I have a 1995 Mazda Protege LX with the 1.5 litre and 5 speed. I have around 103,000 miles....I am the second owner. I bought the car with 15,000 miles on it. So far I changed the normail wear and tear stuff...tires, battery, cv joints and last Summer I had to get a new a/c compressor. My question involves getting the timing belt and water pump replaced. The repair shop who replaced the a/c compressor last Summer was pretty fair and did a good job. I just wanted to know if I should get the timing belt and water pump replaced at a Mazda Dealership here in New Orleans??? And how much money should I be expecting to spend on such a repair. Thanks :-)

 

Yes you should replace it , usually this is done , every 60,000 miles , therefore your car is due, you can usually run it up to about 80,000 miles though depending on your driving habits, . This work will usually cost you about 500 bucks labor and everything included ..

If you drive hard , do rough start off's then you will need to replace this belt more often , but if you take your time and drive and maybe drive fast but don't start off hard, then you won't have a problem with the belt and it should last longer ....
Bruce