Why no S5 LCA ball joint replacement DIY?
 

I know that Mazda changed the S5s to increase replacement parts revenue ($1050/set) by forcing their customers to replace the entire LCA.

And I know that folks recommend buying S4 LCAs which have replaceable ball joints. But even that can be expensive with a set of S4 LCA going for ~$120 on eBay and another $142 for a set of ball joints.

The level of innovation and improvisation so common in the RX7 folks is impressive given how non-serviceable parts like the front hub bearings and the drive shaft u-joints have been made "serviceable."

So I'm curious why no one has found a way to replace the S5 LCA ball joints. I dont remember exactly what the LCAs look like as it has been many years since we pressed the poly bushings in but I seriously doubt the ball joint was cast into the aluminum. Given that press fit ball joints are common, cheap and readily available it seems like something someone would have figured out by now.

I don't know that we need new ball joints but with 140k on it I think it fair to assume they aren't super tight.

Thx

Haven't messed with an S5, but $142 for S4 ball joints is ridiculous. They can be had on Rockauto for $23.79 each.

I don't have a set to look at, but i believe they were cast in the control arm

This is correct. Mazda went from the bolt on style of an s4 to the cast-one-piece lca of the s5. Either replace the entire control are with a new s5 unit or retrofit to the older s4 style.

get the S4 lower control arms.
You will need the sway bar links too.

Hmmm... must not have set the question up very well.

I do not need new ball joints so I am not interested in S4 parts.

This is a theoretical question. I was curious why no one had pressed, drilled or machined out the ball joint to swap in a replacement. In other cases people stood up to Mazda's non-serviceable extortion and said "this will not stand!"

But I'm guessing the S4 parts (or paying thru the nose for new S5 ones) is the path of least resistance so no one has brought their creative energies to bear.

Because S4 stuff is cheap. Why put in $300 of man hours when you can buy the parts for far less than that.

some one turned me on to this site.

check it out. J-AUTO - Bushings, Suspension, Brake Upgrades for Mazda RX-7s

I converted both my cars to S4 arms with new ball joints for less than $200 each, this included bead blasting the S4 arms, new MOOG ball joints and energy suspension bushings. I took the op to change to S4 or aftermarket sway bar links. The S5 ones are terrible.

All in all the S4 parts in this case are simply a better design. The only down side is they are heavier, but not very much so.

That is a good Question..really.
Does anyone have a pic of an S5 lower control arm or BOTH series they can post up for comparison?
I know that a Guy up here locally was dabbling on his FD Control arms and it was interesting to see what he was doing.
Here it is just for Kicks:
https://www.rx7club.com/canadian-for...tempt-1044347/

The one pic looked like he bushed the hole. I think he either machined out the ball joint or pressed it out, machined and bushed the hole to both fix the damage and properly size the hole.

Machine shops are nice.

Reading the text I think the FD guy was doing it in his garage, not a machine shop. I'm not sure what a "lime" is in that context though.

Like I said before this community seems predisposed to "built, not bought" in many cases because there just isnt much to buy. But I think a lot of it is just because we can. For example I got brand new Mazda6 window switches off of ebay for $18 for 3 and vacuformed housings out of black ABS plastic. Just because I could.

I would assert- based upon my personal experience- that S4 LCAs are cheap/abundant enough to make replacement the easiest option and also, ball joints last a goodly length of time, so they aren't an issue that crops up often enough to warrant exploring alternatives.

Exactly. OP is just wasting time with his anger towards Mazda for S4 LCA's. They are cheap, direct fit if you have the sway bar end links, and are easy to replace the balljoints on. It is a no brainer.

OP, you can have an S4 parts car for far less than the "$1050" new S5 LCA's cost..... No one is going to waste effort creating a part or method to replace the S5 balljoints because in the end it will probably cost just as much as putting complete S4 LCA's on. Think about it, there is an alternative. Most of the time when people innovate it is because there is no easy alternative or no alternative at all.

Also, if people are paying $120 for S4 LCA's I need to stop throwing them away.

Hmmm... I've tried to be as clear and simple in my sentence structure as possible. There are no emotions here except for curiosity.

Ok heres a clear answer. No one has done it. No one has written anything on it, because everyone swaps to S4 control arms.

This is the correct answer. :lol:

No one has put forth "custom effort" because there is a simple and cheap solution already available. With a little bit of searching, a man can be into aftermarket ball joints and S4 LCA's for well under $200, and no need to seek out someone to do custom machine work.

the FC uses a really odd ball joint, i'm not sure where you would find a replacement

actually if you want your mind to explode try this Drop Spindles for the 944/951/968 - Rennlist Discussion Forums

It's the FD guys that should be searching for this...they have no easy option and the arms are considerably more expensive from mazda...

maybe its cuz he apon out


(i had too :p)

S4s are common, S5 less so. there's always S4 cars being parted out, hence a good supply of easy to come by and cheap parts to keep the S5s going.

the answer to the question really is: we are not trying to re-invent the wheel.

reaming out aluminum at such a critical angle and load point isn't something you want to botch.