Between the coil springs and the front strut mount, Mazda has two parts, a rubber sheet and a spring sheet. Their terms, not mine. I've gathered just about everything I thought I would need for the suspension work I'm doing this week, but I noticed the rubber sheet is dry rotted big time. I have not take apart the old assembly yet, as I am just going to rent a spring compressor for a day, as I have no need to own one. How likely is this part to be completely shot?

Anyone ever bother to replace it? Should I replace it? Or should I for once not be an **** retentive perfectionist and just reuse it? Even though the crusty dry rot may cause me to lose sleep at night?

 

are you speaking of the rubber splash guard near the back of the control arm?

 

No, I'm referring to the rubber that's sandwiched between the top of the coil spring and the strut mount. Most people would refer to it as a coil spring isolator.

 

If they're dry rotted and you can find them from somewhered, id replace them

 

I noticed those when I took my struts off last week; It would probably be a good idea to replace them, if they are cracked and rotted they will tend to comply more with the forces acting upon them, and cause more body roll.

On the other hand they don't seem like parts that will cause you to lose control of the vehicle if they fail completely, so it's entirely up to you whether you replace them or not.

 

I was leaning towards replacing them just because that's what I tend to do in these situations. I don't think it's necessarily a safety issue, as you say, but could be more of a compliance issue. I haven't taken the strut apart yet, but it looks like if they fail completely the spring could potentially shift, but I don't know how likely that is to happen.

Mazdatrix lists them, so my local dealer should be able to order them. It just frustrates me as now it's a timing issue. I may not get them by Friday and I am on vacation all this week trying to knock out a bunch of work on the car.

 

Replace them. Even coilovers come w/ them (albeit for 2.5" springs instead of the stock basketball-sized springs)

 

I have. Replacements are already waiting for me at the dealer. I ordered them yesterday, so that was a quick turnaround.

 

Might I ask how much they wanted for them?