The Mazda Part Number 101 Thread
 

This came up in another thread https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...1155090/page2/
"Didn't know if this hardware example meant that all the various part codes on the car could be understood by looking at the number if you also had a key."

Mazda does use a part numbering system, and it does tell you quite a lot about a given part.
the format is 4 digits, 2 digits and then 3 with a letter, and if needed a color code.
xxxx-xx-xxx

The first 4 digits, are the application that the part was originally designed for. the second set is the section or system in the catalog, then the third set tells you what the part is.

the application part falls into two or maybe three categories, its either the chassis, engine or some other sub assembly. or its a hardware item, or in the USA only its a "locally sourced item"
the locally sourced stuff is like floor mats, spark plugs, touch up paint, etc, they use a 0000- prefix, quad zero.
99 means its a hardware item, these follow different rules, and i'll come back to this later.

The application ideally is the engine/chassis, market and even the option package. This is not foolproof because even though the 1993 LHD Touring package (FD05) has a different model code from a 1995 Touring in Canada (FD34), they still use the same fender.
some examples. The Rx7 uses an F, like the chassis code, and the FD parts are usually FD, the RHD parts are F1xx. the odd one out is the SA/FB, which uses FAxx parts, and then the early FC is an FBxx. the Miata is Nxxx, the 323/Familia/3 is a B, the Cx9 is a Txxx, etc. for the FD engine stuff its an N3xx.
FD01 = 1993 FD base LHD
FD03 = 1993 R package
FD05 = Touring
FD15 = 1994 basic
FD16 = R2
F123 = 1995 basic
the JDM cars start at F100, and go numerically, although the touring and R package parts are mostly the same, so they are FD
N3A1/N3A3/N3C1 etc = North American 1993-1995 engines
N3A7 = JDM 1992-1995
N3F1 = 1996-1998 engine
N3G1 = 1999-2002 280ps engine
there are more but those are the basics

The second set of numbers xxxx-52-xxx is the parts catalog section. the parts catalog goes by system, and these are numbered, so 10 is the engine, 16 is the clutch, 33 is the front axle 52 is the front end. in a perfect world the part number and catalog section would agree, but something like an ecu, N3A7-18-881 has an 18, which is engine electrical, but its actually cataloged in section 6600 engine switches and relays.

the third set of numbers xxxx-xx-211, tells you what the part is. 16-410 is a pressure plate, 15-200 is a radiator, etc. the nice thing about this is that if it is a part that is sided, the bigger number is the left. so FD01-52-211 is a left fender for an FD, and FD01-52-111 is the right. FD13-33-98ZA, since 33 is the front axle, and 98 is the right we can tell that is a front right caliper. the left is FD13-33-99ZA.

then there can be a letter, this is the 'change code'. Theoretically every time there is a change to the part, it gets a new letter, so our fender example FD01-52-211 was the original part number then FD01-52-211A, b c, and they currently are at D. the thing is that the letter can change for no obvious reason, it even seems like they use it as a Purchase Order number sometimes, or it can be a price change. its not worth thinking about very much, Mazda doesn't keep the old stuff around anyways, so if you tried to order a 93-95 front rotor housing, N3A1-10-B10, you would receive N3G1-10-B10. or FD01-52-211 you would receive a FD01-52-211D. with the newer cars the part number can refer to the software flash if applicable, so the Rx8 ecu number changes with the software.

Another concept, sometimes instead of updating the old part, they will just give you the newer part. the engine is the best example of this. there were a couple of updates for the 99 engine, and they just get applied to everything. so while the original engine was N3A1-02-200, you would receive the N3G1-02-200, which is the current spec part.

and kind of last if there is a color code it gets tacked on the end, everyone's favorite the 99 rear spoiler is F138-60-960C-40 in the 20P Innocent Blue Mica, and F138-60-960C-HZ is Yellow

oh and the hardware, 99 prefix. For example 9979-60-616, its roughly 99 = hardware, 796 = style of fastener, and this is the tricky part just because there are so many, and then the JIS size. 616 = 6mm which is a 1.0 thread with a 10mm head, and its 16mm long. if it is not a JIS standard fastener it tends to get a normal part number.

so some examples, FD01-52-211D is a left front fender for a US car, the JDM fender is F100-52-211F, its got the little cut out for the marker light. F123-34-700A/F123-34-900A. 34 is front suspension, 700 is a shock, and 900 would be the left, F123 is a 1995 non R...

FD15-57-100A-02. 57-100 is a passenger seat, 02 is black, and FD15 is 94+, its a base seat for a 94-95. FD18-57-100B-34, 34 is tan, 57-100 is a passenger seat, and they only came in leather, so therefore...

0000-18-N3A1 is a spark plug, happens to be the trailing, 0000-18-N3A2 is the leading. Mazda USA buys these from NGK directly, instead of NGK, Mazda Japan, and then Mazda USA

etc etc, clear as mud!

