nycgps

iTrader: (4)

I swear as soon as I took the dust cap off, I start cursing until I finally removed the hub off the axle.

it's very obvious that someone replaced this before, the cotter pin was hammered wrong and snapped in 1/2 when I try to bend it back, and cuz the end broke off, it took me 10-15 minutes to pull it out. oh did I mention there was NOT enough wheel bearing grease in there? **** parts of the bearing is bone dry ... I don't know who did this but he/she should be banned from working on cars for the rest of his/her life.

I have all race and parts and ready to swap it out, what bothers me is this part.



is this still usable? it looks pretty f-ed up and maybe I should just replace the whole assembly ?

Here it comes the hub, the race, inner and outer bearing are covered with grease that looks like **** (color and smell, no joke), I wonder if the person who worked on this really put some **** in there.

after 2 cans of brake cleaner, the hub looks like this



and the idiots probably hammered the **** out of it cuz I see lots of nicks and dents at the outside area. maybe I should trash this and get another hub and axle ?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

I wouldn't be able to tell you if it's reusable, im not really sure, but I'm sure it could be much worse. If you get it greased up and it bolts up fine and nothing is bent or cracked to the point where it's going to mess up the balance of the car, or break.

Trust me you're not alone when it comes to discovering hackjobs, my last rx7 i bought had a bunch of wires melted together , as well as wires cut that were put into the fuse box under fuses...i had to replace the entire wiring harness....i also discovered that only 2 bolts out of 4 were on the tranmission mount underneath the tranny...real nice.

I like to think most parts are reusable, the parts that really need to be in superior condition are the engine parts, it's pretty hard to mess up the other parts on the car unless you've been in an accident.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

Thanks. I know what you mean, the wiring is pretty messed up on mine too. I'm not sure if it's repairable but I already bought a used wiring harness online just in case. I know these cars are cheap to get but hey, is it only me? when I do something I want it to be perfect, I hate fuxking 1/2 *** job done by morons. if I know who did this to "my" car, I probably yell the **** out of him/her.

in the first picture, the part that the bearing rides on should be shinny, problem is it never had enough grease in there, so it sorts overheats (looks like it) and it's all dark now ... I mean I can try to fit it in, just not sure if it's ideal.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Probably best to wait to get someone else's opinion, because im not really sure, if you're not in a big rush there's really no reason to go and throw it back on, but if you're needing a car to drive it probably wouldn't hurt to put it on until you can find a good replacement, personally i dont think the overheating would matter unless it overheated it to the point where it cracked the metal, the darker color is more of a cosmetic thing, and youll probably not see it i wouldnt think after installing it...but im still not 100% sure as i'm just going by common sense, not knowledge.

Many people who've owned rx7s don't take the time to do the job right, that's why half of them blow up...not to mention many of the people don't know much about cars and just buy an rx7 because they think they're fast and look cool.

Really you need to be passionate about rx7s and rotary engines in general if you plan on having a nice one, because you'll run into alot of hurdles that a less passionate person would be too stubborn to get over.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

yea I hear ya, I know what I'm getting into, there were much more decent FC out there and reason I picked mine, because it's cheap (I sold the RB exhaust on it and the car end up costing me like 400 bux) and I want to learn how to fix things.

it's 212 K it will have problems and things will fall apart ... that I understand, but I just hate it when people do 1/2 *** job and think they fixed it and they are so cool now.

I think the spindle will be fine, as long as I pack the **** out of it this time. just wanted to be sure before I start taking the bearing and race out of it's packaging.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

Just wanna update this (cuz I have nothing better to do right now :P)

spent an hour something 2, with the help of my torch, heat the hub up, hit it on the floor, repeat for maybe 20 times, the bearing race moved a bit, hammered it with a flat head screw driver, finally got both bearing race out of the hub (did I mention I broke a screw driver in the process?)

damn, this thing is a bitch to do.

Gonna clean it up with sand paper tomorrow, clean, pack and reinstall, then go do the 2nd hub.

The rear ... I save it for later, I bought a press so I should have no problem doing that. but when the front is done I'm just gonna put it back on the floor and drive it around a bit first ... need to enjoy this sucker, even it looks like **** now (cuz I replaced the fender and passenger side door that's different in color. lol)

HOZZMANRX7

iTrader: (43)

Maybe this will help:

Changing Front Wheel Bearings on 86-92's

AGreen

iTrader: (11)

The inner races are what rides on the spindle, not the actual rollers of the bearing. Don't sandpaper the damn thing though, use a scotchbrite or some kind of polishing cloth if you feel the need to. If it's smooth, I wouldn't even bother with it. The spindle did suffer some overheating from the lack of lubrication, but so long as you replace the outer races and wheel bearings and properly set the preload on the wheel bearing, you'll be just fine.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

I read that long time ago, and I have dremel tool at home.

choose not to do it because if something ***** up ... it's not hard to find another hub but I prefer not to. 0

I hammered both races out. will replace it with new one.

