Stevey629

First, I have a squeak from what sounds like a belt or pulley. If I can manage to find which one it is, should I just douse it in wd-40? or, is the belt too loose or tight? The squeak seems to lessen its "squeakiness" when the car is warm, but its still there.

secondly, my fuel door latch is broken. the damn thing will not close NE more, as when I got it back from my mech, it was broken. The little lever that holds the door itself in place is missing. Pushing down on the fuel door release does nothing basically. Is there a cheap fix for this? Or do I need to replace the whole cable mechanism?

donny

Check the belt tightness and condition of belts. I would not use WD-40. Get something made for belts. WD-40 will make the belts slip.
The latch that holds the gas door shut sounds broken. I got one from the dealer. Pretty cheap part and takes only a screwdriver and a couple of minutes to replace.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

It's probably the idle pully for the P/S and A/C. It's located in front and just to the right of the alternator. Try spraying it with WD-40 and see if the squeak stops. I just replaced mine. You can get a new one from Mally Mazda for $42 (if that's the pulley making the noise).

David Beale

I've found the best thing to spray around belts is silicone spray. It's good for the rubber (reduces oxydation), and isn't "wet" so will not build up dust/dirt. It also repells water, which is what usually makes belts squeek. The spray carrier evaporates leaving just the silicone. The belts will not slip with lubrication on them, contrary to what you might think. The lubrication allows the belt to sink further into the "Vs" providing better grip and less friction when it sinks in and comes out, allowing the belt to run cooler, prolonging its' life.

worfvi

Ditto to what David Beale posted. I had the same squeaking noise with my belts a while back. I soaked them in silicone lube spray, and the sound stopped!

But the squeak came back a few weeks later, because my belts were old and cracked. Replacing them finally solved the problem.

Stevey629

So does anyone have information on what to do about the fuel door fix? I remember reading somewhere that someone had my exact same problem, and just threaded a screw into it. My concern with this is, that if I dont put the screw in far enough, it won't be able to open back up again when I actuate the mechanism. I know, put it all the way in and slowly back it out until it holds it. But, I can't manage to get a screwdriver inside the fuel door, let alone get enough tension to screw it into the broken remainder of the latch.

I went to mazda and they quoted me about 70 dollars for the whole mechanism, as they don't sell the little latch piece. I have to buy an entire new cable assembly and it requires removing most of the interior on the driver side to replace it. *Pain*. Is it possible to pull the latch piece out only, and do some "dental type" fix for the plastic piece - like driving a screw pin through it, and threading a new plastic piece on?