102 The Catalogs
 

Mazda in the 1980's and into the 90's is almost a publisher with a car problem, there are 3 SAE papers on the FD, a book, the service highlights, shop manual, wiring diagram, body troubleshooting, the body shop book, and i even have a set of postcards!
There is also a parts catalog, and there are a couple important points about these that help a lot.
Mazda Japan makes a catalog for each car, or more specifically chassis and lets say version. For a given year, like 1993, there is an Rx7 catalog, Mx3, Mx5, Mx6, 626, 323/Protege, MPV, etc etc
I say version, you might say series.

Mazda Japan publishes a new catalog when there is enough different in the car to warrant it.

The FD in the USA actually has THREE parts catalogs, 1993, 1994 and 1995. most of the stuff we actually touch is the same, like the engine, but if you're looking at something else, you really should be using the correct catalog
Mazda being Mazda, the people who made these cars were obsessive, they number each catalog, and the only book we lack is the list of catalogs...
1986-1988 Rx7 is AUFA01
1989-1990 Rx7 is AUFA02
and 1991-1992 is AUFA03
1993 US catalog is AUFA04
1994 US catalog is AUFA05
and 1995 is AUFA06

Canada actually gets it own catalog for the FD.
ACFA04 is 1993
ACFA05 is 1994
ACFA06 is 1995

one might deduce that U = USA and C = Canada, and you would probably be correct. it is actually a little unusual that Canada gets a different catalog, the current Mx5 is Canada, Mexico and the US. the US includes Guam, and Saipan, and the newer cars add Puerto Rico.

Also while we in the US go with the fictional construct of the model year, the rest of the world tends to go by build dates. The model year concept gives us a goalpost for safety and emissions standards, but other than that its quite silly
This is a long way of saying that the Japanese and European catalogs go by date and not by model year. With the FD these line up pretty well, but other cars like the Mx5 they don't.
Anyways the Japanese catalogs are thus:

AJFA01 is 9/85 to 12/88, FC3C-100001. we would say series 4 FC, or early. Note the vin is a 1xxxxx, i call that the version number, and the FD will follow it
AJFA02 is 1/89 to 9/1991, FC3C-200001. we would say S5 FC. Japan would say late, or MMC. notice that Japan has 2 catalogs and the USA has three.
AJFA03 is 10/1991 to 6/1993. FD3S-100001. we would call this a 1992/1993 car or S6, the Japanese would say Version 1, vin is a 1xxxxx. the build dates aren't pointed out in the US catalog, but the JDM cars start production about 2 months before the US did.
AJFA04 is 7/1993 to 6/1994 FD3S-200001. we would call this a 1994, Japan would say Version 2, also up to now, these are Savanna Rx7's
AJFA05 is 7/1994 to 11/1995, FD3S-300001. we would say 1995, but Japan would say V3, first iteration of the Mazda Rx7 in Japan
AJFA06 is 12/1995 to 11/1998, FD3S-400001. we would call this a 1996-1998, Japan would go V4.
AJFA07 is 12/1998 to 8/2000, FD3S-500001. we lump the 99-2003's into one group, but there are actually two. V5
AJFA08 is 9/2000 to the end. FD3S-600001. Version 6.

the European Catalogs we have are
AEFA03 for 01/1992 to 6/1994
and AEFA05 for 7/1994 on.
so it appears as if the Euro FD was the same time period as the US cars, but only two series and not three.

This gives us 16 different catalogs to cover "the same car" from 1991 to 2003, and these are just the ones we know of! there should be an Australian catalog, and maybe the UK as well
be aware that there are some important differences, and if you're not looking up engine parts, you need to be in the right catalog.


Mazda Japan made all of these catalogs in a BOOK format. so Mazda USA would have gotten a parts BOOK. Mazda USA then took these books and photographed them into MICROFICHE. Later when the computer was invented, they scanned the MICROFICHE into the computer, so the images we have are 3rd generation, which is why the quality can be so/so and the images are sometimes tilted.

Mazda has offered several different EPC's (Electronic Parts Catalog) over the years, i think we know of about 8 of them. Currently Mazda USA has an in house made EPC, the GEPC2, and its ok. the best thing about the Mazda catalogs is that it knows 99% of the parts that were installed on the car from the factory, if you put in the vin number. The FD info came out of a book, but the current cars are actually updated daily, and it runs roughly a week or so ahead of actual production.

my old FD
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...dec7602b05.jpg

This one is an Mx5 from next week; time travel in real life does not look like the movies:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...fef69f6c05.jpg


