Time for a timing belt...but I have questions. So many questions...

[RayRay]

I've resurrected a 93 after a 5 year slumber. 5-spd, non-a/c, non-ps car. Currently at 129,xxx original miles, and the previous owner can't recall doing a timing belt...ever.

I'm assuming I should also replace the tensioner and the water pump while I'm at it...and, heck, might as well change the alternator belt while I'm in the area...is there anything else I'm overlooking?

Anyone have any tips/tricks...or likewise, any warnings? I have a shop manual and it *appears* to be a fairly straight-forward procedure...at least I haven't identified anything which I think should stop me from success. That might be hubris, of course...or it could be ignorance...heh...

I'm somewhat colorblind, mostly disabled, and financially challenged (who isn't these days)...but I have a Can-Do attitude (even though sometimes I can-shouldn't) and a decent amount of mechanical exploits over the past several decades. Any thoughts, suggestions, or old army jokes would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance folks. :-)

PS - Off-topic...but I can't figure out how to donate to the site. If anyone knows how, I'd love to become a Donator!

[theastronaut]

Don't use a Gates water pump, they don't last. Gates belts are great though. If possible find a water pump with a cast iron impeller instead of stamped steel.

Use a new crankshaft bolt from Mazda. Make sure to accurately torque the bolt and use loctite. Make sure there is no damage to the crank snout/keyway or key.

Replace the cam and crank seals while its apart. A valve cover gasket wouldn't hurt, they're usually leaky.

Remove the engine mount on the passenger side so you can drop the engine down enough to get to the crank bolt.

[1990new]

The 5 year slumber means the oil seals have most likely dried out and will leak. While you are there I would definitely replace those front seals.
Not much more effort will be needed to do it and the parts don't cost very much either.
Since you have a 93, you will have the big nose crank so the front crank seal will be larger than the cam seal. For the small nose cranks the seals were the same size for the cam and the crank front.
Be careful to make sure when you order the seals or you could end up with the wrong size crank seal.

You will also want to replace the o ring seal on the distributor.
In order to replace the rear main seal you would need to remove the transmission and the flywheel so I don't suppose you want to do that now.

You will need to remove the timing belt sprocket to get to the front crank seal, so be very careful to use locktite and torque it correctly when you replace it.

[WmWatt]

Unlike the three previous posters I'm of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school. If time and money are issues I'd remove the timing belt cover and inspect. If it looks good I'd leave it. It's a non-interference engine so the risk is small. All that other stuff too. For example, if the alternator belt isn't loose or noisy why replace it? As for the seals, my car is an '89 and I've never replaced a seal. If you decide to replace the timing belt all you have to do is rmove the timing belt cover and the plastic splash shield in the wheel well. The spark plugs have to come out to rotate the crankshaft by hand. The pulley on the crankshaft for the alternator/waterpump belt has to come off but not the crankshaft nut and that pulley is held on by 2-3 phillips head screws. You can get at them from below with a phillips head driver on a ratchet. I'm not an experienced mechanic. Everything I've done on my Festiva has first time for me. I did the timing belt with the Haynes manual. One thing I figured out on my own is that if the space between the engine and the fender is too tight for the pulley to drop out try putting a pry bar in the top motor mount and shifting the motor. Same for putting the pulley back in. As it says in the manual, be careful not to move anything once the belt is off while installing the new one or the valve timing will be off and will have to be lined up. The only other thing is the valve cover gasket tricky to stuff back in when putting the cover back on at the end. I think I ended up cutting off a piece to shorten it.

[RayRay]

Astronaut: Thanks for all the info! Only hiccup is I can't find a water pump with a cast iron impeller; every one I've found from the usual suspects (O'Reilly's, Napa, AutoZone, RockAuto) are either stamped steel or aluminum impellers. Got any leads on a brand with a cast iron impeller?

1990new: Jesse for the win...again...and I'm not surprised. You've been an absolute wealth of solid information, Every Single Time. You're right, I'm not looking forward to doing a rear main seal anytime soon...at least not as long as it's holding together as well as it is now. We did have some leaks during the first couple of hundred miles, but apparently all the seals have (more or less) come back to life and thus far, none are leaking now. I think we got r-e-a-l lucky with that. *Sincere* Thanks again!!

WmWatt: Yaknow, that's totally decent food for thought. I suppose I could be trying to bite off more than I could chew...but given that I live in a rural area, if/when the timing belt snaps, it's going to leave me walking. And I don't do walking, not for long distances anyway. I can hobble a decent ways...but not if it's over 100 which it's getting to be about that time again here in Texas. I suppose I'm trying to mitigate the unpleasantness should the belt snap on me out in the wild away from home...and with my luck it'll be in the heat...at night...and my phone will either be out of juice or out of range...heh. Thanks much for all the info, it's definitely appreciated! :-)