Hi Scotty,
Last Year I bought a 2015 Mazda 6 with a 2.0 liter 165HP naturally aspirated DI engine, and runs, drives like a swiss clock!
My only concern is that the car has 189000 miles and the timing chain has not been replaced yet!
The car has been maintained by the local Mazda dealership and the all the fluids were changed regularly!
Since I bought the car, I only did a tune up and a break change, oil change at every 8000 miles also a valve cover gasket!
So, my question would be, that should I replace the timing chain and it components or wait till I hear the timing chain rattling or any slight retardation in the timing?
My mechanic said that, lets not touch it till we don't hear any rattling sound coming from the chain!
Many thanks for your answer!!
Tony
Your mechanic is correct. Timing chain is lubricated with engine oil and it can last the lifetime of the engine. Just change the oil more frequently (5000 miles) and you will be fine.
Your mechanic is correct. Unlike rubber timing belts, timing chains get noisy before they fail. Even then it's frequently just the tensioner. Change your oil regularly and you won't have a problem, though I'd go with 5000-6000 mile intervals - 8000 is pushing it. (I have way more mileage on the original timing chain in my own vehicle and it's still nice and quiet.)
I often wonder about when to change the timing chain on any vehicle. I've watched videos where the chain had to be replaced as soon as 40,000 miles. Some people with my car (2002 Mustang GT with 71,000 miles) had to change their chain at 75,000 miles. Surely these chains last a lot longer than this. Who would want the expense of changing a chain every 50,000-100,000 miles?
