Prices for maintenance parts I needed...

10.00 - Oile Filter (Not too bad)
36.92 - Air Filter (Halfway to a damn K&N in price!)
58.11 - Fuel Filter (WTF.. my Thunderbird's was 14$)
28.88 - Thermostat
7.18 - Thermostat gasket

...I need to get plug wires too but they didnt have any in stock. I bought everything else (brakes, plugs, oil, etc)
from Autozone. I spent $302 yesterday, $560 today for guages and D/P + M/P (Combo was cheaper than each alone) and it looks like I'm gonna be spending another $150 today... WTF!

Is this just the way it is being an import (We use to own a 944 that was costly to repair) or is it the dealer overcharging? I remember when I worked for the Ford dealer they always charged about 50% over on most parts unless you were an employee.

EDIT: I wont be installing the M/P, I know I need an ECU or atleast some sort of control for that mod so I'm only installing the D/P for reliability. The combo on RX7store was cheaper than each alone.

Anyways, just venting I suppose.
~Kris

 

There are sponsors at the top of this page for Mazdaformance. Go there and check their prices. There is also Malloy Mazda for cheap parts.

 

Unfortunately I need the parts by tomorrow morning, it is the only time I have to do the maintenance with the way my work schedule is. :\ If I had time I'd get Magnacore wires from RX7store etc...

Thank you though, I will follow those links in the future and hopefully have enough sense to plan ahead.

~Kris

 

That's basically the case. If you have to have something immediately, you are going to have to pay for it.

If money is going to be an issue, then planning will have to be a priority for you as the parts for this car don't always come cheap and fast at the same time.

 

Yea, I'm finding the fuel filter is just overall expensive compared to what I've paid in the past for one. It's worth it though to know my fuel system will be functioning cleanly. I called another deal who sells at LIST instead of tacking even more overhead on it, I may be going there instead.

~Kris

 

Your best bet for OEM parts it to order from Ray at Malloy Mazda. His prices will probably be the lowest you'll find.

 

Exactly what I recommend. Nearly all of my repairs take a week, even simple ones.
- Read in advance for instructions, tips, parts to replace, etc. Go into parts fiche and get numbers/qtys for anything I might need to replace, and get prices/lead times from Malloy.
- Weekend 1: tear into it and decide what to buy. Send order to Malloy, receive by end of week.
- Weekend 2: using new parts, put it back together.

Before, I was ordering all the things I was supposed to replace in advance and probably replacing a bunch of perfectly good parts. Now I feel more comfortable that I replace only what needs it and not wasting money. I am also replacing things that look worn but I didn't expect, which are tempting to ignore if you have already bought your parts.

Dave

 

Yea, as I said in the future Malloy.

I'm replacing the tstat and fuel filter just as precautions. I know the fuel filter is a good idea every 15k and the tstat, since I'm flushing the coolant anyhow I may as well just replace it for the sake of saing me time later.

As for flushing in the Rex, I just remove the bottom hose and let it drain out, then close up and refill? There's more to it I'm leaving out I know but I dont know what.

~Kris

 

No one has the plug wires in my area AT ALL.... Autozone has Autolite's version, would those work just as well? I would use Autolite's if it were a Ford but I dont know if the Rotary is or the turbos are more sensitive to good wires, etc.

TIA,
~Kris

 

There is also an engine drain plug. It is on the drivers side





biggest and most helpful hint I've ever received:

 

The customer service at Mazdaformance is top notch, but I think they are slightly more expensive than Malloy. You would have saved a lot of money going with one of them. $10 for an oil filter?? My local dealer charges like $6, and it's probably even cheaper from Malloy or Mazdaformance.

 

Yea, I went and priced it out:

Oil filter:
4.94 - Mazdaformance
7.05 - List (Found a dealer that sells at list)
10 - Origanal dealer

Thermostat + Gasket
11.59 - Mazdaformance
16.55 - List (Dealer price)
28.88 - Origanal dealer I talked with... wTF

So I found a much BETTER place but Mazdaformance/Mallot are superior still.

~Kris

EDIT: SO I drain the entire coolant system, plug it up, refill and run the car for awhile... drain again, plug up and refill for a final time?

Thanks for the images PVerdieck, I never would of known about the drain plug on the block otherwise.

 

Yeah they are totally marking up those prices OVER list price. The oil filter should be around $6-7 LIST price...

Mazda parts prices are spendy in general. A new Nissan air filter for my Maxima was $11-12 list price at the dealer.

 

use the rx7.com fuel filter....half the price and works just as well

http://rx7.com/store/rx7/fdfuel.html

 

After you drain the system, flush it out a couple of times with distilled water. Use distilled water to fill the system, along with your coolant. Since you are in Florida, and the weather doesn't get too cold, you can probably use a smaller percentage of coolant. I suggest 20-30% coolant. Of course, now someone will start argueing about that ....... again

 

go for mazdaperformance.... cheaper and better service

 

Y not use a Autozone fuel filter? Buy a miata thermoswitch from there too while your at it . They'll have to order though

 

The problem with using less coolant and more water is the boiling temp is lowered along with corrosion protection. I'd think that the corrosion issue isn't a big deal if you change the coolant every couple of years but the boiling point difference of the mixture would be worth looking into.

Now that wasn't arguementative was it?

 

if it helps. i paid 130 for fuel filter change and oil change. oil change is 30 bucks, so labor and parts for the fuel filter is 100.

 

Corrosion isn't going to be measureably different between 25% coolant and 35% coolant, especially if you use distilled water. I don't know what the difference in boiling point will be. Of course, it shouldn't matter if your cooling system is sealed, and you keep it under 230 degrees .............. not that I am arguing

 

Think about the coolant temp this way.

If the AVERAGE temp at the top rad hose is 230F that means there are places where it gets hotter than that. Coolant will be boiling at that point, lowering the boiling point makes that spot boil even more. There is a coolant passage that is hotter than the others. The hottest point seems to be right after the spark plugs, before the exhaust port. That is my limited experience based on one extremely overheated motor.

Sort of the same thing if it is 75F in your house and the heat is on, the heat coming out of the vents has to be hotter.