The heart of O-Ren beats again!

I have had my Mazda MX-3 for over a year now and it has been a long journey for the both of us. We have fixed her before, but somehow the timing ended up being off by two degrees. This wasn't found out until this past weekend.

Friday night Ethan and I installed the new distributor and cold air intake that I got. We had to use my iphone as a light which was fun. I was so sure that was going to fix the problem and she would start, but it didn't. She was trying so hard too. It broke my heart and I felt defeated. That was the last part I could think of to replace. Ethan said the only thing it could be was the timing, but it was so unlikely that it got messed up. After that I was determined to get her running. I knew right then and there that the next day I was going to be turning wrenches.

The next day was a busy one. We took off the serpentine belts and the crankshaft pulley. Then we lined the timing up and proceeded to put her back together.We had to compress the tensioner with a scissor jack and the porch.Can I just say that whoever thought of putting the hole for the pin on my belt tensioner in the way of the bolt needs to be punched in the face. We ended up going to Advanced Auto Parts three times to find the right pin and in the end it got stuck. Yet again we were defeated. The sun was going down and it started to rain. On the way to the house we found the original pin laying on the ground. It is like someone was screwing with us. "Oh, hell! Here you go! Here is the pin. Just take it!"

I woke up sore as hell the next day, but still as determined as I was before. I knew it was supposed to rain all day, so the window that we had where it was clear that morning needed to be used to finish up.

We had 20 minutes before it started pouring on us. I still was going strong. I wanted O-Ren fixed that day before I had to leave. It got to where I couldn't see anything I was doing. All I needed to do was tighten the last belt and put the tire back on, but the rain was so bad we had to stop. We were both completely soaked when we went inside. The three hours we had to wait were by far the longest hours I have ever experienced in my whole life. I couldn't think about anything else. Finally when the rain stopped we went back out.

As soon as we stepped outside and proceeded to fix the belt back it started to rain again. We kept on, cursing the rain the whole time. The tire was so much fun to put back on. The soil was muddy and the jack stands had sunk, so we had to work with that for a while. Finally she was ready. Ethan and I were on pins and needles when he turned the key and when she started I jumped for joy. I was so happy. She was fixed again.

My little Mazda has been through so much shit and I have spent so much time on her because she deserves it. I am proud that she soldiers on. All we have to fix now is the idle problem, her tires, the shifter bushings and the cv axle. Ethan says the axle is going to be a bitch, but we can do it. I am so glad just to see her out of that rut in the backyard. The journey is far from over, but this one victory is very, very sweet.