I'm geting close to 60k mi and i want to change my own timing belt on my 2000 protege dx 1.6L. Is there a how to on this, i've never done a timing belt on a protege. How would i set the timing since the car is a distrubitor-less. Also wondering if the engine is an interference engine, because i had a vw jetta that was and the belt snapped at 85mph and bent my valves.

 

I'm under the impression that the computer controlls the timing. I think when you install the belt you just have to make sure that the timing marks on the camshafts and the crank are in the proper orientation when you install the belt. The engine is not an interference setup.

 

there are timing marks that you have to line up...if it aint done right the engine dont run right or not at all...valve timing is run by the cams....ignition timing is run by the computer

 

You can go out and purchase the handbook on the Proteges, it tells you step by step how to change it. But the T belt is a big service and I wouldnt recommend changing it unless you know what you are doing. It would be better to take it to a mechanic.

I heard somewhere that The T belt only has to be inspected @ 60 but changed @ 120. Ive got 82k on mine. No problems.

 

i did mine at 70,000 they are real cheap for the part $35.00 better safe than sorry

 

I don't know if the 1.6L is a non-interference engine or not...I believe the 2.0L and 1.8L are though...

The timing is triggered by the crank position sensor and the cam position sensor (which is on the exhaust cam sprocket)...The ECU correlates data between the two sensors output to determine when each piston is approaching the top of the compression stroke...

I don't own a 1.6L...i changed the cams in my P5, as well as the belt...and it was not too bad at all if you have some extra hands...it is tight though, and easy to strip bolts if you don't have the tools....

Search this board a lot though, I know there was a lot of info on it from years ago...But I have no idea where it is now...

 

The timing belt on my '96 1.5L was a beast to change, but most of the trouble was just tight working space. I would warn you that the main bolt holding the crank pulley on can be torqued to a truly crazy degree depending on how bored the factory guy was, mine was probably up around 250 ft-lbs. Took quite a lot of doing and fab'ing a few tools to finally get the bolt off.

 

Yeah forgot to mention that...The first thing I did was soaked that bolt in WD-40 and rust penetrator the night before...and borrowed an impact wrench...still took a good half hour...but it finally broke off...

Like mentioned above though...the difficulty varies...and I took that bolt off of an MP3 in one try with no penetrator....

 

only 4 cyl mazda mad that was interference was the F2

 

For removing the crank pulley bolt, put a breaker bar or torque wrench on it, lay it against anything that won't move,(firewall, ground?) and bump the starter. Works every time.

 

Humph, I feel silly now.

 

That is an option...but by far not the safest...A LOT of people have snapped ring teeth off of the flywheel doing that...or binded the pinion gear and ruined the starter...The starter is not desinged to handle that much of a load...and the stock mounts nearly rip apart when you do it...

It is definately the ghetto way to get things done...If they did that at your dealership, you would probably be pissed...impact wrenches are easy to rent, and not even expenive if you have the compressor...It is much safer using one...

 

I have difficulty conceiving of how I'd get one down there.

I did fine making what I did though. Took a nice chunk of steel plate, drilled out holes in it that matched up with the crank pulley bolts, then did the push-pull bit between that and my torque wrench.

The starter method sounds fun and easy, but ultimately I doubt I'd actually do it with my car. Now your car...