Yeah, it suffers from lack of lubrication, some moron did this cuz I saw a lot of nicks and scratches inside ... Well I did use scrotchbrite pads and it's cleaner now, if I have time tomorrow I'm just gonna clean it up one more time, pack the bearings (bought a bearing packer), and install this sucker.

Need to find something that weights about 2 lbs to do the preload ...

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

This is off topic, but if you're doing the rear hubs you can invest some money into DTSS eliminators, might as well if you've already got the assembly off if you can afford it, but be warned they are a pain in the *** to remove the old to put in the new.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

I installed the DTSS eliminators long time ago, it was one of the first mod to the car can afford it ... lol, the money I spent on this car is like probably over 10-20 times of what it is worth ... lol

Thanks though.

MazdaMike02

iTrader: (4)

If it was my car I'd reuse them. Im sure with new bearings it'll be fine. If I was diagnosing a customers car I'd probably recommend changing it due to the damage done. But honestly the spindle will probably be fine.

MIDNFauciUSN

iTrader: (8)

This is the reason that I refuse to let anyone else work on my car.

MazdaMike02

iTrader: (4)

Really? I'm sorry wheres your license? Where's your Certificate of Qualification? Where's your years of experience? You probably do bearing jobs like the one above.

MIDNFauciUSN

iTrader: (8)

Are these the documents that enable (some) dealers to legitimize ripping people off?

Experience in ripping people off? I dont have any, cant help you there.

I use a welder to remove the races. But, if this method is good enough for MazdaTrix, its good enough for me.

nycgps

iTrader: (4)

most of the nicks/scratches were already there ... so I didn't do "those" damages.

notice the 2nd pic? the rust/damage ... grr I don't know man. well it's out of the hub already and new ones are going in tomorrow (hopefully)

Yea I'm using brand new bearings and races ... and unlike the last "fucked up" job, this time I am sure I will pack like a whole load of grease to it ... it should last.

but if it makes funny noise again, I'm just gonna replace the whole thing. I bought 2 sets of bearing/race (one from Mazda, one from Beck and Arnley, both exact same thing) so if this one fails, I just go find a hub and start from there.

Well, there are good techs at some dealerships.

Mazdatrix's method works as long as you have a steady hand and the tools, I have the tools but my hands are not that steady. and nope I don't have a welder (don't even know how to weld, yet)

so I just use the "heat it up with Torch, bang the hub on the floor till the race starts sliding back out" method, it works fine actually, oh I'm not stupid enough to just hit the hub to the ground, I put 2 layers of card board plus couple layers of cloth on the floor ... took a while but it does work.

Pele

iTrader: (28)

Moderator Intervention:

The above posts were reported for being off base and potentially harassing. I don't think there is any ill will here, I think it's a misunderstanding.

I think we all agree that there are good mechanical shops and bad mechanical shops... Just as there are good home mechanics and bad home mechanics.

It's a roll of the dice whether any used car was worked on by a good mechanic or a bad mechanic. I've seen hack jobs that were done by dealerships and professional jobs that were done in a front driveway.


However, I think if you own a legitimate business, you do have a liability to warn your customers (if you care about the business, that is.) about a potentially unsafe part.

Could the overheating of a poorly lubricated bearing have caused metal fatigue to the spindle or hub? Yes, there is a remote possibility of this. Probably a one in a million chance, but still, there is a chance.
If you owned a shop that worked on this bearing, you'd have the obligation to warn the customer and/or replace the bad part. Why? Because if you did end up hitting that one in a million chance and the spindle or hub fails and causes a wreck, you're on the hook.

It's not ripping people off, it's covering your rear end. People LOVE to lawyer up and take everyone to court.

Everyone thinks it's unnecessary to replace until it fails. However, when you've got a business reputation to protect, you think a little differently.

MIDNFauciUSN

iTrader: (8)

Yep, there are some good ones, then there are the others that made me glad that this site existed when I was 18. Like the Mazda tech who told me that synthetic was required in my MS3 - "you know, because it has a turbo," which took the service manager to resolve.

I've had really good success with welding a bead to the race. After cooling, it usually only takes 1 or 2 taps for the race to fall out. That and any weld spatter (if any) wont stick to the aluminum. Its not even hot enough to deform the aluminum (by 5X visual inspection) by the time the spatter lands.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

This is by far advanced to me, and im sure alot of other people. I'd rather be safe than sorry, honestly dont even know what you're talking about here, im sure if mazdatrix recommends it, it's a good thing.