Mazda's catalog, along with just about every other OE catalog works by attribute, so its w/ Hard Suspension or w/o Hard Suspension. In the aftermarket and in new car sales, we use the Autocare (ACES) standard, which is Year, Make, Model, and SUBMODEL. its the butt of many jokes, but it was the way for my bosses boss to get the aftermarket all on the same page. The OE catalog goes by attribute because you don't need to know anything except big brake small brake, or turbo or not or something. the Rx7 is super simple, but Mazda has some other fun ones there is something where the question is what kind of radio it has, and to be honest as the parts guy behind the counter its better if we can ask crazy questions when the customer wants something they think should be simple.

just as an example:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a70a06c839.jpg

the De-Code, Mazda uses a decode in the picture, which refers to the list to get the actual part number.
in theory the decode is the same for a given part on everything, and the last bit of the part number would also match the decode.
in practice its hit and miss. its a bit like Fords base number, if anyone is familiar with that.

anyways, just a nice easy example of what the thing looks like, 51-9K0 (Mazda never uses O, Q or I, they are too easy to confuse with numbers, Ford does, looking at you FO0Z)
51-9K0 is the Right Front Skirt thing, #1 is the R package, and #2 is the non R. the EPC actually picks both the car had the non R lip on it from the factory with the R package lip in the trunk, it actually did have both.
The EPC does not know what kind of AC the car has though, because that was not installed at the factory, it was installed later.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0f72c18cf3.jpg

it may not be that apparent, but the image is just slightly crooked, cause book....

so that is the catalog in a nutshell.

Thanks for posting this, deep info like this is GOLD!

I've figured some of it out over the years just seeing part numbers over and over.

Great job!

Dale

it just shows that they have a system, and its a nice one because you get a lot of info besides just a number. GM's system is that they make a drawing, and it just goes to the part numberist, and they give it in a part number in the order they get the blueprint in, so the part number tells you nothing. (apparently this was better than GM's old system...)

you'll have to stop me when this goes too, far but we're going to the factory next :).

Huh, I thought I did a dissertation on this years ago. Guess it got lost to the sands of time, but I'd like to add something useful.

The prefix of the "bodywork" part numbers actually comes from the MSC Code (Model System Catalog Code) of the vehicle it was originally made for. The remainder of the part number is the D-code (Denotation Code), which identifies the part uniquely from all others in the vehicle. For example, a Series 4 Turbo Hood is F044-52-310. F044 is the MSC Code for a Japanese Series 4 base model (GT, full MSC Code is F044-110), so this part would be common to all higher-spec'ed versions unless they have specific parts that over-rule this. For example, base model Japanese market struts would be F044, while those found on an Infini would use the F057 prefix. On this side of the pond, base model stuff is FB01, while Auto Adjusting Suspension Struts use a FB05 prefix since they came on GXL models and above (MSC Code FB05 or higher).

There's a few exceptions to this rule, generally for options common to different regions. For example, Rear Wiper related parts are all FB02. Sunroof stuff is FB03 and so on. Instead of reinventing the wheel (cough cough FORD), Mazda just re-used the North American part number prefix in Japan.

The MSC Code's suffix denotes grouped options and equipment, including drivetrain options outside of Engine. Using the previous example of a Series 4 GT, F044-110 means Option Group 1 (crank windows, 4 lug wheels, single piston brakes, etc), Drivetrain Option 1 (manual, an auto would be 5 here if it was offered on base models) and Add-on Group 0 (none). The last digit is still kind of hard to define exactly, as the only variables I've found on it were tied to the Mobile Telephone options found on the Eunos Cosmo. Far as I know, it would be options like those that affect this digit, hence why I refer to it as "Add-on group"

For the most part, Ford uses an identical system and had been doing so since the 1940s. The main difference is that they do not use MSC codes that I am aware of, and vehicles with multiple drivetrain options or body styles received unique part numbers for otherwise identical parts such as Alternators, Starters and so on. This is why the same part can have 15 different part numbers. A red-letter example is the 130A Taurus Alternator, found on 92-95 models with either 3.0L or 3.8L engines. Also used on the Windstar minivan with a 3.8L too, and every single one has their own prefix.

Fords system is a little different, for an alternator for a car that old they don't have a catalog, they just have a list of alternators they used that year. Ford used many different vendors, so there can be a bunch of different options.
To get the correct alternator, you are supposed to get the number from your old one, and match it up. When we're talking about an alternator its not that bad, but sometimes this is the alternator belt, which kind of is
Ford actually learned from Mazda, and vice versa, and the newer Fords are much better cataloged (it also helps that they went under, they can't afford 37 different alternators)

