This is why i hate ford/mazda...

[YarisSedan]

So a car is in my shop a 2003 mazda 6. It has a leaking water pump. This particular engine the v6 has a water pump that is not driven by the normal drive belts or timing belt as in any other NORMAL car. It has the water pump on right right of the engine under the air box drive by a tiny belt off a pully thats pressed onto the outside of the camshaft. Why the hell they would do such a stupid design is beyond me.

First problem when the technician opens the air box the rubber hose from the throttle body to the air filter cracks completely in half. Which isnt that uncommon on really really old cars cause the rubber becomes brittle and frail from the heat in the engine. On a car thats this age i wouldnt expect. I call the dealer is 130 dollars for the stupid rubber and its special order. Keep in mind the labor charge im charging to do this job is 230. So big chunk of the money we were supose to make is down the drain. As he removes all the components he notices one bolt from the water pump as it backs out hits the back of the pulley thats pressed onto the camshaft. Now looking at the design they could have made the opening in the pulley larger so the bolt could pass thorugh or just relocate that bolt so it can be remove but no. So my technician uses a power steering pump pully remover to pull it off. As hes doing it he notices the pulley is not coming out and it looks like its starting to flex. I quickly stop him before theres damage. Call around and find out theres a special specific ford tool for the job that clamps onto the back of the pulley in order to pull it off.

I checked all our local tool truck drivers such as snap-on matco, mac tools, cornwell tools etc. No one has it or can cross reference the part number needed. I call the dealer they can get it but it will take a week. I ask all the local shops adjacent to mine which is about 5. No one has this special tool. So i find a web site fordspecialtools.com and purchase the tool for 265 dollars with 2 day shipping so i should get the tool today. Now I have my technician put everyhting back the way it was and start the car up to make sure the pulley is okay. I can see a slight wobble in it now. The fact that its part of the cam worrys me and rather play it safe and just order a new one since its supose to be balanced. They say its supose to be coming monday and i placed the order on wensday. So now i have to get the customer a rental at 20 dollars a day. The pully cost is 37 dollars which isnt too bad. Today i call them they tell me its on national backorder. When i hear that word it means it could be days weeks or months. Which means that people are breaking this stupid pulley left and right and the manufacture can not keep up with the order.

Now i am really pissed. The customer is going out of town thursday. And its Monday I dont think its going to happen now. So now im pissed off customers pissed off mechanics pissed off and of course owner is pissed off cause hes making negative money and we still have a car stuck in our shop to who knows when.