I have a 99 626LX 6 cylander w/ 80k. Runs great, but am begining to need more maintenance on the car. I do not race, but am now putting 25k or more a year on the car. The owners manual says to inspect at 60k, 90k and replace at 105k. It costs more than half to inspect, so I've been trying to time to replace before any problms occur. Suggestions please.

Also, do I need to adjust the valves? No one seems to really know, including the dealer/service manager types...

Finally, should I consider replacing the fuel pump, sarter, alternator, etc..., before I have any of these pieces of equipment go out?

Help!

Need preventative manintenance answers.

The valves are actuated by hydraulic lifters and are therefore self-adjusting.

change ignition wires, plugs , air, and fuel filter,oil and oil filter, basic tune-up all it needs at 80k also accessory belts. as far as timing you still got plenty of miles to go before youl need to do that.

This car DOES NOT not have hydraulic valve lifters, but solid valve lifters. Starting with 1998, all Mazda 626 got solid valve lifters. Shims are used to adjust the valve clearance.

I have a 99 626 V6 and I recently changed my first timing belt at 101k. The old belt appeared in pretty good shape so I can say with some confidence that if you change your belt at 105K, it will not break before then.

The bad news is that changing the belt is not cheap. I did the job myself, and it still cost me over $ 500 in Mazda parts. Here is why.

I replaced the timing belt, all three timing belt idler pulleys, the hydrulic timing belt tensioner, all timing belt sprockets, the water pump, cam oil seals, front crank oil seal, both valve cover gaskets, radiator hoses, coolant bypass hose under the intake manifold(which must be removed to change the rear head valve cover gasket), and drive belt pulley bearings. If I had all this done by Mazda dealer, ve been astronomical - probably something like $ 1200.

The main reason is high cost of Mazda parts. You need to replace the idelr pulleys and the tensioner with your belt, and Mazda part cost is as follows:

timing belt: $90
idler pulleys: $ 150 a piece, you need three of them
tensioner: $ 190
valve cover gaskets: $ 30 a piece (need two)
valve cover sealing washers: need 23 of those, they are very expensive, something like $ 90 for the set.
water pump: $ 110
drive belt idelr pulley bearings:$ 18 a piece
1 gallon of Mazda orange coolant: $ 16
cam oil seals: about $ 8 a piece (need two)
front crank seal: about $ 10

Auto Zone sells a timing belt kit for this car which contains a timing belt and all three idler pulleys, but no tensioner. The cost of the kit is about $ 100. This is where I saved money on the idler pulleys.

My Mazda dealer told me not to worry about adjusting the valves on the car, as they very seldom need this. I have 105K miles on the car now and no vavle noise. You need special toolds to check and adjust the valve clearance on this car.

I still have the original alternator, and starter, and they work OK. I would recommend replacing your spark plug wires if you have not done it already. I replaced mine at 60K. You also need new spak plugs every 69K miles. Other items to replace: I would recommend replacing the two accessory drive belts, and belt idler pulleys.