Fords part numbering system has a great feature and some not great ones. a given part number F58Z 10346-ARM4, the 10346, is the base number. 10346 is an alternator, always. the EPC you can click on the car you want, 92-95 Taurus, and type in 10346, and it will just list them, its actually very fast. The first bit of the number is Decade, Year, Chassis, and Office or something like that, its enough info to find the responsible party. F is the 1990's, D is the 1960's, etc. the Z means its a part number. The Ford guys have a lot of spare time on their hands, because each part gets an engineering number, which is the part number actually on the part, if its a Mazda the engineering number can be the Mazda number. Then it gets a part number, and if applicable a Motorcraft number, GL8775RM.
So for one part, Ford can give it three different part numbers. The part number F58Z 10346-ARM4, and the Motorcraft number GL8775RM are actually both on the box, which confuses the IT guys, and Motorcraft. Somehow even though the part has both numbers on the box Ford and Motorcraft have different catalogs, so they can list the same part for different things (GM and AC Delco are like this too). Mazda thankfully only has time to catalog a number the one time...

the next bit, ARM4 is a bit of a bad example, but it is both how they differentiate different models AND the change code. Mazda goes A-Z, except for o,i and z, Ford can be random. Ford is random because F58Z 10346-A can be your 130A alternator and F58Z 10346-B can be an 55 amp alt for some other car. When they revise the part the F58Z 10346-A then can't go to B, so it goes to some other letter. Ford also uses o and i, often right next to each other, Fo0Z is a part number series! (my favorite is F1TZ and FoTZ. they also use Leece Neville alternators, which is Ricky Bobbys dad?). As we would imagine, in this case RM = Reman.

Ford also builds their cars differently from Mazda. Ford will engineer some part, engine, heaterbox, etc, and then they will use that in every car for that year or two. so while say the FD alternator only came in the FD, but from 1992-2003, Ford might have one that fits the E150/E250/E350/E450/F150/F250/F350/F450 and the Bronco, but only for a couple of years.

they had me catalog Ford for a couple years and it was a lot of fun

Part 103; The Factory and who makes what
 

In the Miata world we have been keeping track of the current production, and amazingly Mazda's strategy has not changed since the early 80's. You might say that things go according to plan more often, but the process is very much the same.
In 1992 Mazda had basically two assembly plants, a transmission plant, and the rotary engine factory. There is probably also a stamping plant, and probably more. They also had a joint venture with Ford, (Probe/626/Mx6), at the Flat Rock plant in Michigan. Since then they have opened a factory in Mexico (2014), and Thailand. They are about to open a Toyota/Mazda plant, i think in Alabama.

in a North American vin number JM1FD3319P0203810, the Digit after the year (P is the year, 1993) is the assembly plant.
0 is Hiroshima
1 is Hofu
5 is Flat Rock
Most Japanese built Mazda's were made at either Hiroshima or Hofu, but every Rx7 was made in Hiroshima.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5607945a49.jpg

There are a couple of things to notice, the first being that the ship can pull right up to the factory. (its not in the picture, but the Calbee Shrimp Chip Factory is right across the harbor) This pic is from today, and there aren't a lot of ships, so the parking lot is FULL. In the before times it is unusual for a car to sit more than 48 hours at the factory before getting on the ship, now it can be weeks. Also in the before times it took 6-8 weeks to get these cars from the factory to the showroom.

Mazda's factory is state of the art, even in the 1980's. The factory can built up to 7 different models at the same time, and or break out a special line for a specific car. They have the production schedule mapped out way ahead of time, its at least 6 months, even when the FD was in production, these days its probably close to a year, although they will make changes as needed. When they schedule production they order the parts they need, so when they go to built 500 FD's they order 500 parts. The retail parts side is separate. When the parts side needs 500 parts they order 500 parts. However if the car is new, they will make maybe 5% extra right off the bar and that goes to the parts side, so when a new car comes out they will have some parts for it.

The Factory was remodeled in 2012, the Skyaktive program was actually the name for the factory remodel. In a quirk of fate the Rotary engine factory is a separate building, so it did not get remodeled, and this is why its still tooled up to build FC/FD and Rx8 engines. The piston engines are made in the main building, and that did get remodeled, and after 2012 the Miata engines are all NLA. All of the engines are built with a number, and its just in the order that they were built, there is a letter to show you what series, its very general, F is pre 1986, E is post, and then 6 digits. a replacement front iron will not be stamped, but the currently available new engines are stamped (i think with a different series)
Since the Rotary engines are in a different building, they get assembled and brought over to the main building, and placed in the cars at random. Mazda did keep track of which engine went where, but the engine number will not correlate with the vin.

The method the factory uses to batch the cars is a little mysterious, our only info goes by day, and that isn't enough resolution. It takes about 8-12 hours to build a car from start to finish. They do not appear to do cars batched by color, or even by type, although it is actually hard to tell, because there could be a bunch of non Rx7's that did make up a color batch. For some reason people think it costs a ton to switch colors at the factory, but this doesn't seem to be true.
The cars are not built in strict number order either, although its very close. For example, the last US FD was 400530, but it was built 12/22/1995, there are 5 cars with earlier vins that were built after that, the last one being 400526, which was built 12/25/1995. so which is the last one, the biggest vin? or the last out the door? or both? 400530 had engine 132498 and 400526 had engine 132505, so you can also see the non-correlation between engine numbers and vin numbers.

