Had a 5 for 2 days...
Discussion
I love it!
As the car (mk1 1.8l, 1996) came with very limited history (but appears very good mechanically) I feel the need for a major service, cam belt, HT leads etc.
Does anyone know a rough price I should expect to pay? Based in S Yorks.
Cheers
As the car (mk1 1.8l, 1996) came with very limited history (but appears very good mechanically) I feel the need for a major service, cam belt, HT leads etc.
Does anyone know a rough price I should expect to pay? Based in S Yorks.
Cheers
Edited by Tommy Winchester on Sunday 3rd October 22:41
You can do a lot of it yourself with little to no tools.
- HT Leads - no tools required, just pop off the leads from the plugs and at the other end and push on the new ones until you hear them click into place.
- Plugs - you just need a spark plug socket, socket wrench and some copper slip
- Air filter - no tools required, just unclip the clips that hold the top of the airbox on, remove the lid, pull out the old filter and drop in the new one.
- Coolant flush - place large bowl under radiator, undo radiator drain plug. Replace drain plug, undo radiator cap, top up coolant from top of radiator.
That would leave the stuff that is slighly more tricky:
- Oil filter and oil change
- Cam belt
Which I would hope wouldn't cost you more than an hour's labour plus the cost of the parts.
Then there's anything else you might want to do, diff fluid, gearbox oil, auxillary belts, fuel filter, etc.
- HT Leads - no tools required, just pop off the leads from the plugs and at the other end and push on the new ones until you hear them click into place.
- Plugs - you just need a spark plug socket, socket wrench and some copper slip
- Air filter - no tools required, just unclip the clips that hold the top of the airbox on, remove the lid, pull out the old filter and drop in the new one.
- Coolant flush - place large bowl under radiator, undo radiator drain plug. Replace drain plug, undo radiator cap, top up coolant from top of radiator.
That would leave the stuff that is slighly more tricky:
- Oil filter and oil change
- Cam belt
Which I would hope wouldn't cost you more than an hour's labour plus the cost of the parts.
Then there's anything else you might want to do, diff fluid, gearbox oil, auxillary belts, fuel filter, etc.
youngsyr said:
You can do a lot of it yourself with little to no tools.
- HT Leads - no tools required, just pop off the leads from the plugs and at the other end and push on the new ones until you hear them click into place.
- Plugs - you just need a spark plug socket, socket wrench and some copper slip
- Air filter - no tools required, just unclip the clips that hold the top of the airbox on, remove the lid, pull out the old filter and drop in the new one.
- Coolant flush - place large bowl under radiator, undo radiator drain plug. Replace drain plug, undo radiator cap, top up coolant from top of radiator.
That would leave the stuff that is slighly more tricky:
- Oil filter and oil change
- Cam belt
Which I would hope wouldn't cost you more than an hour's labour plus the cost of the parts.
Then there's anything else you might want to do, diff fluid, gearbox oil, auxillary belts, fuel filter, etc.
Cheers,- HT Leads - no tools required, just pop off the leads from the plugs and at the other end and push on the new ones until you hear them click into place.
- Plugs - you just need a spark plug socket, socket wrench and some copper slip
- Air filter - no tools required, just unclip the clips that hold the top of the airbox on, remove the lid, pull out the old filter and drop in the new one.
- Coolant flush - place large bowl under radiator, undo radiator drain plug. Replace drain plug, undo radiator cap, top up coolant from top of radiator.
That would leave the stuff that is slighly more tricky:
- Oil filter and oil change
- Cam belt
Which I would hope wouldn't cost you more than an hour's labour plus the cost of the parts.
Then there's anything else you might want to do, diff fluid, gearbox oil, auxillary belts, fuel filter, etc.
I have spoken to MX5 motors who will do a service for £90ish and replace the cambelt & waterpump for £200, think its wise as I dont know if/when they were replaced?
I gather the cambelt and water pump are the most common failure points...
The belts usually give a fair amount of warning squealing on start-up before finally snapping, so if you're feeling brave you could wait and see what happens!
Prices look reasonable, is the £90 just for a standard service? If you wanted to be really safe I think they're meant to have a major service every 3 or 4 services, I paid £200ish for that from a Mazda specialist further south. Cambelt and water pump price is less than what I paid for the same job on a Mk2.5.
Prices look reasonable, is the £90 just for a standard service? If you wanted to be really safe I think they're meant to have a major service every 3 or 4 services, I paid £200ish for that from a Mazda specialist further south. Cambelt and water pump price is less than what I paid for the same job on a Mk2.5.
Just got back from the service/inspection.
I was expecting some bad stuff, as I got the car, roof, spare wheels, tonneau cover and private plate for a true steal.
The verdict...
A good car!
She needs a sealing underneath and is still on the orig cambelt & waterpump @ 99k - these will be done in Feb when the MOT is due.
There is a slight oil weep at the back of the engine - 'o' ring where some sensor thing is fitted. Apparently this is not a major thing at all, it has only started and at full gush will be 2 drops a day. This will be done in Feb too.
When driving her back she felt much smoother and tighter - bloody amazing!
I was expecting some bad stuff, as I got the car, roof, spare wheels, tonneau cover and private plate for a true steal.
The verdict...
A good car!
She needs a sealing underneath and is still on the orig cambelt & waterpump @ 99k - these will be done in Feb when the MOT is due.
There is a slight oil weep at the back of the engine - 'o' ring where some sensor thing is fitted. Apparently this is not a major thing at all, it has only started and at full gush will be 2 drops a day. This will be done in Feb too.
When driving her back she felt much smoother and tighter - bloody amazing!
Tommy Winchester said:
There is a slight oil weep at the back of the engine - 'o' ring where some sensor thing is fitted. Apparently this is not a major thing at all, it has only started and at full gush will be 2 drops a day. This will be done in Feb too.
CAS O-ring.They all do that.
Be careful about the heater pipe that sits below the o-ring - too much oil dripping and it'll swell and split.
Xenocide said:
piefacemate said:
If you find out the price of having all the belts done then please post it here! Mine squeel something awful when starting up and I've no idea when they were last done!
Just tighten them up a bit 
. 2 minute job!
piefacemate said:
Xenocide said:
piefacemate said:
If you find out the price of having all the belts done then please post it here! Mine squeel something awful when starting up and I've no idea when they were last done!
Just tighten them up a bit . 2 minute job!Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff