I just bought an El Cheapo brand aluminum topper for my Mazda B3000 pickup. It has two (clear) acrylic side windows that open, and four of those funny smoke-colored bubble-type plastic "windows" that don't open; each is about 16x24".
Replacing the acrylic (with polycarbonate!) is no problem, but I'm at a loss as to where to get replacement bubble windows; I'm not even sure what to search for. A search for "replacement windows pickup topper" wasn't terribly useful.
I am thinking of replacing the bubble windows with smoke polycarbonate sheet. Or even clear sheet. But before I do, does anyone know where to get replacement windows?
This is the first topper I've had, and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. You know, the kind of stuff you don't find out until you've had the thing for a year or so...
What year Mazda? My 94 has 337,000 miles on it. I can tell you what will go wrong and roughly when during its life time.
Oh..the windows..they are generally custom made for the topper manufacture. You simply buy sheet plastic and cut your own to fit.
Gunner
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It's a 99, about 45000 miles. The transmission (manual) already has a light whine. A few minor electrical problems: the airbag light doesn't always come on when it's started.
It's a 99, about 45000 miles. The transmission (manual) already has a light whine. A few minor electrical problems: the airbag light doesn't always come on when it's started.
I would love to know what to expect...
Thanks for the information. I'll just get some plastic and cut it to fit.
Best thing you can do, is dump in a bottle of Power Punch Moly D. It will smooth it out and make it feel like a custom tranny. Good stuff. Dump in another one after your first clutch change at around 85,000.
Stick on in the differential also. Good stuff.
When the slave cylinder goes bad, at around 125k, you will have to pull the tranny. Its a fairly easy job. The Slave cylinder is $85 at most autoparts stores. It takes a special tool to remove the hydraulic fitting. But that can be made on the lathe (buy a Chiltons shop manual). To bleed the master cylinder..pull back your carpet and with a small snap ring plyer..remove the snap ring and gently pull the piston up only so far as it takes for brake fluid to start to dribble out. Then put it back together. This trick will save your butt.
Some of them had a real problem with blowing head gaskets at around
50k-90k. I think they fixed it, but do a google. Mine went out at
150,000. The idler pully for your serpentine fan belt is available at the various autoparts stores for $36 and it will go at about 100,000
Now nearly all of my miles are high speed hiway miles, so my maint stuff may be different than yours. Shrug. I drive between 35k and 65k a year.
Ive not had any electrical problems other than having to replace the headlight switch twice. The first time at 300,000 and the second one about 6 months later. I suspect the first replacement was a crappy one.
Your hoses are made of a material that will look wonderful even when the inside is rotted away. Be sure to pull the main radiator hose in the next 30k and check the inside. When it blows, it will blow suddenly with no warning.
If you have a rear tire blow out, it will likely bust out the supports inside the wheel well, and bend the fender behind the wheel well. The second time (same wheel well..drivers rear), I didnt bother to bend the sheetmetal back. Shrug. The first time, I spent quite a bit of time making new fender support brackets which were ripped out by the roots after the second blowout.
I like Max Life motor oil. When I pulled the engine at 294k, it still didnt burn any oil, but had zero compression. This was the result of having the radiator hose blow out and the person driving it, driving it back to town. It annealed the #1 and #4 rings, and when the shop replaced the head gasket, they didnt replace the rings as I requested. I drove it that way for another 100,000 miles.
Thats just off the top of my head. Its been all in all, a fantastic truck for me, and Ill buy another one when this one is used up.
Gunner
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