When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Just finished up day 7 in the shop. Moving along without too many setbacks. I removed the PU bushings that I installed in rear trailing arms in 2001 (bottom left). I tried to install the Mazda bushings (top left) to replace the PU bushing, but had problems so decided to abandon that idea. I ordered and received new PU bushings from Energy Suspension. So, I will just install the Energy Suspension bushings rather than using the Mazda bushings. With some effort, removed the original rubber bushings (left of gold bushing) from the tri-axial floating hubs. These are the bushings with the fiber washer. Will replace them with the partsshopmax.com FC Trailing Arm Rear Upper Bushings Pair (SKU: FCTARUB), which are the gold aluminum bushings (lower right).
Tried drilling (as per Mazda FSM) and chiseling out the rear subframe bushings, but they didn't budge.
Resorted to torching them. Finally, was able to knock them out with a hammer and chisel.
The outer metal sleeves were rusted to the subframe. What a gnarly looking view of that bushing cup!
After using a rotary wire brush and sandpaper, they are starting to look somewhat better. Will spend a little more time cleaning up these cups.
Started to drop the fuel lines and all went smoothly except for one small problem. Not the best photo, but follow the two fuel lines (lower right) where they turn under the differential. There's a clamp with rubber bushing that holds these two lines to the underbody. There are two bolts. one on each side, the hold this clamp. I was able to remove the left hand side bolt, but cannot remove the right bolt. It's rusted in there, and is too tight for a combo wrench and not enough space for a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll need to loosen the diff and drop it about 1/2" or so. Bummer!
Hydraulic brake line connects to splitter block on the left hand side. Cannot get this connection loose. Tried a line wrench, but rounded off the fitting. Next, tried a small pipe wrench and finally vice grips. This sucker won't budge. This was a really a half-assed design by Mazda. Why couldn't they use an aluminum or brass tee? I'll most likely save the brake line replacement for next job. Anybody know if the rear left and right brakes lines are available from Mazda?
Tomorrow, will finish-up removing the fuel lines from the car, and will install the PU and gold aluminum bushings. Will keep you posted on my progress.
Nice work so far, this work really is labor intensive compared to other work on the car.
It's kind of interesting that the bushings don't have the metal sleeves. Perhaps they are intact and will be used with the energy suspension ones? If the aren't out a swift chisel stike will knock then out. I accidently left mine in and was stumped as to why the new ones didn't t fit. Also, There is four needed, I bought two....
As far as the brake lines and block goes, the rear lines from the split block were really easy to bend compared to the long ones. I added shrink tube to the short rear ones in the spot where they come into the wheel well. Mine were OEM and i think that it help to keep rocks and other from the wheel well off the hard line.There was one line available last year going to the front of the car, it could be one of the the gas lines. Also don't forget the U shaped one under there for the gas line or evap. I replaced all the high pressure hoses as well. I cleaned up the block, soaked it in evaporust and painted it, vinegar works too. I believe that some or all of the hangar brackets are available if you want new ones. If the soft brake lines are old it might be worth your time to replace. Oh, and the fuel filter...
the trailing arm bushings,
were tricky, again mine came right out, which was nice.
putting them in though, they didn't. if you use a nut and a bolt, the centers will meet, but the outers won't be in all the way.
so you need some specific shaped thing to use a nut and a bolt and push the outers without mangling things.
the trailing arm bushings,
were tricky, again mine came right out, which was nice.
putting them in though, they didn't. if you use a nut and a bolt, the centers will meet, but the outers won't be in all the way.
so you need some specific shaped thing to use a nut and a bolt and push the outers without mangling things.
I found the same thing with the differential bushings and the subframe bushings. They feel firm, but there's a surprising amount of compliance in the bushings and you won't actually press them in if you're applying force to the center. You have to either use a really big washer (conveniently the height of the inner sleeve and the rubber coating on the outer sleeve is the same) or a large socket that matches the circumference of the outer sleeve.
