Factory service manual procedures

D

daneli

Last month we purchased a (new) 2010 cx-9. My wife and I are really enjoying the car. The first "accessory" I purchased was the factory service manual. It is the biggest factory manual I've ever seen. The shipping weight was 13 pounds - it arrived as a 6 inch thick stack of unbound pages - over 2200 pages in all!

Looking over some of the procedures in the "Engine" section has me a bit worried. The procedures for replacing the timing chain, adjusting the valves, replacing the head gasket and replacing the water pump all list "remove engine and transaxle component" as part of the process. (Even removing the alternator requires draining the engine coolant.) What gives? Is the engine really so tightly shoehorned into place? I know that factory workshop procedures can be conservative and that enterprising mechanics sometimes find innovative ways around the longer factory procedures. If not, these would be some really expensive repairs!
 
Supposedly, timing chains do not need scheduled replacement. That's the advantage over belts. (60K or 90K miles schedule)
What you need to worry is the water pump replacement. Should it fails, the procedure calls for lifting the engine, that is gonna cost you....
 
Water pump required engine removal - oh I hope they put the good Ford water pump on this engine! :O
 
I was interested in learning more about the Duratec engine, but there is a surprising lack of detail in the Service Manual. In fact, the usual information about pistons, bearings, connecting rods, engine rebuilding procedures and the like is absent. Intrigued, I looked up the short block components on this site:
http://www.jimellismazdaparts.com/s...y_TrimLevel=0&ukey_modelRange=0&searchString=
The major short block components are pictured, but they all have an asterisk next to them with the notation, "This part is not serviced." I know engines have become much more reliable, and I'm not planning on having to rebuild mine anytime soon, but what does "not serviced" mean?
 
danz75: I ordered a copy from www.palisadesvolvomazdafactoryparts.com. Cheaper is the link in this thread: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...-version-of-the-factory-repair-service-manual

helbigtw: They *are* selling long ($6400) and short ($2800) blocks, but I still don't understand why the factory manual wouldn't cover engine details. Maybe they don't want their service technicians messing with the engines? Maybe the idea is that if an engine needs rebuilding the mechanic just does an exchange for a new or rebuilt long or short block from the factory. Since the Duratec 3.5/3.7 is used in so many Ford products, rebuilding instructions are probably out there somewhere.
 
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