BestKeptSecret

OK I have a clunking sound comming from the rear end of my car when I go over bumps. I put it on my rack and it appears to be comming from the upper control arm bushing which seems to be a problem on the earlier 93 models... Who else has this problem and what can be done to fix it?

den-man

probably the pillow ball mounts

Montego

iTrader: (1)

I'm interest I am experiencing the same ting

yy4u

replace the bushings with some from mazdacomp or the one's from Jim Labreck. You can buy a set of all 18 bushings on the car for 700 or so, or you can try to find just the bushings for the control arm. That should fix the clunking.
-Rob

turp182

I test drove a 93 RX7 which had clunking sounds coming from the rear, especially when coming to a stop.

The mechanic who was looking it over for me said it was the rear bushings. The car was an auto, and he said this was very common in the automatics (much less common on manuals, although I don't remember why).

Flybye

Another common point is the rear toe-links.

A simple way to find out where the clunking is comming from is to simply jack up the rear, remove the tire, put the jack under the rear control arm and push it upward. Move the suspension around and you will see which bushing died.

maxcooper

Here's my web page on replacing the pillow *****:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/...lls/index.html

It is likely that you have bad pillow ***** and/or toe links. You can get toe links from M2 and other vendors, but Mazda is the only source for the pillow ***** (it is hard to improve on a spherical bearing, though I do with someone made some indestructible ones ).

-Max

yy4u

Max-

the tutorial that the link goes to, says you replaced the "bushings" in that manner, and that you replaced 6 of them. These are 6 of the 18 bushings included in the Jim Labreck, or any other complete set of bushings? Other than those 6 and the two differential bushings, how many more are there in the rear? I was just a little confused by the use of the word pillow ***** rather than bushings. Are they referring to different things? Please clear this up for me.

Also, are those the M2 toe links that you had on your car in those pictures? Do you have just the toe links or the toe links and trailing arms?

My car clunks awfully and i'm planning on ordering a complete set of bushings, but can't decide whether i should get one or both of the M2 products, i guess i need to get one of the wheels off and see whats the cause of all the noise.

Donovan

The aftermarket Bushing sets DO NOT replace the cause of the clunking. The clunking in the rear is caused by one or more of the six bearings/pillow ***** in the rear suspension or the toe link's pillow ***** going bad. The center starts to bang around when they go bad and cause the clunk.These must be purchased from Mazda or a aftermarket reseller of Mazda parts as these are only made by Mazda. The front sway bar end links can also cause a clunk as they go bad. In my exp. the toe links and the outer lower controll arm bearings are the cause for most banging. M2 has replacement toe links as well as Pettit (cheaper) and some others. The bushing sets will replace the soft rubber bushings in the rear/ front/diff. and improve cornering/reduce deflection. but will do nothing for the clanking.

man_of_steel

I was always told it was the bushings...which happens eventually just from wear and tear. George Dodsworth explained it to me when I was looking at the black FD for sale up at Sevenspeed..that one had the same clunking sound.

yy4u

yeah i had always thought it was the bushings. THis is news to me. Can anyone else offer up some insight?

maxcooper

What Donovan said is the way it is. The JimLab bushing set does not include pillow ***** or replacements for those items. Mazdaspeed does not make any pillow-ball replacements, either, unless they are pillow ***** suspended in rubber.

The pillow ***** are "bushings", they are just bushings that there are no non-OEM replacements for. The most correct/specific name for these things is "spherical bearings". That would explain why you heard that it was the "bushings" -- the pillow ***** are bushings. It is unlikely that a worn rubber bushing would cause clunking unless the rubber was totally gone. Bad rubber bushings will feel sloppy, but it won't be noisy.

There are 20 bushings in the rear suspension alone (both sides, not counting the diff bushings), but only 8 of them are appropriate for replacement by the kind of bushing that was in the JimLab kit.

