I was pleased to use an aftermarket tensioner when I replaced mine at 105k-ish miles. It was weeping, but not bad, and I expect to have no further problems with it for another ~~100k miles. I've no way to know whether it had previously been replaced. The replacement I bought was a Gates made in Canada. I didn't feel like I had too much choice at the time, however, as the Mazda ones were on extended backorder and my dealer hadn't had any for months. I was pleased with the Gates either way.
I know that if I had experienced what you have, I would think of it this way:
You've now had 2 Mazda tensioners fail within a total of ~105k miles; one at ~75k and another at ~50k. That's a poor record, IMO. I personally would not have the slightest hesitation purchasing another Canadian-made Gates, assuming it lasts as long as or longer than the Mazda one did. They're easy to get at O'Reilly or other auto parts stores, and they work well.
I'm glad you asked here, because it's easy for a person to have an anomalous experience and make a decision not otherwise supported by larger amounts of data (or in this case, just other experiences). Please let us know what you decide to do.
I know that if I had experienced what you have, I would think of it this way:
You've now had 2 Mazda tensioners fail within a total of ~105k miles; one at ~75k and another at ~50k. That's a poor record, IMO. I personally would not have the slightest hesitation purchasing another Canadian-made Gates, assuming it lasts as long as or longer than the Mazda one did. They're easy to get at O'Reilly or other auto parts stores, and they work well.
I'm glad you asked here, because it's easy for a person to have an anomalous experience and make a decision not otherwise supported by larger amounts of data (or in this case, just other experiences). Please let us know what you decide to do.