The factory can build up around 7 different models at the same time, and we picture this as Rx7, Miata, 626 etc, but it can actually be a much much finer distinction than that. The Model code thing that had been mentioned is closer to how they can operate. In the last post we see that the production dates for various markets are not all in agreement, and this is how fine the factory can work. The best example i have of this is the 2018 and 2019 Mx5's. The 2019 Mx5 got an updated engine, and that is cool but the North American Mx5 production actually overlaps, so they were building the 2018 car with the old engine AND the new 2019 car with the new engine on the same assembly line at the same time for about a week. More normally we see stuff like the RHD cars starting in October and the LHD cars starting in December. The other quirk worth mentioning is that when they found out that there was not going to be an exported 1996 FD, they made another run of 1995 model cars in December 1995, these cars would not have even arrived in America until February 1996, so they were quite intentionally not leftovers. Also notice that this late 1995 run coincides with the updated JDM "1996" cars, another example of two different models at the same time.

Video is from 2019, the Orange Mx5 is a 30AE, the bare spot on the windshield frame bugs the crap out of me!

Also this, https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/maz...ough-the-ages/
The SA22 was a big hit, it may have had its own line, they were making more than 150 a day just for the North America. Gives one some idea of the production capacity.

104: Where did they all go?
 

The ship pulls right up to the factory and then what? The ships are called RORO's, roll on roll off. Its not my job, but you can track these guys around the world, i'm under the impression that there are a few that pretty much just go back and forth from Mazda to where ever they go. here is some video of the first 30AE Miata's coming off the boat https://www.thephotobooth.net/Miata-...cP/i-NZg6gGz/A

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7e06106801.jpg

Mazda USA was using about 5 different ports in the 1990's, and most of them are still the same today.
NK - Port Jersey City, i'm assuming New Jersey, but i've never actually checked
JX - Jacksonville, Florida
TA - Port Tacoma, in Washington
and at the time of the FD they were using PH - Port Hueneme outside of LA.

There have been port troubles on the west coast since 2019, so they have switched from San Diego, where the 30AE stuff is to, Long Beach and Benicia, and then back

Canada uses Fraser Wharves Port in Vancouver.

Mazda USA was formed in the mid 80's, before that it was 5 separate regional companies, the different ports are convenient, but also kind of a legacy thing.
The other holdover from this are the dealer codes. Each dealership gets a code, and the first number is (or was) the region. They still use the regions for some internal stuff, at the dealership we had a region rep for instance.
its a 5 digit number, this number goes with the ownership of the store, so for instance i started at 41178, Almaden Mazda, and its moved (twice!) and its called Capitol Mazda now, but Kevan still owns it, so its still 41178.
I have a dealer list from the late 90's and it is amazing how much turnover there has been. Anyways on the Warranty History, it lists the selling dealer, by number and the date, so we know when the car was built, and when it was sold. The selling date starts the warranty so its important.

Trivia Question: When was the last FD sold in the US? The answer 7/21/2005. This means the emissions warranty didn't run out until 2012!

Ok so these things get loaded off the ship, and then go to the port. At the Port Mazda USA will sometimes do some work. This is where the A/C is installed it its not a Denso setup, its also where the accessories are installed, if any.
After any port work is done, the cars get shipped off to the dealerships. It is also worth pointing out the chain of ownership here, Mazda Japan sells the car to Mazda USA, who then sells it to a dealer and then they sell it to you.
How the dealers are allocated cars is a complete mystery, even today. The process is weird and there are actually a couple of different ways to do it, and all of these require reading so some dealers just get what they get and some dealers are ordering stuff from the factory. Or possibly claiming cars that would have been made anyways. The sales side has a list of cars that are going to be built, the parts catalog runs about week ahead of reality, the sales thing is more like a month.

Special Orders. Mazda USA does not do special orders, they decide on about 3 trim packages and that is what they order. From an inventory point of view this makes sense, the FD's sold slow enough that a lime green one with wood trim on the side would have been really hard to move.... Also Mazda USA usually pulls some content out of the cars to keep prices low. Mazda's are cheaper in the USA than anywhere else in the world, and its partly that we're missing some options. The FD escapes lightly here, i think the only thing we're missing is the automatic climate control, and the full tool kit. The example here is that Mazda USA only ordered yellow in an R1, but in the rest of the world that isn't the case.