I installed Energy Suspension PU rear lower arm bushings to replace the PU bushings that I installed in 2001. Actually, the PU bushings that were in the arms still looked pretty good. My intention was to install new Mazda bushings (p/n FB01-28-460). There are 4 Mazda bushing, two per set. I tried pressing one in using a vise and socket that was slightly larger than the rubber, but would sit against the metal sleeve. Well, the bushing was tight and the socket mangled the metal sleeve. So, I gave up on that idea and installed the new Energy Suspension bushings. They were a tight fit too, but I was able the push the PU pieces in by hand. The metal sleeve was a little tighter so I used a threaded metal rod to easily push them in.
Energy Suspension bushings installed.
Photo of the partsshopmax.com FC Trailing Arm Rear Upper Bushings Pair (SKU: FCTARUB) aluminum bushing. These were pretty easy to install too. I pushed one in almost halfway by hand then used a block of wood an small ball peen hammer to tap it in the rest of the way. The other one took a little more effort to install. Got it started by hand then used a threaded rod to press it in.
The only other bushings that I need to install are the rear subframe bushings. I'm ready to do that install, but am awaiting some 5/8" threaded steel rods and other hardware from McMaster-Carr. I cleaned out the cups in the subframe as well as I could. That took some effort scraping out the rust scales, wire brushing and sanding. These bushings are the only thing that I'm concerned about. I hope these bushing go in without any problems. Once they're in, I'm home free.
I decided to use the copper nickel line to replace my original steel fuel lines. This line was suggested to me by another member of this forum. It's softer than steel and easier to work with. The fuel lines are 7.8 ft (supply - high pressure) and 9.3 ft (return - low pressure) in length. So, a 25 ft coil is more than enough.
Straightening the coil of tube with a tube straightener that I bought off Ebay. I was impressed how well this little gadget worked.
I bought all the fuel line holders/brackets new from Amayama. Wasn't able to find them at any US Mazda dealer, except I believe that Atkins had one. I also bought used ones through the Marketplace on this website.
I was planning on replacing the hydraulic brake line the runs from the proportioning valve up front to the splitter block at the rear. I wasn't able to loosen the fitting at the steel splitter block. After rounding off the fitting with a line wrench, I attempted using a small pipe wrench, but couldn't loosen it with that either. The steel brake line still looks to be in pretty good shape. I was hoping to replace all 4 steel lines at the same time, but the the brake line job wiil unfortunately need to be delayed until a later date. I'll replace that main rear brake line as well as both the left and right hands side steel lines at the same time. The L&R rear brake lines are NLA from Mazda in the US. They measure 12" (L) and 48" (R). So, one could either fabricate new lines or buy straight prefabbed lines in these lengths with M10x1.0 mm fittings at each end and bend them as appropriate. I was lucky to find that the L&R rear brake lines are still available through Amayama at a reasonable price. I just ordered them: REAR BRAKE PIPE (L) Genuine Mazda (FB0145370D) $10.91 and REAR BRAKE PIPE (R) Genuine Mazda (FB0145380E) $18.10, excluding shipping. The splitter block is NLA from either Mazda USA or Amayama. Other aftermarket sources sell these M10x1.0 mm splitter blocks, but they might not be identical to the original.
Shop is closed today and Monday. So, I'll be back at it on Tuesday morning.
I found the same thing with the differential bushings and the subframe bushings. They feel firm, but there's a surprising amount of compliance in the bushings and you won't actually press them in if you're applying force to the center. You have to either use a really big washer (conveniently the height of the inner sleeve and the rubber coating on the outer sleeve is the same) or a large socket that matches the circumference of the outer sleeve.
In my case, using a large 12-point socket that matches the circumference of the outer sleeve didn't work. It just bent the outer sleeve and got stuck in the socket.
That's good to know about Amayama parts. I suppose that I should use a browser with better translation support.
Having the proper tools is half the battle. I hand bent everything on mine, even the steel line. That turned out to be a mistake.
I am curious to see the new short OEM lines. I am assuming they will have the heat shrink.
That's good to know about Amayama parts. I suppose that I should use a browser with better translation support.
Having the proper tools is half the battle. I hand bent everything on mine, even the steel line. That turned out to be a mistake.
I am curious to see the new short OEM lines. I am assuming they will have the heat shrink.
