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Hey everyone! Sorry in advance if not the correct place to post this, I am still new here figuring everything out.
I am looking to get some parts that need to be replaced, basically all the rubber bushings/joints need to be replaced on the front end and some at the back, from what I know I do not think they have ever been replaced. I know the inner/outer tie rods, but other than that I am not sure on the part names on the others and am hoping some of you can help me out on what they are/where to get them. Also I noticed a leak towards the back of the transmission while under the car, maybe you can point me in the right direction with that as well. For reference it's a '79 RX7. I am not sure on what parts are interchangeable with newer vehicles, it seems most websites only carry down to '84.
I circled the parts in question, I appreciate the help!
Front end parts -
Rear End Parts -
Transmission leak -
Last edited by Nicodemus; May 23, 2022 at 03:50 PM.
Reason: Added Context
Picture 1 and 4 are the sway bar bushings end link. Picture 2 are the sway bar bushing. Energy Suspension make good ones.
Picture 3 are the control arm - You can buy just the rubber part from Energy Suspension, but many times the whole joint is bad and you replace the entire arm.
Picture 4 shows a trailing arm. Folks general don't replace the bushing because of binding issues. They replace the entire arm. Unless you have e press to get the busging out, some folks burn them out.
The last pic is the speedo cable that is leaking. I don't remember a seal in that one. The other item in that pic is the trans mount - Rock Auto.
Last edited by KansasCityREPU; May 23, 2022 at 09:14 PM.
Picture 1 and 4 are the sway bar bushings end link. Picture 2 are the sway bar bushing. Energy Suspension make good ones.
Picture 3 are the control arm - You can buy just the rubber part from Energy Suspension, but many times the whole joint is bad and you replace the entire arm.
Picture 4 shows a trailing are. Folks general don't replace the bushing because of binding issues. They replace the entire arm. Unless you have e press to get the busging out, some folks burn them out.
The last pic is the speedo cable that is leaking. I don't remember a seal in that one. The other item in that pic is the trans mount - Rock Auto.
Gotcha thank you for the info, really appreciate it. Just recently was taking it out for a spin yesterday and the speedo would randomly say i was going 50-60mph when i was going around 25, noticed when going around a corner the dash would start a sort of humming noise and would stop when the speedo would slowly drop back down, would pick up again the humming when you would go around a corner again and act up. Could this be the culprit?
Gotcha thank you for the info, really appreciate it. Just recently was taking it out for a spin yesterday and the speedo would randomly say i was going 50-60mph when i was going around 25, noticed when going around a corner the dash would start a sort of humming noise and would stop when the speedo would slowly drop back down, would pick up again the humming when you would go around a corner again and act up. Could this be the culprit?
The speedo cable is the issue for the erratic behavior. It could be that it just needs to be lubed and reseated. You'll need to remove it to fix the humming noise and inspect. Removing it from the back of the cluster is not fun. There are a few post about how to do it. One thing I like to do is remove it first from the trans and this will give it move slack when removing it from the back of the cluster.
I picture 2 is actually the tension rod bushing. #3 is the Ball Joint. 1 and 4 are sway bar end links.
Places to source bushings off the top of my head are Mazdatrix, Racing Beat (at least for the sway bar end links), and heck I think RockAuto may have some.
Welcome 'Nic'- 79 SA? congrats. I have an 80.
One really good active thread going right now I would read: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...hings-1156909/
Some great tips and part numbers, etc.
Unless I missed someone mentioning it here, your photo showing the rear suspension arm's rubber joint:
There is no factory rubber insert for these. It is sold as a complete part WITH the arm. This the route I recommend, and am in fact doing this with my 1980 now. Only aftermarket inserts are polyurethane, that you fit (not easy) into the old arm. Virtually the whole RX7 community agrees that on a street car these create a very poor (harsh) ride and quirky handling. Buy new arms (both upper and lower).
Sources include Mazda themselves, mazdatrix.com which might actually be cheaper, tho bear in mind you Dealer will not add shipping costs.
If a dealer, be armed with Part Numbers. The parts guys will be clueless. 79 VINs don't work in their system. These arms are standard for all 1979-85 RX7s. Pretty much most of the rest of the rubbers can be swapped with poly versions, most kits for them include the hardware too.
Final important point when replacing rear arms: Once new are in, DO NOT TIGHTEN FULLY! Lower car to load some weight onto the suspension, THEN do final tightening under load!!!!!
Lower front control (attached to the strut bottom). Again Mazda only offers whole arm. Aftermarket poly even rubber avai separate, but real headache removing old, inserting new. Complete arms still avai from Mazda at about $180-220 ea.
Tranny leak. As others say could be speedo cable mount. There is a gasket there and it is avai. OR could be the rear seal on the tranny output, also still avai. Speedo is easiest to swap in and see if that does the trick. Obv you should have look at the tranny oil level too!
Speedo acting up: yeah could be the cable. The cable can be entirely removed, easily slid apart, then you can correctly relube it an reinstall.
Easiest first thing to check. If its the actual SPEEDO head you have 2 choices:
- pull cluster and send speedo/whole unit off to someone who cleans these up (yes its probably just old lube hanging things up)
-or swap in a replacement cluster. This is the easiest route as you are not disassembling the cluster to pull the speed, altho this is actually pretty straight forward! These are for sale all the time, ebay for eg. pay about $100. Of course, no guarantee IT's speedo works (most do!). Down side is inheriting whatever mileage is on the new cluster (LOL - I am on my THIRD cluster...!)