Once the car gets to the dealership (this can take 1 day to two weeks, its the least efficient part). The car is then supposed to get the wrappers pulled off of it (sometimes there are little bits of plastic that once was the seat or door panel covers), washed, and then it goes to the service department to get the Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI). The PDI is in the shop manual, the tires are filled to 50psi to prevent flat spots and the room fuse is usually not installed. The FD's also stated coming with a box of spark plugs in the glove box. Usually none of this gets done, and the tech just gets the extra 0.2 of an hour or whatever it pays. If it is an R package, the front air dam gets installed, or embezzled at this time. Then the car goes for sale :)

I saw a documentary once on those RORO ships, it was in Europe, and it's fascinating how the ships are set up inside. They are designed to hold a LOT of cars, tie them down securely, and you can load and unload FAST.

Talking about the PDI, there are a number of FD's that still have the factory transport tie-down brackets on the car, the dealer was supposed to remove those.

Dale

yeah they still have problems with that. the Mx5's come with these little rubber plugs that go where the tie downs were and the average car comes with those in the center console and the tires at 50psi... its frustrating, cause Mazda is paying a tech to do that, and its not happening.

Wow, this is such a cool thread!!!

You must know Frankie, Julian and Ryan then?

If only Julian cared about mazda's the way people on here do because he's literally a walking parts catalog. I'm sure you know, it's insane. I feel he would have an exceptionally unique perspective to share. Let alone he still has the old 'fish' system; wink-wink for the old timers. I've known those guys for 20+ years now. If ever in doubt, OTM will absolutely take care of you and they are the best parts team you'll ever find imo.

And how funny you mention Kevin by name, I've got stories... ha.

yep, i worked at Oak Tree for a hot minute. I haven't seen those guys in forever, but Julian is awesome (so is Ryan). for everyone else Capitol Mazda and Oak Tree Mazda are owned by the same people. Or actually Oak Tree is no longer living the lie, they are just Stevens Creek Mazda now (they used to have this big Oak Tree in the front, and they cut it down in the early 90's...)

If you remember Dave Chang, he's the manager at Capitol now, his 1976 Rx3 fits neatly in the shelf in the back :)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d75c1a72af.jpg


we've met i think, but i cannot remember who you are in real life, lol

Part 105: How do i look stuff up?
 

I've used the FD catalogs for so long, i don't think i have any real tips. If the catalog is crazy to you, its not to me.

The Catalog is broken into sections, and in theory its systems, or subsystems. like this: the Lo No, isn't Tommy Lo, but its the column and row in the Microfiche.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f7949e9ff6.jpg
There is a middle EPC, where Mazda broke the data up into 5 categories and some of it is not too bad, but like the doors and stuff in them can be interior, exterior, or electronics, its just random
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e2872f9564.jpg


As one would expect, the 1000 Engine and Gasket Set Section is really simple. This one is from the EPC
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a963fab7ba.jpg


Some are complicated like the 1380 page 2, Emission Control System. Notice they have the water hose from the water pump to the vacuum rack here?
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d2e9b52b8d.jpg

in the aftermarket we have a part type taxonomy, and most in the USA use the Autocare, or ACES standard. Europe and Japan use something else. Every part gets a part type. like a brake rotor, brake caliper etc.
its a little squishy sometimes its by description, and sometimes by function. The Mazda catalog actually is pretty close to the standard, not sure if this is by design or by accident, but its kind of nice.

The FD is kind of complex and to look up, say the stuff to take the turbos off or something has you jumping around a lot, back in the day it was easier just to remember it. My friend used to just write stuff on the wall, if you loose the wall you have bigger problems. Sometimes too the part you want is in there, and you just need to look through every screen until you find what you're looking for, the interior stuff can be like that.

Quickly just as an example of the differences in the catalog, here is a good one, the PS pump is the same, but pic is different...
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d699c7a1ae.jpg


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e3b6fb1235.jpg

106a: Who Makes What?
 

We all know that Mazda designs the car, and assembles the car, but we also know they do not make everything.
I hope that this thread has pulled back the curtain a little on how big a process building a car actually is. The thing needs to be designed, tested, then they have a trial run,
then all of the parts need to be made, and then the car gets put together and shipped here and then sold a couple times, its kind of crazy.

If anyone has the opportunity to go see a car factory, just do it, it does not matter which one, its just cool.
(i've seen the Numi; the Toyota/GM joint venture, the Tesla factory that is in that building now, and the Volvo factory)

Anyways the first thing that we notice Mazda doesn't make are the tires, BS = Bridgestone, Dumblop = Dunlop.
an aside i remember the D4M2 was such a popular tire, every FD had a set it seemed

