I had an odd noise and bit of power loss. A few people recommended that it could be the belts(cheap fix). So i order the AC and drive belt and replaced them today. After posting a topic in the Issues thread. I got two pages from the service manual. They had some numbers for the torque for the tension pulleys which seemed too high. I asked someone and they recommended just to make it tight enough that you cannot pull the belt alone. So I got to the point where I could just slip the belts and tighten just a few more to make it tight.


Anything sound like I did wrong. Anything to worry about? I had some odd idles but I figured replacing the belt and unpluggin battery everything was outta sorts. Took for a quick spin and cars back to normal.

The belts are not the cause of loss of power.
Go with the tension that they give you, it's best to go with OE specs.

Yeah the specs are there for a reason....we all know mazda does not do EVERYTHING right but usually you're specs are pretty damn close(for MOST things)...

Recheck the belt tensions after you have run the engine 20-30 minutes; they will probably have to be retightened back to spec.

Yeah it wasnt a loss of power loss of power more a struggle like the belts were slipping to hesitate.


The OEM specs required 22ftlb of torque. My torque wrench was set at 22ftlb but it had the tension bolt get to the top of the alternator bracket(and still wasn't at 22ftlb) which did not seem right what so ever.

The OEM specs required 22ftlb of torque. My torque wrench was set at 22ftlb but it had the tension bolt get to the top of the alternator bracket(and still wasn't at 22ftlb) which did not seem right what so ever.

The tension bolt is not supposed to be torqued to 22 ft/lbs. You should be measuring belt deflection when you apply 22 pounds of force to the belt unless you are using the special "tool". Sounds like you have the belt way to tight.

Oh so how can i check the deflection of 22ftlb then? The page made it sound like the bolt for that was there.

I apologize for my negligence of what I am properly to do. I believe they gave a rating of between like .18-.20 inch I'm assuming thats the flex in the belt>

You are correct; You'll have to guesstimate 22 pounds of force on the belt, then measure the deflection.

looks like i just need to loosen it up tomorrow. thanks!

Don't run it with the belt too tight.

^agreed can easily wear out plenty of components with the belt too tight!....def fix before you drive it again!

yeah i gotta change the oil so, ill kill 2 birds with one stone