For you older guys that have had your car for a while...
 

I'm finally ahead of the curve now on replacing stuff getting old and crapping out on the car, so now I'm being proactive with the parts. Being an electrician, I know the alternator, starter, and fuel pump have definite drop dead times. My question is this- Of you guys that have had the cars for years, and know for a fact that the above items were OEM on the car, which components did you have trouble with first, and what was the approximate mileage (or age) when it went out on ya?

my Alt. went out at 200,000 miles , my starter is almost out @ 240,000 miles, and i don't know how long my fuel pump has ben in there but it still works

For preventative updating, start working your way around the engine compartment.

Replace all the hoses (including that one that likes to get oil saturated under the oil filter) the brake master and clutch master and slave, the PD (regardless of series)... All these things tend to fail around 120-220 miles, so if you replace them before there is a problem and while you have some extra money, your odds of being stranded or a huge repair bill coming in are much lower.

Way ahead of ya, Mark, every coolant/ heater hose is new, rad, water pump, t-stat, rad caps are new. Rotor housings, all internal "hard/soft parts" are new (rebuild has 2100 miles on her now)...All grounds forward of the firewall have been cleaned & installed the "right" way, all vac hoses that touch the engine or components in vicinity of engine are new, all fuel hose forward of the hard line under the car and the PD are new, injectors just cleaned, and tranny & engine mounts are new (one of these days I'll do the front diff). Brake master and clutch master & slaves rebuilt during the engine rebuild. Clutch & all associated components have 14,000 miles on 'em...

Working on the suspension overhaul, bushing by bushing, over the weekends. Don't need struts yet...

Thanks, SDrotary-FC, exactly the kind of answer I was looking for...

definately!

replace ALL the water hoses, thermostat, and cap.
pd, fuel injector o rings are good too. keep the factory mazda fuel hose, its the best stuff ive yet seen, everything else is junk in comparison.

also keep the factory hose clamps they dont come loose, if it leaks you need a new hose

LOL, now answer the original question posted, j9fd3s, you've been around a while, what goes first, alternator, starter, or fuel pump???

Of those three first the Alt, then fuel pump, then starter.

i say dont replace it until you start to see signs of wear (hard parts, not scheduled maintenace). just keep an eye on everything and be redicuously paranoid if even a small problem developes so you can catch it before it becomes a big one.

i only say this because a guy i knew went on a simmilar campaign to replace everything even remotly capable of wearing out while doing a rebuild, only to have the rebuild loose compression and the wiring harness crap out 5k (miles and dollars!!) later. these cars are too dicey to EVER count on them being completely reliable, so just be attentive, cross your fingers, and be prepared for stuff to inevitably break.

just my .02

I don't agree, Andrew, if the airline industry thought like you we'd have airplanes dropping out of the sky every day.

Besides, if I change parts before they're due, I've got known good parts to troubleshoot with down the road.

And as far as the guy that can't seem to rebuild an engine that lasts more than 5000 miles, that's an "operator error", not a component error...

For me, it's been the Alternator first. Starter & Fuel Pump still strokin' at 175000mi and 17yr.

- k -

perhaps. however your FC isnt responsable for as many lives, and when/if it does break it probobly just leave you stranded or stuck with a bill.

granted i dont know how good of a job the guy did on the rebuild, but im just trying to say that new parts alone will not insure reliability. some stuff will just break from other conditions and some stuff just may NEVER break at all. even "new" stuff can break at the same rate as "old stuff".

im more of the philososphy of leaving well enough alone. also, i know i have a tendeny to break a few things along the way (ie. strip a bolt or not stick something back on right) so i try to weigh those odds against the possibly benefits of the replacement part. this will probobly improve with time, but for now ill only let necessity determine when i replace parts.

i agree that replacing stuff is a good idea, i just dont think its fool proof.

I hear ya man, but I drive 50 miles home each night around midnight, 20 miles of it a damn near deserted highway, and 8 miles of that through a national forest with absolutely no lights or houses anywhere (lots of moving targets called deer, though :))

Besides, like I said, we KNOW electrical parts with brushes in them have a life limit, so why wait until it strands you in the middle of nowhere when you KNOW it's gonna drop dead soon? It's like playing Russian Roulette, man...