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b5348574d4.jpg

Since we're right there, Mazda doesn't make the wheels either, obviously we know about the sweet BBS wheels we didn't get in the USA, but Mazda uses a bunch of vendors, Hitachi, U Mold, NF, and Enkei
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...3f28b4fa21.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8c8bc7f65b.jpg
The Braking system is Sumitomo, Sumitomo Bank owns a big chunk of Mazda, so Mazda's use mostly Sumitomo braking systems.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9e5352ce9b.jpg
Sumitomo actually does some other castings, the FC front control arms have the Sumitomo symbol, but i think the FD arms were from somewhere else, that square thing shows up if you look for it
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0d695da307.jpg

For Bearings and the front Hubs, Mazda uses Koyo, NSK and NTN
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e7c00b8601.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...49f6286fdf.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9ffe40a190.jpg
For the Shocks Mazda i think uses Showa and Bilstein. for other cars they use KYB, Tokico,
the original shocks have a stamping with the brand and a sticker with the part number and date. It will come in handy when we get to Pebble Beach :)
Obviously date should be before the car was assembled...
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...899a5732f3.jpg

106b: Who Makes What
 

on the Outside of the car, all the lights are made by a guy named Stanley, or Koito or Imasen,
Koito also does all the bulbs, and Imasen does some of the relays and the CPU's and stuff.
Koito makes an amazing product, the Lemons car we race is a POS 1984 Rx7 with like 200,000 miles on the chassis, but it still has the original Koito headlight bulbs, and they work.

Imasen? not so much,
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c1e94fb7c3.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...47b6505fb8.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b084e17223.jpg

For the sheet metal, Mazda stamps all that out themselves. They must have a stamping plant somewhere, the stamping dies are HUGE, its like the size of a shipping container, and the press is a couple stories tall.
I can't find a picture that i like, but the car is made up of a ton of stampings put together, some are simple like the fender, its 1 piece, others like the floor can be 50+ little ones.

You can read more here, Mazda themselves have a nice article; https://www.mazda.co.jp/carlife/classicmazda/story/2/

For the Paint on the outside, Mazda obviously does that, but they have paint formulations for a few different brands, so one assumes that they may have used a couple different brands
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b1335d0c8f.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b6f0ce7f9e.jpg

The glass is Nippon Safety, with a Mazda brand after about 1984. Before that it says Toyo Kogyo
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0b052bb538.jpg

i missed the Wipers! they are made by NWB, its good stuff
https://www.nwb.co.jp/product_e/rear.html

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...98ec40bf4e.jpg

I have a new old stock brake master in my stash, it's made by Tokico, in the Tokico box and everything.

I think the alternators/starters are Mitsubishi as well.

It makes sense to have vendors supply complex sub-systems instead of making all that yourself too.

Oh, clutch is Exedy.

It just doesn't make sense to have your own factory to make some of the sub components.

Dale

106c: Who Makes What
 

The FD is an old car. The exterior design was finalized near the end of 1988 (i think). Thus all the designs were done on paper, by draftsmen (or draftspeople).
In some ways the FD is the ultimate expression of this the packaging is amazingly good. The Rx8 uses more CAD design, and its hard to draw curves and such in CAD, or maybe its better to say its time consuming.
The Rx8 is comparatively built like a lego, everything is much more square (it is kind of nice, everything comes apart and can be cleaned/fixed)

Every part ends up with a set of drawings like this one, from here https://www.mazda.co.jp/carlife/classicmazda/story/3/
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2a06c53e7d.jpg

Part of the process to re-print a part is to take it from paper, to the current standard.

Under the hood, a company called Kurashiki makes a lot of the rubber bits, again the logo is on the part.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...32f3c59fcb.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bc7445d7d8.jpg
For the engine management, Mazda buys an ECU package from Nippon Denso, it comes with the ECU and the sensors, although depending on the engine/car sometimes not every sensor.
its kind of funny its not much different when one of us buys an aftermarket ECU, we get the ecu and most of the sensors...
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bfc3ff1100.jpg

The starter, alternator and any other sensors are Mitsubishi Electric. The 79-85 Rx7's use a complete Mitsubihi emissions control system, and then the 12A turbo car actually uses both, it has two ecu's an ND computer for the fuel, and Mitsubishi for the emissions control. The solenoids are Mitsubishi or Denso as well
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2685cedfbd.jpg

Confusingly the Belts are MitsubOshi
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f8981e8c17.jpg

The wiring is done by a company called Yazaki, to Mazda's specs. They are a huge company, they basically make every wiring harness
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0e816635c2.jpg

Hitachi makes the turbos, again the little symbol is on anything they make
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...375f9dfc58.jpg

Mazda actually makes the engine, transmission and differential themselves which is unusual. Mazda's transmission plant is in Hofu, not sure where the rotary plant is.
Mazda does however, buy the engine seals from Nippon Piston Ring
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...96d3ab5338.jpg

and the clutch is a Diaken, better known now as Exedy
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...80fd7d2479.jpg

actually that is a thing that i'm not sure about. the factory masters have a mark that is like a circle with three pips on it, its a bit like the Mitsubishi logo but in a circle.
i think this may have been the Tokico logo, and actually that Tokico was the marketing name for Sumitomo braking systems, but i haven't been able to confirm it

106d; The Rotary Factory
 

Mazda has a couple of articles, https://www.mazda.co.jp/carlife/classicmazda/story/7/
https://www.mazda.co.jp/carlife/classicmazda/story/8/

Great thread.

