Fellow Rotorheads:
Bought what was presented as New Old Stock 12a e-shaft, tho to be absolutely fair to seller, he was not sure as the piece was passed on to him. I paid $125 on the understanding it is indeed new, so theoretically I may have some consideration given if it turns out to be used.

So pics are attached with SIDE-BY-SIDES to my 90K mi used e-shaft, which appears perfectly useable IMHO. But I have never SEEN a NEW e-shaft, so I do not know if the few markings this "new" part has are within "new" spec. Seller did tell me that shop he bought the shaft from used this to "test fit" into blocks being modified for racing (and in fact it came in a Mazda Racing-spec 12A shaft box!). This would explain the sealer munge on the rear thread.

My used e-shaft certainly shows polish blemishes from use whereas the new part seems to bear most of the fine machining marks _I_ would expect a new part to have.

Hope pics detail enough to make credible examination. If there is a specific area that needs to be shown, I will post it.

Thoughts and info appreciated...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

First. There was absolutely nothing wrong with your eshaft you wasted money buying a new one.
Second. Your new shaft is new. Notice there is no bearing wear on it.

 

Looks new to me. There does not appear to be any of the usual bearing wear marks. Don't know what to say about the gunk on the threads though, maybe a factory locktite?

 

i think you got shafted, i bought a new shaft in decmeber of 2007, ordered it from mazda, it came in the sealed proper box, for $130ish.

before you buy NOS, make sure its O, and not just NS...

 

MFR part i bet that some of the additional marks are additional balancing to a higher tolerance than a normal factory part. I have seen similar things with other MFR parts and then I have also seen some MFR parts that looked absolutely like crap but mechanically perfect which is what you want for racing.

I would say NOS and I have seen a few NOS ones when i worked for Atkins

 

Scotch-brite discs on a die grinder can work wonders on an e-shaft and I don't like that sealant on there. You only seal something if you expect to use it.

Get out a micrometer and measure it.

 

Stu, I wouldn't say you got 'shafted', it does appear to be as advertised. As Dave said, measure it for spec. It's rare that a shaft will wear past usable spec. Bearings wear out much quicker, they're designed that way. Just for piece of mind, a new oem e-shaft runs over 400 bucks.

 

the 12A shaft is $212. can't check availability until monday.

 

I do make it a habit of not pulling numbers out out my hat, if I wore one, lol. I did see a list price of 425 somewhere but can no longer find it. It does appear that 12A e-shafts and the 74-78 13B are NLA per Mazda Trix's website. As a comparison, they list 2nd gen shafts at 411.63, 3rd gen shafts at 477.76 and RX8 shafts at 186.99.

I'm curious as to why there's such a price variation. RB's rotor shaped muffler does look interesting.

 

Mazda has 13 right now. N201-11-400.

i do see that the pricing is all over the place, but if we're talking about a 12A, they all go to the one number.

 

N201... is that the shaft with the removeable blind plug? Or the later one with the stamped in brass plug? N201 is an early part number, right? Like '79-'80? Or is it '81-'82?

 

N201 is an 81 12A part number. my new shaft had a brass plug. its possible the factory installed ones from 1981, had the screw in plug.

 

it appears new to me Stu. Don't even see any scratches from being possibly assembled. Can't explain the goo.

 

Thank YOU guys! seems to confirm I am OK here.
Banzai - thread goo fits with indication seller said part was used for "test" fitting...

mazdatrix lists the 13B shafts at $410 and 12As as NLA so I think the price seems fair... I 'll be honest I was looking for some RX -tech eye-candy as a display unit and a new-ish one is icing on the cake. Esp since these things seem to last forever....

Stu Aull
80 GS
Alaska