Joe S.

I just purchased a 1997 Mazda B4000, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed -- I have some
questions and hope someone here can help.

If you have a similar truck, Mazda or Ranger:

1. What is your clutch life? When did you replace clutch plate or clutch
master or slave cylinders?
2. As I understand it, the transmission has to come out to replace the
clutch slave cylinder -- right?
3. The owner's manual does not say anything about this -- but -- do I need
to put it into 4WD every so often to keep the transfer case seals and front
hubs lubricated, or, are they lubricated sufficiently in normal operation?
I don't do a lot of 4WD.
4. I don't see anything in the owner's manual about valve adjustment so I
assume the truck has hydraulic lifters and I don't need to worry about valve
adjustments ( I'm an old VW Beetle owner and valve adjustments are key to
keeping the Beetle engine happy ).

Any other comments?

Thanks.

JimV

Joe S. wrote:
> I just purchased a 1997 Mazda B4000, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed -- I have some
> questions and hope someone here can help.
>
> If you have a similar truck, Mazda or Ranger:
>
> 1. What is your clutch life? When did you replace clutch plate or clutch
> master or slave cylinders?

Depends on your driving habit and rear end ratio. 50k to 150K

> 2. As I understand it, the transmission has to come out to replace the
> clutch slave cylinder -- right?

Right

> 3. The owner's manual does not say anything about this -- but -- do I need
> to put it into 4WD every so often to keep the transfer case seals and front
> hubs lubricated, or, are they lubricated sufficiently in normal operation?
> I don't do a lot of 4WD.

No, makes no difference

> 4. I don't see anything in the owner's manual about valve adjustment so I
> assume the truck has hydraulic lifters and I don't need to worry about valve
> adjustments ( I'm an old VW Beetle owner and valve adjustments are key to
> keeping the Beetle engine happy ).

No valve adjustment

>
> Any other comments?

Good engine. Reasonably well built truck.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>

Joe S.

"Joe S." <anon@mous.com> wrote in message
news:dpurb501bhj@news2.newsguy.com...
>I just purchased a 1997 Mazda B4000, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed -- I have some
>questions and hope someone here can help.
>
> If you have a similar truck, Mazda or Ranger:
>
> 1. What is your clutch life? When did you replace clutch plate or clutch
> master or slave cylinders?
> 2. As I understand it, the transmission has to come out to replace the
> clutch slave cylinder -- right?
> 3. The owner's manual does not say anything about this -- but -- do I
> need to put it into 4WD every so often to keep the transfer case seals and
> front hubs lubricated, or, are they lubricated sufficiently in normal
> operation? I don't do a lot of 4WD.
> 4. I don't see anything in the owner's manual about valve adjustment so I
> assume the truck has hydraulic lifters and I don't need to worry about
> valve adjustments ( I'm an old VW Beetle owner and valve adjustments are
> key to keeping the Beetle engine happy ).
>
> Any other comments?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>

Here's another question. One of the lamps that illuminates the instrument
cluster is burned out. How do I replace it -- I have not examined the
instrument cluster but I guess (I hope) I'll find a few screws to remove,
pull the clear cover, reach up and swap the bulbs. On the other hand - - -

CJB

You have to remove the cluster, but it's not very hard. The speedo is not
cable driven, so the cluster comes out very easy.

I did my 97 Ranger 6 months ago and it took about 30 minutes. What you
want to do is replace EVERY bulb while you have it out. That way you're not
replacing a different one every 6 months.

CJB



"Joe S." <anon@mous.com> wrote in message
news:dpv00t0pr2@news4.newsguy.com...
>
> "Joe S." <anon@mous.com> wrote in message
> news:dpurb501bhj@news2.newsguy.com...
>>I just purchased a 1997 Mazda B4000, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed -- I have some
>>questions and hope someone here can help.
>>
>> If you have a similar truck, Mazda or Ranger:
>>
>> 1. What is your clutch life? When did you replace clutch plate or
>> clutch master or slave cylinders?
>> 2. As I understand it, the transmission has to come out to replace the
>> clutch slave cylinder -- right?
>> 3. The owner's manual does not say anything about this -- but -- do I
>> need to put it into 4WD every so often to keep the transfer case seals
>> and front hubs lubricated, or, are they lubricated sufficiently in normal
>> operation? I don't do a lot of 4WD.
>> 4. I don't see anything in the owner's manual about valve adjustment so
>> I assume the truck has hydraulic lifters and I don't need to worry about
>> valve adjustments ( I'm an old VW Beetle owner and valve adjustments are
>> key to keeping the Beetle engine happy ).
>>
>> Any other comments?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Here's another question. One of the lamps that illuminates the instrument
> cluster is burned out. How do I replace it -- I have not examined the
> instrument cluster but I guess (I hope) I'll find a few screws to remove,
> pull the clear cover, reach up and swap the bulbs. On the other
> hand - - -
>