Hello All:

Mazda Protege 2000 DX Sedan 4DR
Mileage: 70K

Was wondering how much woudl an approximate charge for Parts/labour be for replcaing Alternator Belt. I took my car to a dealer and they said i need one as the existing one is almost to be cracked.

Also my check engine light is on and they said would need "Air Intake Boot". Was wondering how owuld that effect the check engine light. Is a major thing to be replcaed . .

Appreciate your responses and Thanks in advance !

 

The air intake boot is about $75, The alternator belt is about $20, labor for the two, should be about $80, and, I would replace all the other belts. Plus, you are due for a timing belt, if you haven't done it before, which is about $260, including labor.

 

You can very easily replace the 'Air Intake Boot' yourself. Just loosen a couple of screws on each side of the metal band (one end from the Air Filter box and the other from the Engine Manifold) and put the new one in - screw to tighten bands. I replaced mine about 6 months ago because I found some 'hairline' cracks along the ridges, it was leaking air and was interferring with the computer (causing the transmission to jerk); also, this can cause the 'check engine light' to come on. The replacement resulted a bit of horsepower increase, it drove much smoother and I got better fuel mileage. The boot itself retails for about $45, I got it for about $35.
As for the belt, it seems a bit too soon for it to be changed. The belt in my 2000 LX 1.6 still look (amazing) and feels new to the touch and my car's got 116,000 miles. I had the major service done at 77,000 and requested to have all the belts changed, my mechanic only replaced the timing belt and water pump but left out the drive belts because he had mentioned "why mess with it when it's still in good condition"?
If you want to save money, just replace the boot yourself and have them replace the belt (if needed).

 

A leak in the air boot causes false readings for the MAF sensor tripping the CEL. Both the boot replacement as well as the belt replacement are very easy do-it-yourself fixes. Get a Haynes or Chilton's manual and have a little learning experience.