TD Mazda Bravo Servicing

[Renasc]

Hello all,

I recently purchased an 03 Mazda Bravo Plus 2.5L TD (B2500) and it didn't come with an owners manual or a workshop manual. I've never owned a diesel before either.

My main queries are...
what oil to use, is 15W40 ok?
how much oil to put in?
do glow plugs ever need replacing?
do diesel engines require fuel:air tuning or is this managed by the nature of the diesel engine?
do these engines have a timing belt/chain?
any other critical maintenance points that I should pay attention to?I've been doing alot of Googling over the past couple of days but haven't been able to find any information of notable value.

Any help would cool. Thanks in advance.
:)

[Nemesis]

A bit late now but it always pays to check the log book/servicing before buying a newish car, especially a diesel.

Your best bet would be to call or drop in to your local Mazda dealer and talk to the service manager, see if he can't photocopy the specs info for you ;)

They're a pokey little thing for an old school diesel aren't they!

[Renasc]

They're a pokey little thing for an old school diesel aren't they!

Yeah, heh, not bad at all.

[Renasc]

Went do a dealer today and asked if I could get a copy of the specs and stuff, and the best I could do was to buy a new owners manual for $111.00.

[tismemat]

Hey buddy!

A 15/40 oil is fine, just make sure you change the oil and the filter every 5000ks. They have adjustable tappets exaust .20mm, inlet .15mm cold. They also have timing gears and a belt. the timing belt is the only one that needs to be replaced which should be replaced every 100,000ks. from memory from mazda is $60.
They dont need a tune up unless you want the thing to go harder. they have an adjustment for the pump timing on the front of the pulley and you can adjust the fuel enrichment on the back of the pump but be careful of this. The exaust temp shouldnt go over 550 degrees. too much fuel....too hot...goes puff! If you put a bigger exaust on, the exaust temp will go down a bit so you can increase the fuel to compensate and also gain power. BUT DONT GO OVR 550 DEGREES.
Glow plugs only need replacing if the engine misses when its first start up from cold or just wont start for ages and blows white smoke for a bit, this is due to a glow plug or plugs burnt out....$20 each from repco.

Diff oils........40,000ks
gearbox and transfer.....40,000ks
fuel filter........30,000ks

make sure you use a LSD oil in the rear diff

Hope this helps.. if you need more info, just ask

[tismemat]

Oh, and make sure you get your injectors done every 100,000ks as a rule of thumb. About $350. Make sure your front cv boots arnt cracked.

Common problems....

Upper A arm rubbers wear out, torsion bars sag with heavey use, front standard shocks are as useful as tits on a bull. Make sure you rotate your tyres regularly as they have a bit of positive camber on the front (like the tritons). Dont tow a heavy load in 5th gear as they push the circlip off and the gear either falls off or goes BANG! You will always hear of people with bravos and couriers having this problem, so dont tow in 5th and you will be fine.

sorry....i blab on a bit..

[jstorm]

Dont tow a heavy load in 5th gear as they push the circlip off and the gear either falls off or goes BANG! You will always hear of people with bravos and couriers having this problem, so dont tow in 5th and you will be fine.

sorry....i blab on a bit..



I am looking at the new 2007 model.

Is this a known problem with them as well?

Cheers..

[tismemat]

I am not totaly sure, I think they may have changed the box a bit because it looked different underneath. The old boxes have a bottom that bolts up but the new ones are just one complete case.