Are all of the replacement parts AC Delco? how much did that run you as opposed to mazda oem. I was fortunate at the time to still be under the extended warranty so I had the dealer do it. I really don't know how well they did the replacement. Ever since I have been pretty anal with checking the coolant tank on a daily basis. That is how I caught it the first time. The coolant level kept dropping but no coolant in the oil. What wound up happening was that it sprung a leak when the water pump went.
I did everything except the VVT actuators. I also replaced my alternator while I was in there as it looked like a ridiculously tough job if I wasn't already neck deep into the engine. The tear down process took me 10 hours yesterday, but I took my time, drank lots of beer and just kinda enjoyed the process. Had a few parts that were tough to get off, like the power steering pump for example, was ridiculously hard to reach.
With the pump, new valve cover gaskets, timing chains, all guides, specialty tools, alternator, new plenum gaskets, new timing cover (harmonic balancer) seal, and everything else I should be about $1100 or less slightly. I figure the dealer would have charged me over $2500 to do everything I am replacing. But I just decided its better to do myself, and fix any and all that could go wrong over the next few years while I am at it. (that is tough to reach)
Not cheap, but a lot less than a new vehicle payment.
I did figure out what was leaking. Surprisingly the pump itself was fine, but the gasket gave out, so coolant was shooting out the weap hole like mad. There was a tiny amount of coolant in the oil, but very little, so I got pretty lucky really.
The engine is in pretty great condition TBH. The timing chain guides which are plastic barely had any grooves worn into them in fact. Hard to believe as it seems plastic would wear out pretty fast. But the inside looked really good. No carbon buildup anywhere at all. I've been running synthetic oil in it so that's likely why I suppose.
I should have all the parts and button her up this coming weekend. I took some pics but I don't have a site to host them on (apparently not allowed here?) or I would shown the torn down motor. The motor mounts was probably what I was most worried but was very easy to remove. Had to move the engine up and down to get some things out.
AC delco was the pump only. I used FelPro for the gaskets, and I'm not sure what the Alternator was. The timing chain and guides were an OE replacement brand that had good reviews on JCWhitney, but I can't remember what brand it was. Slightly less expensive than the OE from Mazda though I know that, about $150 for all timing parts.