i have to replace te headgasket on my girlfriends sisters car, it's a 97, im kinda unfamiliar with these cars, all i've ever built was domestics, is there any website that has decent tech info, like step by step stuff, or something like that
thanks
brian

 

if you are familiar with domestics, the head gasket should be a pretty much the same. the only thing that you need to know, really, is that there is an overhead cam in this head. the only major difference in this will be that you will have to pull the timing cover and yank the timing belt off before you pull the head and intake manifold. a good idea of additional work to do will be replace the timing belt and the crank seal. the crank seal should be less than $10 but you will probably have to order it, so, look into this before you start the work.

Mazda is the first import that i have ever worked on and i didn't have any problems switching over. just as long as you have the basic knowledge to start with. i am sure that the people here could give you a proper write-up on this if you need additional help.

 

do the cams have to come off/out, or can they stay bolted to the head, cause so far what ive found is the 97 have to have the lash adjusted and im not really into doing that, i just wanna pull parts and replace..

 

as long as you aren't doing any headwork at all, you won't have to pull the cams. like, if you were planning just to pull the head and head gasket, replace the head gasket, then bolt it back together, you won't have to pull the cams.

 

i was gonna get the head cut, but it really hasnt been driven to much, so im just gonna throw straaight edge on it and try to use a feeler gauge...do you know if you can buy thicker headgaskets for these cars...also like i asked before, any step by step sites, or should i just buy a haynes manual...

 

you can get thicker head gaskets for them. just try to find one for a turbo application. also, haynes is going to be your best bet for a how-to. not a lot of people like to just hand out how-to's.

 

Here's a link for factory shop manaul on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997-...spagenameZWD1V

$70 seems like alot, but I have literally saved thousands in labor with the factory manual for my car.