Guess Who? I've been driving Rx's since my 1982 that I got in 1984, put 535,000 miles on that one and only replaced 2 water pumps and 2 alternators on it...never had a failure in a fuel pump (yet) and I'm told that if you never let one run dry they almost never fail.
Got an 84 GSL in 1995 and put 325,000 on it. One Water pump and two alternators...
Moved up to the S/4 in 1999 with an 88 SE with automatic, here I had to replace an engine at 175,000 miles, it didn't blow up, just crapped out...two alternators and one water pump and one A/C compressor...
Bought my other 88 (GTU w/ 5 spd) in 2001 one water pump and one alternator just past 100,000 and of course now that friggin, frustratin and soon to be solved no start itermittent thing a ma jiggy....I always keep a spare alternator, when one goes i put the spare on and take the bad one to a local rebuilder...

if your doing all three and money is not an object, I would do starter last (can always pushstart) I am doing something simular on a vert I am restoring, the engine is 40K end plates and rotating hard parts, new rotor housings, seals etc. injectors cleaned, both side wiring housings cut open cleaned up (and suprsingly had to replace a few wires) entire cooling system except rad new. I could go on . . .

LOL, dang Harley, I thought I was gonna be the one to put 500,000 + on an rx-7, but you,ve already beat me to it :) I think you've got me convinced I don't need to worry about the fuel pump anytime soon..

Nice logical deductive reasoning there, Mr Gadget, in reference to the starter...I don't see a whole lot of that with the younger A&P mechanics I work with...

Re: For you older guys that have had your car for a while...
 

I've had my Vert 16 years (200K) and have not replaced any of those parts.

I have replaced the:
[list=1][*]Drive Shaft[*]All Catalitic Converters[*]Seats (Reskinned Leather)[*]Roof[*]Power Antenna[*]Radio Head Unit[*]Shock Absorbers[*]Clutch[*]Clutch Cylinders[*]Shifter Bushings[*]Brake Pads[*]Air Vent/Dash Surround[*]Cigarette Lighter[*]Headlights[*]1 Side Marker[*]I Tail Light[*]Left Door Handle[*]Left Door Lock Cylinder[*]Door Speakers[*]Speedometer Cable[*]Master Brake Cylinder[*]Fuel Filter[*]Steering Wheel[*]Hoses[*]Filter[*]AC Compressor[/list=1]

I wouldn't replace anything that is not worn out. The one exception for me is that I plan to replace the oil cooler lines soon.

yeah but its a bitch to push start a plane . . .

LOL, actually it's not hard at all- as long as you have enough altitude to push it over and get the engines spooling again before you slam into the ground at 600 mph (and, unfortunately, I've seen the results of that up close & personal...)

BLKTOPTRVL- my OEM oil cooler lines sprung a leak on me at about 150,000- that would be a good idea to swap in some new ones. Nothing gets your attention quicker than a "low oil" warning buzzer going off on you while you're toting down the highway at 70 mph! :)

I agree, but I may just wait till the engine is replaced. I don't worry about it too much, the vert never goes more than 100 miles from home until the engine/clutch job.

If I decide to take it farther, I will definitly get the lines. Anyone know of a good place/price? Or are the oil lines Mazda sourced only?

I'm still enjoying the stainless aftermarket lines with the AN fittings that I got from Mazdatrix...'bout $180, IIRC...

a few options here

ss with bandjo bolts corksport 130+ Mazdatrix 154
or the ss with An's as wayne noted, dont forget with the an's you will need three adapters for another 25.

any guesses what I have just bought???

I usually take mine to a local hydraulic place that rebuilds hoses, they can make them in two pieces so that they are easy to dissassemble and always keep a rebuilt set in the locker ready to go (2 x 88 S/4's)...and usually the price is half or less than half of dealer....

power window switches (if installed)

Sorry, J-Rat, I've got the bone-stock base "light" version, and have probably taken another 200-300 pounds off the car since I bought it (so many extra wires... :))

Hence the (if equipped) caveat...:)