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Tuesday I'm going to be doing a timing belt on the girlfriend's car, along with a coolant flush/clean and water pump, might as well since I'm in there. Are there any other parts that I should be replacing while I'm in there that are prone to failure? I may have to go ahead and replace the front main seal due to a leak (though I'm not sure where at the moment as I'll find out when I do the water pump).

Also, I've got the Factory Service Manual and the Chilton's for doing the timing belt, seems like everything is about standard, but is there anything that I should be looking out for? Little things that are quirks for the B6?

Picked up the parts at O'Reilly's:

Gates timing belt kit (TCK185)
Water Pump (CP4049)

Did the timing belt come with tensioners? If it doesn't, grab those but otherwise you should be fine. Job is damn easy on a B6(only done it on a BP but it's essentially the same).

Grab another valve cover gasket if yours is in rough shape, assuming you have a DOHC which has the valve cover and timing cover combined.


Nothing particularly quirky or difficult about it, I used the workshop manual on mx-3.com and it was pretty easy.

Also, engines are non interference so if you mess up, worst comes to worst you're engine will be rough and you can just fix it in an hour(most of which is disassembly and reassembly). No busted valves for you.

RobMinhas wrote:Did the timing belt come with tensioners? If it doesn't, grab those but otherwise you should be fine. Job is damn easy on a B6(only done it on a BP but it's essentially the same).

Yep, the belt came with the tensioner. Never will get a timing belt without a tensioner.

RobMinhas wrote:Grab another valve cover gasket if yours is in rough shape, assuming you have a DOHC which has the valve cover and timing cover combined.

Already replaced.


Nothing particularly quirky or difficult about it, I used the workshop manual on mx-3.com and it was pretty easy.

RobMinhas wrote:Also, engines are non interference so if you mess up, worst comes to worst you're engine will be rough and you can just fix it in an hour(most of which is disassembly and reassembly). No busted valves for you.

Which is one of the nice things that I like about the B6. I've recently dealt with a timing belt failure on my 4G63: Interference motor.

I figured that it would be pretty standard changing it for a SOHC. I'll be using the Chilton's mainly since it's in book form over the FSM since I've only got it on my computer.

Cam seals is a good idea as well!

Tavman_1213 wrote:Cam seals is a good idea as well!

Noted. I'll be double checking everything in the area to make sure what will need to be replaced. Girlie isn't happy about the possibility of her car being down for two to three days given my work schedule, but it just might have to be.

You should be able to do it quite easily in less than a day as long as you can get the front pulley bolt loose

I have used a breaker bar and bumped the starter to get it loose before. I do not recommend doing it this way if you can avoid it.

Got nearly everything torn down. Checked the timing belt and there are a few breaks in it, so it will definitely need to be replaced.

But of course, the woodruf key that held the crank and the cranksprocket together had fallen out when I took off the baffle. Then, of course, when I went to put the crank bolt back in I didn't notice that it was gone and spun the engine. Now I'm afraid that it's out of time as the timing marks don't line up. Should I keep going ahead and spinning it, putting the woodruff key back in, and double checking constantly? or just set it cylinder 1 to TDC even though it will be off a tooth as per 10 BTDC?

I would put it back at TDC, and do it over. You are going to feel better knowing you did it right. And sometimes the short cuts may seem faster but can result in more time spent.

Josh wrote:I would put it back at TDC, and do it over. You are going to feel better knowing you did it right. And sometimes the short cuts may seem faster but can result in more time spent.

Ended up thinking about it a little further as I was rather distressed over having to find exact timing again; mainly the time it takes to get everything reset.

Turns out that the crankshaft just spins. The key that holds both the crank and the crank sprocket together had fallen out which allowed the crank to spin independently from the crank sprocket. No big deal; spun the crank and aligned it all up. Set everything at TDC and she's good to go.

Ended up doing an oil change, coolant clean with that Prestone stuff, coolant flush, water pump, thermostat gasket (already replaced the thermostat couple months ago), upper and lower radiator hoses, and a block heater.

All in all, it was a really easy timing belt to get done. Nothing to it really, no unusual quirks besides that key falling out of place, but that wasn't a big deal.

While I was at it I ended up cleaning the water outlet neck and the thermostat housing (no cracks!). I was going to take some time and remove the coolant pipe that runs from the water pump to the back of the motor, but couldn't.

for future reference it is really simple to get it back to tdc if you pull plug #1 and set a screw driver in the hole and then turn until it is at the top and key way is properly aligned with timing mark

Sounds like a good refresh on the little engine. hopefully it will go a long time without anything serious.

Josh wrote:for future reference it is really simple to get it back to tdc if you pull plug #1 and set a screw driver in the hole and then turn until it is at the top and key way is properly aligned with timing mark

Sounds like a good refresh on the little engine. hopefully it will go a long time without anything serious.

The engine has seen better days. Have yet to check compression, but it seems more under powered than it should be. I know it only has, what, 70-80 horsepower at the wheels, but still. Maybe a refresh of the internals would be at hand.

Well depending on how it has been taken care of that could be good. I know when I got my rs at 96K the valve guide seals went out at about 110K and at the same time I did what you have just done.

I bought the flying miata ninja cam tool here:

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dep ... r=35-62000

Because timing our cars, especially alone can be a pain. It always seems to be off a tooth once you put the belt on the tensioner.
Of course, the tool came in a day after installing my timing belt So i've yet to actually use it.
BUT in theory it should be perfect. Has anyone else used one of these?

ps. It does open bottles well

95_MX3_RS wrote:I bought the flying miata ninja cam tool here:

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dep ... r=35-62000

OMGoodness. How did I not know this existed.. I could have used this so many times.... *mind blown*

Such a thing exists?!