Is there any discernible logic to the part numbers for nuts, bolts, and other small parts?

e.g., 90786-0612

The above part is an M6x12 flange bolt with a captive washer - so it's sometimes possible to infer some information from this type of part number, but not with any great consistency that I can see.

yes, great question. The hardware numbers start with a 9, nuts, bolts, clips, nut clips, speed nuts, no snacks though. The reason we don't have a more detailed sheet for these is because there are SO MANY different ones, and the numbering system either has some quirks in it, or it needs more work, but briefly.

if its a hardware item it will be JIS standard. If Mazda uses a fastener that is not JIS standard it tends to get a normal part number.
the gigantic bolt on the front suspension of a Miata is NA01-34-112, and not a 9078612999, or whatever

9 tells you its hardware, 0786 tells you what kind of hardware. ie what style of bolt or nut the thing is. there are a TON of these, and you know its with a washer, without, if its a captive washer, or built in. serrated. or not. the oil pan bolts have that little tip thing, called a dog point, etc etc etc.

The neat part; 0612, is the diameter in mm, and the length. so 06mm, the threaded part is 12mm long, and since its JIS, the head size is 10mm and its a 1.0 thread pitch. 90786-0620 is the same bolt, but 20mm long. 90786-0816 (they don't have a 12mm) is the same bolt, but its 8mm, 16mm long. JIS standard would have it be a 12mm head and 1.25 thread pitch.
9978-01-270H is 12mm, 70mm long and i would need to look at the chart, but its probably 17mm head and 1.5 thread pitch?

if there is no letter it gets the default plating, which is a gold zinc, B is usually a dark zinc, and it can be chrome as well, mostly limited to interior screws. H is the dull gray Cadmium plating that is kind of reserved for stuff under the car
90786-60612 is gold, 90786-60612B is black

the crush washers follow this too, 9956, a washer, material 2 is copper, 4 is aluminum, and then the ID in mm. 9956-41-400 is an aluminum 14mm id washer, 9956-21-400 is copper. the washers work in every material and size from 4mm to 22mm, but the bolts are semi random. Or maybe its more fair to say that like a 6mm bolt falls into a size range, and then 8mm is longer, etc. for example there is no 8mm bolt that is 12mm long, but if you go to 16mm, you can do 6mm and 8mm.

107: Pricing, and Shopping tips
 

Pricing; Without going into detail, there are a couple of quirks in the system that may or may not matter.
In the business we calls this a P&A, price and availability, in 2022 the availability is more important than it has been....

The first thing that is unexpected is that Japan, North America, Europe and Australia have different parts lists. Mazda USA gets a price list that is just North American market parts, and
while you'd think Japan would just have a list of everything, they don't. What does this mean? This means that your cool JDM parts don't come up for sale anywhere, because its not in the price list, and
the reverse is true, the Japanese vendors show the LHD parts as unavailable or discontinued, because they don't have them in their price list.

Second thing, is that while there are a ton of parts that fit both US and non US cars (the 99+ FD fans are an example, we got them here in a protégé or something), the suggested retail price can vary by region. Mazda USA has to pay shipping and taxes to import all of this stuff, but they are not always the higher price.

The third tip, and this has become maybe the most important thing, is the shipping. While it is a good idea to look around and check prices it is very important to factor in the shipping. Time as well as the cost. For instance the front turn signal lenses for my FC are cheaper in Japan by a bit, but they need to come from Japan and that could take weeks or months, vs buying from the local dealership that is less than 48 hours. So like Marty McFly one needs to learn to think 4th dimensionally. It is not just how much, but when.

Summary, if you look around you can usually find either a better price or better availability, and sometimes both, so its worth the time to do it. It also helps weed out the guys selling "NOS" parts that aren't.

And that is it! thanks for reading!
fire away with any and all questions :)

+1 ship from Japan crazy fast for nothing.

Great info, thanks again! :)

Just skimmed through this thread. I really appreciate @j9fd3s for putting this stuff together. Absolutely incredible information.

I have been buying in the JDM Parts manuals of YAJ at about $200 a pop. Maybe they are on line, but I find flipping through the pages satisfying.



https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4f0e71cb8a.jpg

I have the PDF version of this (below). It says 413 pages on my screen. It is really excellent in explaining the intricacies of the FD in plan simple language and the diagrams are superb. Don't know where I got mine, but it would be cool to have a physical version.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2b8a7dfc2.jpeg