Thank you for posting.
Amayama parts are genuine Mazda parts. I've ordered from them numerous times and have not been disappointed.
Day 11 in the shop. A few days ago, I placed an order with Amayama for REAR BRAKE PIPE (L) Genuine Mazda (FB0145370D) $10.91 and REAR BRAKE PIPE (R) Genuine Mazda (FB0145380E) $18.10. These items are in stock, but unfortunately Amayama will not ship brake lines. Here is their reply: "Brake lines are fragile and will get damaged in transit no matter how well they are packed as they require their own box. As such our shipping staff will not handle them. Apologies for the inconvenience."
Moving on to plan 'B". I ordered prefabbed brake lines from NAPA: JAPANESE MAX FLEX ALL Part #: BK BSCJ312 and JAPANESE MAX FLEX ALL Part #: BK BSCJ348. They are Japanese lines, with inverted flare and M10x1.0mm fitting at both ends. The left is 12" long and the right is 48" long. I also also ordered off Ebay a new SS tee fitting (i.e., splitter), which is similar to the original design. It is be shipped from China. These lines are Ni-Copp. Will shape them on my own and install.
Yesterday, I started fabricating my new fuel lines. I decided to use 5/16" Ni-Copp (nickel-copper alloy) line due to it being softer than steel and easier to work with. It's sold as a 25' coil. The original fuel lines are 8mm, which is nearly identical to 5/16" line. For example, 5/16: is roughly 2 thousandths of an inch smaller than 8mm or 0.06096mm.
Coils of tubing are sometimes hard to work with because they are difficult to straighten and maintain their coil "memory". I bought a tubing straightener as shown below. Running lengths of tubing through the straightener a couple times nearly eliminates the coil "memory". Another advantage of Ni-Copp tubing is that you can do some shaping by hand, if necessary.
My first time fabricating fuel lines. It's not as easy as it looks. It's a learning curve process. I initially ruined about a half coil of tubing. Finally, got through fabricating the high pressure fuel line which is the shortest of the lines (7.8'). Sort of a crappy job.
Today, I fabricated the low pressure line which is the longer of the two at 9.3'. This line turned out much better than the previous line. A little experience goes a long way. A very tedious job and one needs to take care especially as you near the end. Don't want to screw something up at the end after spending all that time trying for a perfect replica. Took me probably about 5-6 hours to fab this line. I thing I'm going to redo the high pressure line tomorrow. Hopefully, will start reinstalling the fuel lines either tomorrow or Friday.
I originally bought a tubing bender from Summit Racing (bottom of photo). It has the degree marking on it, which is very helpful, but it kinks the tubing when making 90 deg bends. The Evercraft bender is one that I picked up at Harbor Freight last Sunday for under $10. I tried it, but don't like it. The bender at top of the photo seems to work the best for me. It doesn't kink the tubing, but takes some practice bends to learn how to use it. This is the bender that I've used for the return line.
Another gadget that I bought is the hose barb maker. It works flawlessly, but unfortunately set me back a King's ransom.
Photo of hose barb using the Graham tool shown above.
Any progress is good progress. I really need to get the tools to bend lines like you did here. This looks awesome!
I can't see very well but the second picture of the double bend looks like the bend radius is just a bit small. If there are flat spots at the bends, there might be some restriction or a weak spot there. Mine are kind of the same but look way.... worse. Those double bends are very difficult since the stock bends are already very close to max bend radius already. Your bends should be good considering the application.
Thanks for posting, I don't recall seeing any tube bending for brakes on here yet.
Remember, this is.the low pressure fuel return line. There is a 90 deg bend or two that may have some degree of crimping, but since it's the LP line I don't think it will have any effect. The original Mazda fuel have very wide radius bends. It seems to me that any commercial tube bender will produce a smaller radius bend. I don't believe you can find a manual bender that can replicate Mazda's wide radius bends. Crimping may become an issue with the HP line. According to Summit Racing, a 5/16" fuel line is good for up 350 hp engine. So, even though there may be some restriction in the supply line, I don't think it'll affect the performance of a 160 HP stock rotary engine. Just my $0.02.
