Oil leak behind the timing belt cover
 

Got plenty done this break so now it's ime to finally deal with this:

I'm assuming the oil is coming from the crank or cam seals, or both. Definitely not the valve cover gasket because I just replaced it.

Yup, I might as well do the the timing belt change while I have things opened up. I can get the belt and seals for a basic budget job. I can go with an Ebay kit from a local source with both tensioners, a valve cover gasket, and everything I need to change the water pump thrown in for a bit more. Ive seen other kits with basically the same parts for a lot more.

The engine is a replacement with less than 30K on the rebuild. Realistically, how much more should I need to do than just the belt and seals and how much is a reasonable amount to spend on parts?

Thanks!

My personal advice is to buy all mazda stuff. I'd be hesitant to put a bunch of eBay stuff on it. Maybe it's fine, but I would be skeptical. I think I had 150 in all my stuff from mazda shipped to my door, maybe less. The new WP was half the cost. Odds are the cam seals are leaking by the way.

hope for the seals. i had a bad leak in that area and it ended up being the oilpump gasket. Wasn't too bad for me to change since the motor was already out of the car for other reasons, but it would be a royal PITA if the motor was still in, because you have to drop the pan to remove the oil pump.

i think thats where i am leaking oil too. Gots oil all over the front of the motor and about 1/2" caked onto the bottom, i think it has been leaking for a while

I've checked around and the kit I'm looking at actually comes recommended by a few folks, but yeah, I agree. If this were a scheduled change at 60K, I probably would spend the extra money without a second thought.

I guess I'm wondering more if I need all the parts in a kit if I'm just going after the seals.

Yup. I lose about half a quart a week and it ends up all over the front of the engine and undercarriage. I'm tired of scraping off oily gunk, so it's time. :vash:

isn't it nice having it fall in your eye when your under the car tightening the alternator belt though?

I used all the parts that came with my kit. There is no reason NOT to address everything while it's apart. For example, my cam seals never leaked a drop before I pulled the head. I figured they will be fine, I just won't change them. See, I'm so smart I'll save myself 5 bucks and 10 minutes work. Hehe. So I put it all back together, fire it up, and a cam seal falls out of the engine. I let the motor warm up, and as I'm backing out of the driveway for the initial test drive I see a 2.5 quarts of oil in my driveway. Of course it ruined the brand new TB too.

Do it once and do it right.

Hah! I guess that's the part that worries me. I've never actually done this before. I mess up the timing belt change and what's the worse that happens? It runs like crap, or I have to tow it to the shop to finish the job? I swap out a perfectly good water pump and mess up doing that, I kill the engine.

I get the point though. ;)

For the seals, get yourself a set of dental picks. I found one that was almost 90degrees bent with a slight curve towards me was best. Then jam it in there, try to avoid nicking cam/crank... and PULL. My first one came out suddenly and I was sitting a few feet from the car right after it :p. We also used some PVC coupler piece from home depot to put the new ones in, fit perfectly. Take a seal to HD or any hardware store before hand and check out the PVC pipe couplers (we used a 3way joint, gave room to hold it) and you should be set for the seals.

Having done it once, I'll do the seals at every timing belt/water pump change.

Holy crap, what a PITA.

Everything came apart fine. Replaced the cam gaskets, np. They were leaking oil bigtime. Thanks for the tip Splitime. Checked the waterpump, replaced the tensioners, got the cam gears back on.

Probably should have stopped there but I had this crankshaft gasket just sitting there...

Got the crank bolt off, np but had to take the bus to Autozone to get a pullywheel remover because the one I had didn't work. Finally got the sprocket off. Started cutting apart the seal, bent all my dental picks trying to get it out. Started in with the needlenose and screwdriver, then wirecutters to cut the metel in the seals. Nothing, wouldn't budge. Noticed the new seal wasn't the same size as the old seal, panicked. I thought I missed something and cut into the wrong seal. Triple checked my instructions, panicked some more.

Finally gave up and had it towed to the shop. Watched the mechanic take this wicked tool that looked more like a miniature war sickle extract the seal in like 10 seconds. Confirmed the fact that the seal I had didn't fit but I had cut into the correct seal. Whew.

It dawned on me that I had asked for a '91 crank seal and that the parts guy probably gave me an early '91 model part. Since there was a Mazda dealer down the street, I took a stroll down there and asked for a crank seal for a longnosed '91. Got the right part but said f''kit and had the mechanic finish. the job.