Gates TCK179 PowerGrip Premium Timing Belt Component Kit

Install was a breeze on my 1999 Miata. 2000 miles on the belt and so far, so good. I was able to get the proper belt tension the first time, although I should mention that I did not bother to use the tensioner spring included with this kit (I had already purchased a new one from the Mazda dealership, so used that instead).Both the belt (made in USA) and idler and tensioner appear to be high quality parts.Sadly I used this to replace a fairly new Continental timing belt (made in Germany) that a mechanic had replaced a year or two ago. There was nothing inherently wrong with the Continental belt, in fact I am sure it was a high quality part. But the mechanic failed to replace the 16 year old camshaft seals that were oozing oil, which had completely saturated the new Conti belt and idler and tensioner with engine oil and slung enough oil onto my alternator that I suspect this was a factor in its recent demise. This particular mechanic had lost my trust over the course of multiple other failures to do the job correctly, so I tore the front of the engine all apart myself and replaced those camshaft seals with Mazda parts sealed in with Hylomar before replacing the timing kit with this set. So far so good, no more oil on the front of my engine. With a new Denso alternator everything is running great.Install tips:*Install new Mazda camshaft seals while you are in there, use a Lisle seal puller to remove the old seals. New seals + the tool is about $20.*If you are feeling ambitious, go ahead and replace the front mainseal like I did, as well (mine wasn't leaking at 108k miles, but it did look relatively old and brittle). Again a cheap part.*Loosen (but do not remove) the water pump pulley nuts before loosening/removing the alternator belt.*When reinstalling the valve cover gasket, torque in the proper sequence to the correct inch-lb. torque specification using an appropriate torque wrench, with a Mazda valve cover gasket possibly dressed with Hylomar, to avoid leaks. Oil leaks in the sparkplug well area in particular can lead to other expensive repair problems such as dead/obstructed catalytic converters.*Following someone else's instructions, I initially tried to slip the belt onto the exhaust cam gear last, but this was far too difficult, even with the help of a second person, and yes the tensioner was temporarily fastened in the least tensioning position. It was much easier to slip the belt onto the tensioner last.*If you are replacing this as preventative maintenance (i.e. your belt did not break) and the car was running well (i.e. your old belt had not jumped a tooth), go ahead and put some line marks on the original belt and adjacent area on the cog on each of the three cogs (intake cam cog, exhaust cam cog, crankshaft cog) using whiteout or white nail polish, then after removing the old belt, transfer the marks from the old belt to the new belt before installation by carefully visually aligning the belts and/or counting out the number of teeth on the belt between markings. Then just line up all the marks when you install the new belt. Easy peasy.

Great value. Only thing that would make this kit better is if a camshaft gear lock tool were included.I'm writing this review after installation so I'm not able to comment on the quality/life-time of the belt.

Good value for the money.

Installed this kit on my 1990 Miata and it fit perfectly. The Belt and both Pulleys looked and felt like high quality parts and I do trust the Gates name. Engine is running great after about 1,000 miles so far and I'm sure these will last another 60K until I change again. This is the same part number that O'Reilys had for about twice the price.

Fit perfectly so far so good

I did a timing belt a couple years ago on my 90 Miata and had to take it apart for something else. By that point one of the idlers in the ebay timing belt kit I had used was already wearing significantly and had thrown grease everywhere. Bought this kit and installed it, no complaints yet. All parts appear to be of good quality. Will update this review after a couple years.

Fit and worked perfectly for my 94 Miata

Si piensan comprar esta parte no lo piensen 2 beses 100% recomendada

Timming belt change out.

Just the part i needed... good quality.

was what i wanted