Fill the line with sand before bending. It will help prevent kinks when bending.
I've heard this from another guy that used to build race cars. He said the same thing as you about the sand. He said that the only problem with sand was making sure you clean it all out.
My final rendition of the newly fabricated fuel lines. I redid the high pressure line (bottom), which is the shorter of the two lines. Redid the 90 degree bends with less kinking.
I reinstalled these new lines in the car yesterday. They fit like the originals. Some of brackets were difficult to get to such as the bracket on the firewall (first front bracket) and the bracket above the differential (last rear bracket). So, the new fuel lines are installed. All I need are two short lengths of rubber hose for the fuel vent line. The hose that I bought for the vapor line is too small. So, as it stands, I should be able to start-up the car Wednesday morning when the shop reopens. You think firing up the car without y-pipe and mufflers (main cat only) and running until warm will cause any problems to the undercarriage? Maybe, I should temporarily reconnect the exhaust. I drained the old gas from the fuel tank because it smelled a bit funky. I'll refill the tank with a few gallons of fresh gas and add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner. The car has been sitting about one year with the injectors dry. You think the dry injectors will cause me any problems?
I'm planning on painting the subframe this weekend. The shop manager suggested using Duplicolor Rust Barrier Coating: Flat Black, Aerosol, Paint Over Rusted & Bare Metal, Rubberized Finish. I bought two 11 oz. cans at Advanced Auto Parts. Next Wednesday, I'll try installing the two subframe bushings. I bought two 10" long 5/8"-18 medium-strength steel threaded rods from McMaster-Carr to install these bushings. I'm hoping they'll install without any issues. Once these bushings are installed, I'm home free. Hopefully, should have the car back on the road end of next week.
This is great work so far. Do you have pictures of the T fitting and the rear lines?
You are likely inished with this already so, any sugestions will probably be for not. The one that I can easily answer is that most are using POR-15 now for the frame coating. It has is advantages and disadvantages like everything else. The biggest disadvantage of it would be that the coating is so hard after it dries, when the inside inside of the frame begins to rust, it will not bubble or show through. My coworker said that he took a hammer to a frame of his truck and put right through the frame. It looked completely normal on the outside. All of the metal had rusted from the inside out.The trick to antyhing rust related on a car frame or unibody is to also find a coating like fluid film or similar for the inside bits.
Shop was closed for the past 3 days due to the holiday. I will be back in the shop tomorrow morning. My NAPA order just came in today. I will pick them up tomorrow. I'll provide more info on the lines after I pick them up. I haven't received the tee fitting yet. Here is a photo of the tee.
I painted the subfram yesterday with Duplicolor Rust Barrier Coating: Flat Black, Aerosol, Paint Over Rusted & Bare Metal, Rubberized Finish. One 11oz spray can gave me two coats on the subframe. The Duplicolor and Rustolium were the only two frame paints available at the local auto parts store.
Will put some gas in the tank tomorrow and try starting the car. Hopefully, it'll start without any issues. I'm not worried about my work with the lines, but am concerned about the fuel injectors sitting dry for about a year. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
I still need to install the subframe bushings. Will hopefully get to that tomorrow too. I need to reassemble the rear suspension and I'll be finished with this job. Hopefully, will wrapup this job by end of this week.
The good news is that my RX7 is running again after sitting for over a year. Drained the gas tank, put in some fresh gas and fuel injector cleaner, and started her up this morning. Fired right up as soon as she built up fuel pressure. Next, moving on to reinstalling the suspension.
The bad news is that I found a crack in my left rear hub. This is the hub that has the seized sleeve at the top. The sleeve got a little smashed up during removal. I attempted to cleanup the smashed sleeve with a file and discovered that the arm had a crack in it at the base.
I just ordered a used hub off Ebay as well as a new RWB and oil seal from Tasca. So, this is going to set me back a few days.
