Left/Right Strut/spindle are the same, universal. Buy a parts car for $200 and be done with it.

 

Left and right assemblys are different. The dust shield and brakeline bracket are L/R specific. The spindles themselves, I don't know for sure.

 

You are correct, shield, caliper are side specific.....strut/spindle is universal.

 

That's good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

 

I can swap the sheild/caliper mounting braket. The brakeline bracket is different? Isn't that just a little clip on the back of the assembly? Oh well.

I'm off to the junkyard this weekend. If I don't find anything I will post a want-to-buy.

 

Interesting read. I, too replaced bearings and races and have a similar noise, though it hasn't gotten worse in 5K miles or so and is intermittent. Again, sounds like brake pad noise and goes away when brake pedal pressed. I should dig into it.

I have always been generous when packing wheel bearings with grease be it the Rx7 or my motorcycle. The factory service manual for they Rx7 I have warns not to lubricate the wheel bearings "excessively". Anyone know why it would be bad to use too much grease?

Thanks,
Seamus

 

You can see the bearings seized up in before I got the rotor off in this picture.

 

The rotor came off and the bearings were still on the spindle.

 

Here are a few more. You can see what is left of the bearing compared to what they look like to begin with.

Update: you can also see where we cut through with a grinder.

 

i've never seen green wheel bearing grease before.

 

The first wheel bearing replacement I did, a 57 Chevy when I was 17, I put the bearing, or race, don't remember which, in backwards. It took very few miles to chew up the new bearing and eat 1/2 way thought the spindle. At that time Montgomery Wards had a parts department, where I bought the bearings. When I returned the bearings for a free replacement, the first thing they asked was, "Did you install it the right way?", of course I did I replied, they can only go in one way. They gave me a free replacement.

As for repacking the new bearing, get one of those bearing packers. They are relatively cheap, under $15 I think, and will assure you of a thorough repack. You don't even have to get your hands greasy doing it.

Even of you could manage to cut off the old bearing, I would be leary of the spindle because of the heat cycling it has gone through to weld the bearing parts to it.

You did do a nice job of fubaring the spindle and bearing.

 

Ahh that brings back memorys of my first 7 welding the bearing onto the spindle, just like yours! I cut,hacked,torched on it for a few weeks until my mom told me to fix the car or get rid of it. I ended up going to the junkyard and getting a RH strut assembly with strut, springs, and rotor. I never opened up that wheel so I assume from my reading that it just failed since it was probably stock (~ 80K miles). I think it only ended up costing me 80$ and took a few hours since I had to compress the spring with a crowbar and a 2x4 to get the strut assembly back onthe control arm. I REALLY need to replace the wheel bearings in my current 7 before I revisit that experience..

 

Removing the tension rod and sway bar connection help installation/removal greatly.....