Though if you don't have knowledge/wisdom to do this work, it's probably a bad idea.

I don't really know how fatal the consequences would be on a fail job, but if they are permanant, you obviously wouldn't want to risk permanant damage that could otherwise be avoided.

(bead/race etc, are pretty much another language to me and i'd have to do research)

Pele

iTrader: (28)

True

Worst case, the spindle fails and that wheel detaches from the rest of the car.
In that scenario, the brake caliper would keep the wheel still attached to the car enough for you to make a controlled stop.

ABSOLUTE WORST would be a failure of the caliper bracket bolts and then the entire wheel, hub, brake rotor assembly will come off the car and that corner of the car will hit the ground and cause a very sudden stop. But that'll take two failures.

However the most likely scenario (If any) is that your spindle is a bit deformed and you'll just tear up bearings a bit faster than usual.



Clean up the burrs with some light abrasive, put it together, drive carefully for the next 1000 miles. Then examine the bearing for added play. I'm sure it'll most likely be fine.

Bead is what leave behind when you use a welder.


(Image linked from Miller Website. If they have disabled hotlinking, use Google Image Search for, "welding bead.")

The race is the cone section of the roller type wheel bearing. It is pressed into the hub.


Image linked form About.com article regarding auto repair. Not FC specific, but close. Image is typical of an older car with a hub/rotor unit. In the FC's case, replace the rotor with the hub. Rotor goes on later.
Again, Image hotlinked. If they've disabled hot linking, use Google Image Search for, "wheel bearing and race.")

You usually replace the race with the bearing and nothing is supposed to wear out on the hub.

In the case of removing races from the hub, if you weld a bit on the race, the heat will cause the metals to expand. Because the hub is aluminum and the race is hardened chrome-moly steel, they expand at different rates. This expansion causes the race to loosen and come out easier.

I guess that's for stubborn races. I've never had too much trouble with a punch and a small hammer to tap them out.



I see you're in Virginia... I'd offer to dive by and give you some pointers, but you're down by Radford. That's a three-four hour drive for me.

AGreen

iTrader: (11)

I was just talking about this at work today. I'm a previously-qualified ASE certified automobile technician that no longer works in the automotive industry. The 2 main reasons I didn't stay in were that a) once the economy took a dump, the shop stopped seeing a lot of their customers (layoffs, lack of money, whatever), and b) I was an honest tech and couldn't justify doing things like replacing brake pads because they were worn down to half of their original thickness (well above all min specs). I hated sitting in my bay after finishing all my work with nothing to do, watching the guy next to me replace stuff that didn't need to be changed out. The only justification they had for doing it was "we don't know how long it would be until they come back, so it has the potential for a safety issue". That's just an example. That kind of stuff happened all the time and it really irritated me to see them making all that work for themselves, making it hard for an honest guy to make a living.

MazdaMike and Pele have a point though. It's hard to make a call like that, but I would have done like Pele said and let the customer know about it, tell him that it's a slim chance for a failure, and let them make their own decision, then document the decision on the repair order.

I also refuse to take any of my cars to shops. Not just because I have all my tools and equipment in my garage to do nearly everything I need, but mostly because it's a crap shoot whether you're going to get a good honest technician to work on your vehicle or not. I used to send my wife to a Mazda dealership an hour away while I was deployed just to have the oil changed. I always make sure all the maintenance on her CX7 is up to date, especially prior to deployments. Mazda convinced her in to buying tires at 6/32" tread, a transmission flush (already done about 6k prior to that), air filter (3k miles old), and an alignment. They convinced her that her tires were dangerous to ride on. I was gone for 2 months, the car had 50k miles on it and the tires were showing no signs of unusual tread wear, and it definitely did not need an alignment. After I got back, we put 6k miles on the tires and immediately started noticing some serious feathering and scalloping on 3 of the tires. I drove 200 miles to an alignment shop that I personally know and trust to find out that the rear toe and front camber on one side were off badly. Mazda charged $1100 for just the tires. The next deployment she took it to a local shop to have the oil changed, which took 2 hours to complete. I came back literally the next day (I was so proud of her for making the effort to keep up on the maintenance too) and she told me the story. I immediately went out to do a quick inspection and easily figured out what took them so long. I guess the tech didn't have the right filter wrench to remove the oil filter cover (canister style on the CX7). After searching for too long, he used large channel lock pliers to remove it, which damaged the poly-fiber cap so bad that the proper oil filter cap wrench wouldn't fit on it any more. It's to the point now that I change the oil in her car right before I leave, and she won't take it in no matter how bad it needs service. I figure it's better to risk blowing off maintenance than having someone rip her off or tear it up again.

Ok. I'm done ranting.