Yesterday, I finished up Day 18 in the shop. Will be back in the shop next Tuesday when they reopen. As I've mentioned above in Post #46, I found a crack in my left tri-axial floating hub. I've ordered a used pair of hubs (L&R) off Ebay for a decent price. According to Ebay, they're supposed to be delivered next Tuesday. These hubs are apparently still available from Mazda or Atkins (https://www.atkinsrotary.com/86-92-R...01-49-140.html), but they are very expensive and do not come with the steel sleeves, which are NLA from Mazda.
Earlier last week, I pressed in my subframe bushings. Initially, I tried using a 5/8"-18 by 10" long medium grade steel rod with 3" x 1/4" oversized washers, and that got the bushings in about halfway before stopping. Seemed that the rubber was just being compressed. Then I went to Plan "B". I used a Sunnix 3-1/4" 8-point wheel socket that I bought off Amazon for about $22. The socket, in combination with j9fd3s's suggestion of using a hose clamp, is the way to go. The bushings pressed in with ease. The hose clamp was a great idea, too. Initially, the clamp would compress the bushing about an eighth of an inch allowing it to get started more easily. Always make sure that the cups are clean and lubricate the cups well (I used axle bearing grease) before attempting this.
Photo of subframe after bushing had been installed.
Photo of my repainted subframe with both bushings installed.
I reassembled the subframe using Parts Shop MAX Trailing Arm Camber Links (SKU: FCTACL) (https://store.partsshopmax.com/shop/...le/FCTACL.html) . Back in June 1998, I installed Eibach Pro-Kit springs (p/n 5513.140), which are a progressive rate spring that lowers the car about 3/4" according to Eibach. The lowing of the car throws off my camber by about -1.0 to -2.0 degrees. The shorter links are supposed to correct the camber. I bought these links awhile back, but had problems installing them on the car due to their width. So, at that time, I reinstalled the Mazda links. Problem was that when the wheels are hanging, the center of the Parts Shop MAX link would hit against the subframe. When the wheels are not hanging, they fit fine. I'm curious to see how these links will affect my rear alignment.
It's hard to see from the photo, but the horizontal line at the bottom goes through the centers of the bolt holes. The Parts Shop MAX website says these revised length links (48mm) reduce the severity of that negative camber to increase traction and even out tire wear.
Photo of my partially assembled subframe with the Parts Shop MAX links installed.
While replacing my fuel lines, I had the intention to replace my hydraulic brake line, too. That is the long line the runs from the proportioning valve, near the master cylinder, to the rear splitting block. Well, I temporarily gave up on that idea because I couldn't loosen the brake line fitting at the block (see Post #28). So, I decided to replace all the brake lines from the proportioning valve and back. I order the below stainless steel splitter block off Ebay. It's not identical to the original, but it's close. I received this item in the mail yesterday. It was shipped from China and came in a couple weeks earlier than expected.
Here's another view of the splitter block.
Last Thursday, I picked up from my local NAPA parts store, a 12" and 48" prefabbed Ni-Cop brake lines with M10x1.0 fittings and inverted flare ends. I'll need to shape these lines to match the original lines. So, while the car is in the shop, I'm planning on replacing the rear brake lines too. As always, one thing leads to another to another and so on. Hopefully, I'll be finished with the car by end of next week. Will keep you all posted.
Day 18, This work sure is time consuming. Hopefully an even day 20 will be the end. It was warder work than I expected.
It's good to see you got everything together with new hardware too.
I really wish that I would not have waited so long to get mine done. You have the Eibach progressives, I really want a set and they are NLA now.
It's hard to tell if those links have any rubber or urethane in them. Let us know how they ride and help with alignment. Also, with the urethane bushings where the toe adjustment is, I heard that those can squeak after some time and require lube? Is it me or did the bolt for the passenger side toe adjustment get installed backwards? Considering the rust on the parts like mine were, some anti-seize will save you some headaches later.
That block looks nice, I way need to replace mine with that one, I had a bit of a leak there. I gave a harder turn on the fittings and hoped for the best. Some paint or clear coat might help to keep it from rusting if it is steel.
Thanks for the pics of the lines. I was asking for a pic after assembly, no worries though. That whole section with all the bends by the split block looks so cool when done correctly. The bend by the wheel wells look good to.
Keep up the good work, many don't have the willingness or the skill to pull this off correctly, including me.
