K, my disclaimer, I suck at terminology, and at the moment I do not live where I can easily get pictures of what I am talking about so here goes.

History:
Been doing alot of maitenance/upgrades of old parts that were worn out. Time to upgrade...

The P.O. had damaged the car somehow (probably drifting) and so one of the rear rims was bent. Thats Fine, I had spares.


Recently, I found out what was causing a noise, my brake disc was rubbing the caliper bracket. On closer inspection it looks like my watts link (the one on the bottom going forward) on the driver's side was kinked up, and the other side looks like it has been stressed. From my limited powers of observation it appears that the rear end has been tweaked so the driver side brake disc is rubbing the bracket on the rear inside. Passenger side does not rub. But it only seems to rub in one section of rotation (maybe 1/4)

EDIT: should also state that my driver side axle seems to be leaking fluid (diff?). Car hasn't been driven far, just enough to try and diagnose the noises etc.

So i was thinking/wondering if the bent (watts link?) could cause the differential/axle assembly to shift and cause this? or is it more likely a bent axle?

I know this is a ambiguous post, but what can i check to confirm or....?? Only have a limited window when i get home to take a look and start fixing.

Thanks in advance. if you need clarification (im guessing some will be needed) just ask.
Dont have much experience with suspension/axle stuff.

 

sounds like a bent axle
jack up the car, put it on jackstands. start the car and go through the gears slowly. get it up to 50~60 and have someone watching the side in question. look to see if you can see the wheel wobbling, if it is = bent axle

 

i just let it idle in 1st, you can see the bent axle just fine.

the chirp chirp noise is your clue too...

 

I'll agree with the others on this, but will add that it sounds like the PO also bent or tweaked the rear links. It sounds like you were referring to the rear links, rather than the watts linkage. The rear links go from the axle housing, forward to the body (four of them). The watts linkage is on the backside of the axle housing.


.

 

Yes thats what i meant kentetsu. I take it I shouldprobably replace it?

Ill do that axle test when i get home (unfortunately probably not until thanksgiving (canadian))

 

Good news is, changing an axle is not a big deal if you get somone to press the bearing for you, and the odds are pretty good that the diff housing is OK; those suckers are STRONG!

Most likely that the axle bent when the rim did.

PS: what's a PO?

 

previous owner.

 

When I replace the axles on my racecar with used ones I chuck them in a lathe and check the run-out on the flange. This can save you some time and headaches because it means that you aren't putting new bearings on a bad axle.
If your budget allows and you need new axles you might contact respeed for some new axles. www.respeed.com


Another issue we have seen with Mazda rear ends used in road racing is that the caliper mounts on the housings will flex and bend. This will eventually allow the caliper brackets to come in contact with the rotors. So make sure that the caliper mounts on the housing are flat. So far this has occured on several E Production 1st Gen RX7's in our division. I haven't experienced this on my IT car....yet. This is probably caused by the sticky and wide tires used by the E Production cars.

Overall the Mazda housings are pretty sturdy and they are usually consistent with respect to alignment. That said they will bend if the car hits a curb or another car with some force.