91vert

Does anybody know if Mazda sells the dust boot for the ball joint on the front lower control arm?

I'm in the teardown stage of replacing my front suspension and I kinda trashed the one on the drivers side. The ball joint is OK, I just need to replace the rubber dust boot.

It is a 91, so the ball joint is an integral part of the control arm....not completely replaceable like on the 86-88 control arms.

Thanks.

deadRX7Conv

Why Mazda?

$3 for plastic ones
http://www.suspension.com/mazda.htm

And while you're at it, chuck all the front suspension bushings.

91vert

Thanks!

I checked out the link and their prices are great.....if the quality of the product is good.

I don't know for sure if I really like the colored plastic boots. How do you seal them up at the bottom and how do they move with the ball joint if they are hard plastic? The rubber ones have a metal spring-loaded band at the bottom that fits in the little groove at the top of the ball joint "housing".

Do you have these on your car? If so, how are they installed?

BTW....I did get all new bushings. How I'm going to get the old bushings off of the lower control arm and the new ones on is yet to be figured out.

deadRX7Conv

Bushing work sucks. Impact hammer/torch/hydraulic press/big vice(or combination of all) are the way to remove old bushings.

The plastic bushings are soft(flexible/just little stiffer than rubber) and work well. I have installed these in several cars(hondas/ford/nissans) with no issues other than busted knuckles and sore throat from swearing at auto manufacturers
I have never had any issue with quality from Energy Suspension. Still waiting for someone to come back with failed bushings. They last longer than the rubber OEM ones. They last longer than the cars(&driver) that I have installed them in.
Plastic(polyeurethane....) bushings do not bind. They increase the noise(thud) a little during bumps. But some cars actually ride better because the lack of binding allows the shock/strut/spring to do the job they were meant to do. Plus, plastic bushings will not preload during installation like rubber bushings which will affect ride height and bushing wear(incorrectly tightened rubber bushings=preload).

Also, if you call by phone or visit any of the other ES resellers, you can get them in black(or other colors).

www.energysuspension.com

91vert

Thanks for letting me know. I guess I'm not out much (a whopping $6.00 for both ball joint boots and the outer tie-rod-boots) if I think they're crap when they show up.

I tried to order online from them and the damn submit botton at the bottom of their ordering page does not do anything when it is clicked on.....I hope. If it does work and doesn't alert the user in any way....I probably just bought about 10 sets of these boots

91vert

Well.....I got these boots you recommended today and they are not at all what I expected.

Nothing came with them to secure them to the joints??? WTF???

They don't even have a groove at the bottom that will snap into place over the lip on the outside of the ball joint or a groove to put any kind of spring loaded clip around them.

The stock ones have a spring-loaded metal band at the bottom that secures it to the joint. These look like they are made to just slide down over it. I don't see how that is going to safely keep water and dirt out of the joint.

I guess I should have expected something like this for $3.00 a pair.

If you actually bought these things and have used them, how did you "attach" them to the ball joints/tie-rods?

deadRX7Conv

Fill 'em with grease. Slide them over the balljoint/tierod stud. When you tighten the BJ/TR to the knuckle, they will squish and stay in place.

91vert

I just put the drivers side together and it kind of did what you described, but it still seems a little cheesy.

I guess we'll see what happens.

I don't drive my car when it is raining anyway, so I guess I won't need to worry so much about water.

I was wondering if you, or anybody else for that matter, knew what the torque specs are for the nut on the tie rod end should be. I looked in the FSM and cannot find it anywhere. This seems like kind of a critical nut to not overtighten. Don't want to put too much stress on that tie rod stud and have that bitch snap off while cruising down the highway.

silverrotor

iTrader: (1)

I replace both my front ball joints when It as time for my annual alignment 4 months ago. I asked Mazda If they sell the boots alone and they said no. I ended up replacing both of them.