rule, that they usually replace the water pump with the timing belt ?

cheers,
Owen

bazz26

OMcGovern wrote:

I'm not familiar with car mechanics, but I thought, as a rule, that they usually replace the water pump with the timing belt ?

cheers,
Owen

Yes it is a good idea to get the water pump changed at the same time as the water pump is located close to the belt. It works out cheaper and less hassel to get both done at the same time.

cargrouch

Thanks for replies so far lads.

OMcGovern - another job to consider on some cars is replacing the timing belt tensioner at the same time. Dunno if this applies in this case as I have no experience of mazdas. To be honest I learned this the hard way - then again maybe it's only FIAT that make tensioners that are weaker than what they are meant to be tensioning:mad:

Would have a preference for a chain. The Nissan chain driven engines just seem to keep on plugging anyways.

gary the great

my mates doing my 323f BA at the weekend, the belt, tensioners and proibly the water pump if i can afford it (how much do these usually cost?)

Then we'll give it a full service after, theres 52k on the clock, so hopefully it will be many a year before any more work has to be done on it

The joys of having a mate whos a mechanic, he's charging me nothing and getting the parts at discounted price!!

colm_mcm

98-03 323's arer all belts (1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 petrol anyway)

pburns

bazz26 wrote:

I had a similar query recently with the Mazda 6, I rang my local dealer who quoted me €350 to change the timing belt on the 6. No problem there but after confirmation from some helpful people on here and ringing another dealer the 6 actually uses a timing chain. Doesn't inspire me with confidence in the first dealer!!

Bazz, I thought you said in another thread that you have an Avensis & are thinking of a Mazda 6... Dunno whether to applaud your thorough research or encourage you to just go for the car if you fancy it - if there are any additional ownership costs over an Avensis they're gonna be pretty small.

If you have a car that you really like & get some satisfaction from - that's worth a hell of a lot. I've had an Avensis - it's an appliance...

I'm not saying a 6 has Maserati levels of character but a Sports Tourer is more of an enthusiasts car than the Toyota. An Avensis just doesn't seem apt for an enthusiastic contributer to the Motors forum!

(Sorry for hi-jacking the thread)

bazz26

pburns wrote:

Bazz, I thought you said in another thread that you have an Avensis & are thinking of a Mazda 6... Dunno whether to applaud your thorough research or encourage you to just go for the car if you fancy it - if there are any additional ownership costs over an Avensis they're gonna be pretty small.

If you have a car that you really like & get some satisfaction from - that's worth a hell of a lot. I've had an Avensis - it's an appliance...

I'm not saying a 6 has Maserati levels of character but a Sports Tourer is more of an enthusiasts car than the Toyota. An Avensis just doesn't seem apt for an enthusiastic contributer to the Motors forum!

(Sorry for hi-jacking the thread)

I do have an Avensis but I was looking at Mazda 6 back in November. Do a search for my thread "Bit of a dilema". It was a 2003 6 Sport Touring (not Touring as mentioned in the below ad) saloon with only 1 owner and 43k miles. This is the exact car which is still for sale btw: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=527359.

I rang my local Mazda dealer for a quote on replacing the timing belt as I wanted to try using it as a bargining tool on the deal. In fairness the deal was pretty good already - a 2003 Avensis 1.8 Luna with 115k miles + €1,300 for a 2003 Mazda 6 with only 43k miles. My local Mazda dealer quoted me €350 for a timing belt change excluding water pump or tensioners. I then found out from some helpful boardies here and ringing another Mazda dealer that the 6 actually has a timing chain not a belt. :eek:

Regarding the Avensis just being an appliance with no soul. Well after test driving the Mazda 6 (granted only for about 15 mins) I found very little difference between the two cars. The steering on the 6 is that bit lighter so there is slightly more feed back than the Avensis. The current Avensis is light years ahead of the old model and it has served me well for the last 4 years. Looks wise yes the 6 wins that hands down and the Avensis is definately the more conservative styled of the two but personally I think the interior of the Avensis has been slightly better thought out, especially regarding the switchgear. Hardly a defining attribute I know but sometimes it is the small things that are what makes you choose one over the other.

Decided in the end to keep what I have and send it through the NCT in May and wait until next year and see if I can at least trade up to 2004 or 2005 probably a 6.

Apologies to the OP too for going OT.