For each side of the rear suspension you have:
1. Trailing link at body (Mazda, Mazdaspeed, JimLab, or M2 link replacement)
2. Trailing link at lower arm (Mazda replacement [pillow-ball], same as 4 & 10)
3. Lower link at body (Mazda replacement [pillow ball suspended in rubber], unique)
4. Lower link at hub (Mazda replacement [pillow-ball], same as 2 & 10)
5. Toe link at body (Mazda [pillow ball suspended in rubber] or M2 link replacement, same as 6, I think)
6. Toe link at hub (Mazda [pillow ball suspended in rubber] or M2 link replacement, same as 5, I think)
7. Front upper link at body (Mazda, Mazdaspeed, or JimLab replacement, same as 8, I think)
8. Rear upper link at body (Mazda, Mazdaspeed, or JimLab replacement, same as 7, I think)
9. Shock bottom at upper link (Mazda, Mazdaspeed, or JimLab replacement, I think it is unique)
10. Upper link at hub (Mazda replacement [pillow-ball], same as 2 & 4)

All JimLab bushings are Nylatron (Nylon). All M2 link bushings are spherical rod ends. Unless stated otherwise above, all Mazda and Mazdaspeed bushings are rubber. The Mazdaspeed versions are stiffer rubber. I am not sure that Mazdaspeed makes stiff versions of all the bushings I listed or not, but I would guess that they do, so I listed it that way.

In my how-to, I have the M2 toe links but the stock trailing links.

-Max

yy4u

Max -
Thank you for clearing that up for us/me. So of the 10 parts listed above, which are most likely the cause of clunking. The clunking sounds in my car are a result of braking, and of (releasing the clutch after) shifting gears.
If i take off the wheel, what can i do to pin down the cause of the "clunking"? will it be fairly obvious? Was your car "clunking" before you changed out everything you did. WHat changes resulted in a significant difference?

THanks again for your help! Your time and insight is very much appreciated!!

-Rob

yy4u

Oh and one more thing, if i get the m2 toe links, that will replace 5 and 6, and if i get the m2 trailing arms that will replace 1 but not 2? Just want to make sure, your breakdown seems to make that pretty clear but i wanted to be sure.

Donovan

Right, the M2 trailing arms replace the bushing in the trailing arm with a solid spherical end and use the stock lower control arm mid bearing. The toe link replaces both ends of the link. (they are actually differant as the inboard is larger than the outboard or the end that attaches to the hub) This will leave only the upper control arm outer bearing and the lower control arm mid and outer berings as causes for the clanking. The best bet would be to just replace all the bearings if you have some bad ones the others are not far behind and as they go they will put more stress on the new ones as they flex.

yy4u

thanks Donovan. Where can i find the best price on the replacement bearings? I don't have an account with mazdacomp and i'm sure a dealership's prices are outrageous! Would one of you guys with an account at mazdacomp be willing to help me out. How much should i expect to pay for the bearings. I have the part number from max's tutorial. I plan on calling rotarmotorsports, as they advertise low prices on OEM parts. The bearings i need to replace then would be nubmers 2 4 and 10 from Max's layout and then i'll get the toe links to replace 5 and 6. SHould i be worried about 1, 3, 7, 8, or 9 causing clunking sounds or should those 5 replacements take care of most everything. Are the trailing arms worth the money. I'm on a budget and would like to fix the clunking without spending too much money. Is there any way to just by the bushings i need without buying a complete set like JimLab's, does mazda comp sell the stiffer rubber bushings individually or in pairs or whatever without haveing to buy an entire set? Thanks again for the info guys, i feel very close to having this clunking fixed!!
-Rob

Donovan

I got mine from Mazdaformance. ( link at top of this page) They were$45 each and no tax but you pay shipping. Best price I found, but I didn't do too much looking.Pettit has toe links for $200. I would replace the toe links and the six (2,4,10 from above) bearings. It will take care of the clunking. The trailing arms arn't a big deal, remember the stock bearing stays on the lower control arm only the foreward mounting point is replaced and the rest of the bushings should be OK

Ehughes

My upper control arms appear to have the most play and probably are contributing to the clunking sound I am getting in the car's rear end as well.

Mazda OEM bushings are F@cking expensive. Especially if you buy them all.

Oh well, its not like we were not aware of the costs associated with owning an FD!

ttb

got clunking sound as well. what i'm curious about is is this a safety issue? anybody heard of accidents, lost of control cause by this?

Stevil

How about clunking from the front when you travel slowly, then stop? What does that signal? I replaced the front bushings with Jims kit, so it has to be something else.

Steve