TheAMAZINGNorad

The dude said if i had driven much more than 2 miles my front right wheel would have fallen off.


Ok, THANK GOD! Im praying alot tonight because if i hadnt brought it in there is no telling how bad i could have been hurt. I knew the bushings were bad, but aparantly they had deteriorated so bad that the wheel was barely hanging on. Ive really got no clue EXACTLY how it was about to fall off, but they shop wont let me have it back till they replace all the barings/idler arms, ect. Are the polyurathane bushings from Maztrix a good upgrade? The shop said they recomended them, so I said go for it. The smoke was just a bad hose leaking oil onto the engine block resulting int he burning smell, steam, and the oil stains on my garage. I also found out that my brake calipers were leaking fluid. This is also bieng corrected. I cant wait to get my baybe back, its so hard NOT driving it! Anyways, just wanted to say the good news. If not for the miracle of god, my RX-7 would have been on sale here for parts. All thank the RX-7 gods!

nipplebandit45

one word, wow.

peejay

Um, how do bad bushings cause a wheel to fall off???

Sure it'll flop around a bit, but no problems otherwise... it wouldn't be able to disconnect or anything.

Felix Wankel

The only thing that will make the wheel come off is loose lugnuts. The spindle nut can come loose, but the caliper will still keep the wheel from coming off. Unless you're moving, the force of the car could tear the caliper and bracket off as well.

peejay

I broke one of the bolts holding the strut to the knuckle... THAT was scary! I was braking heavily on a bumpy road and suddenly the car JUMPS to the left, makes a loud cracking noise. Afterwards it's OK... huh?

Later I'm at a drive-up payphone in the snow, and as I try to pull away the car slides off onto the grass. So I back out and crank the wheel so the front tire can climb up. (With bald tires and an LSD this thing is kinda hard to drive in the snow!) So I get un-stuck, turn around, and exit the parking lot, directly onto the interstate on-ramp. Car will not go straight, steering wheel is 90 degrees off to the left (instead of 30 degrees off to the right). Hit the flashers, stop car, take a look. Hmm, wheels APPEAR to be pointing in the same direction. Must just be the snow. Get back in, drive some more... no this is definitely messed up! Straighten steering wheel and get out. (At this point a Good Samaritan(tm) has stopped and is asking me if I need assistance. We look at the front wheels... right one aiming somewhat straight. Left one decidedly toed-in. UH-oh! I remember the cracking noise and realize what it must have been. I kick the tire and PONG it recenters itself. Then I drive it the 40 miles the rest of the way home...

TheAMAZINGNorad

I talked to the guy more, and he showed me a bolt that look like somebody had taken a hacksaw and messily cut 9/10 of the way into the bolt. I freaked when i saw this. IT turns out that the bushing and bearings were all bad to, so i got them replaced. Anyways...wow. The odd this is that there were no apparent signs that anything was wrong with the wheels. Ill have to be a little more alert next time i guess.