FD Pillowballs Bushings
 

How often does these go bad? or how many miles does they last to?

And other bushings underneath the car.

TIA

I bought my 93 with 76k original miles on the car and the pillow balls were dead.

is it more economical to replace these, or just goin coilovers?

The pillowballs are part of the double wishbone suspension, even if you put on coilovers you'd still be attaching to the control arms/structural members that use the pillowballs.

http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/...emove_bolt.jpg

so on 100K+ miles car these bushings would be dead...assuming they are original.

You can tell when they start to go bad, just listen for any clunking noises coming from the rear of the car especially when you come to a stop or start to accelerate. The weight shifts cause the suspension components to load/unload and that's when you hear it. Also if you notice inconsistencies in handling such as snap oversteer it's not a bad idea to look at them.

My 93 has 44K gentle miles and my pillowballs are dead.

I just replaced my pillowball bushings at 115k miles..I doubt if they were original though.

Now at 55K miles, and the only pillow-balls that have needed replacement were both outer toe link units - one a year ago, and one just replaced. The others still have no slop and are noise-free (I just checked everything 2 weeks ago).

I am checking for a 2nd FD with 125K miles...

Mine was replaced in 1999 @ 33K miles

6 Ball Pillow - FD01-26-220 $397.32
6 snap rings - 9957-43-800 $24.30
12 rubber seals - FD01-26-250 $74.40
Labor & part = $706.02

I had some minor clunking at 44k miles; at 50k miles the clunking is pretty major. The car is now on jack stands awaiting a new set.

this all is not making me happy as age is clearly an issue as opposed to miles, driving habits or storage. I feel the pillow ball bone coming up my butt.

My FD has 75k and it definately has some clunking noise when I come to a stop or go to back up. It's on my list.

Fortunately Ray at Malloy can sell you all 6 pillow balls with dust boots for under 400$ and installation only takes a couple of hours if you follow one of the many write-ups with pictures members have posted. Certainly not the worst thing your FD can/will do to you ;P

6 is enough to cover the entire car?

Well there are many other bushings and stuff that go bad on the suspension, but yes the proverbial "pillowballs" are 3 per side in the rear suspension. It seems the pillowballs tend to go around 50k, but it can be more or less depending on how hard the car has been driven.

When checking for play, it can help to remove the wheel, remove the shock assembly. Then you and work it without any heavy weights or springs in the way.

Dave

I've checked mine out just by jacking up the rear and, using the tire for leverage, wiggling it back & forth in both the camber and toe directions to determine if anything has slop or makes noise. Doing it without the tire/wheel attached makes it difficult to use enough force/torque to feel any play. However, your method does have at least one advantage - when the suspension is in the normal, as driven, position, play may more severe (since that position is where most of the wear occurs) than in the droop position.

DaveW

Is it possible to distinguish between a bad wheel bearing and a bad pillowball when testing this way?

I just replaced my pillowballs yesterday, and just for kicks, I tried wiggling the wheel around and there was absolutely no play, yet my pillows were clearly shot when I removed them. I think if there are significant miles on the chassis, that they should be replaced anyways.

How did you know they were shot? Did you determine this by the fact that they had play once they had been removed? If so, that may not be a good indicator, since releasing the outer race compression they had when they were pressed into the arm makes them looser when they are removed.

If it was clunking in the suspension that was removed once they were replaced, that's another story.

Dave

Yes, before I pressed them out, there was play in the bushing , and the suspension is no longer clunking like before. I know when a bushing is no good.

So beside of aging there isn't really a pattern of why these bushings go bad...

FD suspension parts aren't cheap either...LOL!

The dust boot is rubber, with age the rubber can crack or tear. Once compromised dust/dirt can contaminate the bushing and failure will quickly follow. Sure mileage is a factor too but age is the bigger factor in any moving part with this type of design (pillowball, CV joint, etc.). At least they aren't that difficult to replace.

And since it hasn't been linked in this thread so far, Max Cooper's Pillowball replacement howto that doesn't require powertools or a press. http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/...lls/index.html

OK! I understand! :)

Dave