"Scott" > wrote in message
om...
> "Gary" > wrote in message
news:<RRQYc.10303$u94.4732@trndny06>...
> > I have about 78K on a '90 and have never done the timing belt. Shame on
me,
> > but the car runs great. Can I get another 10K and delay doing it or am I
> > flirting with disaster? If I gamble by waiting a while longer am I going
to
> > ruin the engine if it finally goes on me? Also, has anyone ever gotten
over
> > 80K on a timing belt on a early Miata, like my '90?
>
> No risk of ruining anything but your day if you break the belt.
>
> Bit of advice tho.. if you do have the belt replaced, make sure they
> do the water pump too. I made the mistake of replacing the belt only
> & not too much later the water pump died. You basically have to take
> just as much apart to do one as the other.. and it's that
> dis/re-assembly that makes the belt replacement cost so much. The
> really annoying thing about that whole deal is that my belt probably
> would've outlasted my water pump if I hadn't done the cautious thing
> and had it replaced shortly after the 60k mile mark. (I think I was
> somewhere in the 90k mile range when the water pump failed).
>
> -Scott

My Mazda dealer's recommendation when doing my timing belt (at around 75,000
miles) was to inspect the water pump and replace only if there were signs of
wear or leakage. In the end, they didn't replace it. I think he said the
WP could easily go 200,000 miles. Surely he could have replaced it if he
had wanted to.