-get the cable checked out first-
Get yourself a copy (avai here on forum there is a link to one of the members own site with downloadable) of the PARTS BOOK (electronic).
AB-so-LOOT-LEY invaluable to understanding how these cars come apart, as well as state point for ordering parts.
The speedometer cable comes out from its housing from the bottom. So all you need to do is disconnect it at the transmission and then pull out the cable. Wipe it clean and lube with grease - not graphite - and reinsert it into the cable housing until it seats in the speedometer. Twist the cable counter clockwise to see if the speedometer needle jumps to verify that you have the cable seated. .
To determine if a speedometer has a problem with how it is being driven (cable issue or speedometer drive gears in the transmission) vs a bad instrument, you need to observe how it works while driving the car. Specifically you need to check the accuracy of the odometer. If the car registers accurate mileage over a known distance (highway mile markers are great for this) while the speedometer needle is flopping around or making noise: you have a bad instrument. If the odometer doesn't register accurate mileage or only moves when the needle moves, you have an issue with the way the speedometer is being driven. So, bad cable and or bad speedometer gears in the transmission on the tail shaft.
There is a seal on the ferrule that the speedometer driven gear rides in. So there could be a leak there. If there is trans fluid entering the speedometer cable housing then you have an issue with the way the transmission is venting. Most likely the transmission case vents are clogged so the fluid is going where it can when it gets hot.
Welcome 'Nic'- 79 SA? congrats. I have an 80.
One really good active thread going right now I would read: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...hings-1156909/
Some great tips and part numbers, etc.
Unless I missed someone mentioning it here, your photo showing the rear suspension arm's rubber joint:
There is no factory rubber insert for these. It is sold as a complete part WITH the arm. This the route I recommend, and am in fact doing this with my 1980 now. Only aftermarket inserts are polyurethane, that you fit (not easy) into the old arm. Virtually the whole RX7 community agrees that on a street car these create a very poor (harsh) ride and quirky handling. Buy new arms (both upper and lower).
Sources include Mazda themselves, mazdatrix.com which might actually be cheaper, tho bear in mind you Dealer will not add shipping costs.
If a dealer, be armed with Part Numbers. The parts guys will be clueless. 79 VINs don't work in their system. These arms are standard for all 1979-85 RX7s. Pretty much most of the rest of the rubbers can be swapped with poly versions, most kits for them include the hardware too.
Final important point when replacing rear arms: Once new are in, DO NOT TIGHTEN FULLY! Lower car to load some weight onto the suspension, THEN do final tightening under load!!!!!
Lower front control (attached to the strut bottom). Again Mazda only offers whole arm. Aftermarket poly even rubber avai separate, but real headache removing old, inserting new. Complete arms still avai from Mazda at about $180-220 ea.
Tranny leak. As others say could be speedo cable mount. There is a gasket there and it is avai. OR could be the rear seal on the tranny output, also still avai. Speedo is easiest to swap in and see if that does the trick. Obv you should have look at the tranny oil level too!
Speedo acting up: yeah could be the cable. The cable can be entirely removed, easily slid apart, then you can correctly relube it an reinstall.
Easiest first thing to check. If its the actual SPEEDO head you have 2 choices:
- pull cluster and send speedo/whole unit off to someone who cleans these up (yes its probably just old lube hanging things up)
-or swap in a replacement cluster. This is the easiest route as you are not disassembling the cluster to pull the speed, altho this is actually pretty straight forward! These are for sale all the time, ebay for eg. pay about $100. Of course, no guarantee IT's speedo works (most do!). Down side is inheriting whatever mileage is on the new cluster (LOL - I am on my THIRD cluster...!)
-get the cable checked out first-
Get yourself a copy (avai here on forum there is a link to one of the members own site with downloadable) of the PARTS BOOK (electronic).
AB-so-LOOT-LEY invaluable to understanding how these cars come apart, as well as state point for ordering parts.
Stu A
80GS
AZ
Awesome thank you for the detailed info, will definitely check out those points! And agreed, most the time the local dealer has no clue about these cars in general, some have even questioned if the car exists lol.
Originally Posted by mustanghammer
Regarding the Speedo
The speedometer cable comes out from its housing from the bottom. So all you need to do is disconnect it at the transmission and then pull out the cable. Wipe it clean and lube with grease - not graphite - and reinsert it into the cable housing until it seats in the speedometer. Twist the cable counter clockwise to see if the speedometer needle jumps to verify that you have the cable seated. .
To determine if a speedometer has a problem with how it is being driven (cable issue or speedometer drive gears in the transmission) vs a bad instrument, you need to observe how it works while driving the car. Specifically you need to check the accuracy of the odometer. If the car registers accurate mileage over a known distance (highway mile markers are great for this) while the speedometer needle is flopping around or making noise: you have a bad instrument. If the odometer doesn't register accurate mileage or only moves when the needle moves, you have an issue with the way the speedometer is being driven. So, bad cable and or bad speedometer gears in the transmission on the tail shaft.
There is a seal on the ferrule that the speedometer driven gear rides in. So there could be a leak there. If there is trans fluid entering the speedometer cable housing then you have an issue with the way the transmission is venting. Most likely the transmission case vents are clogged so the fluid is going where it can when it gets hot.
Gotcha, the spedometer usually has been pretty accurate on the speed (run GPS along sometimes and speeds match). Something I do notice is that most the time the Speedo needle is bouncing around (up and down maybe 5-10mph swings) so from what I gather that sounds like a instrument cluster issue? Appreciate the info, nice to have some knowledgeable people on these cars!
