I have had all my bushings done with mostly super pro (except for the ones suggested to go OEM for axial movement) and the J auto pillow ***** installed for around 1-2k miles (really don't know because my odo was broken).

Noticed when im going over bumps or jacking the car off and onto the ground, the rear pillow ball, specifically the one on the LCA connected to the trailing arm makes a metallic pinging noise. When slowly putting the car on the ground, I can hear the pinging multiple times.

Anyone else running into this? I believe the pillowballs are self lubricating so shoukdnt need maintenance and mileage on them is very low, although mostly track miles.

I've tried retorquing to the FSM spec. I did try cranking down just a bit more and that seemed to alleviate it somewhat, but I didn't want to overtorque.

 

Pinging is likely a sign of stick-slip friction. Assuming the PB's are indeed self-lubricating (Teflon lined, etc.) the bearing surface "should not" be the cause. I'd check to see if they're pressed in too tight (binding the self-lubricated ball/race), or too loose, allowing the race to slip in the control arm. Either one could cause a "pinging" noise.

If the J-auto PB's are NOT Teflon (maybe Nylon) lined, that could also cause stick-slip, and they may need lubrication.

 

They aren't self lubricating if they are like OEM bushings. OEM bushings are packed with wheel bearing grease.

Pull the arms off, pop the dust seals, get a good coat of wheel bearing grease on each side and work the whole bushing around in a circle so you get it into the ball socket. You won't have to remove the bushing or anything, just the dust seals.

That 100% is the problem here.

Dale

 

Website says they are Teflon lined: "SPECS: Hard anodized aluminum pillow ***** won't corrode/rust. High quality American teflon lined spherical bearings are self cleaning and self lubricating for long lasting, maintenance-free operation. Replaces Mazda part # FD01-26-220. Made locally in the U.S.A."

 

I have been running J-Auto PB since 2016, unless they changed the design, otherwise they are 2 piece structure with Teflon internal and they do not need lubrication during install.

 

Might just have a bad one, normally when they go bad they clunk not ping. Weird.

 

Appreciate the suggestion, how would I know if the pillowballs are pressed in too tight? Too loose I could visually check but too tight would suggest that the race is now "crushed" slightly and binding against the ball joint?

 

Nothing obvious like a, sin against nature, missing bush between the spherical and the trailing arm through bolt? You're probably better to pull apart and look rather than speculate though.

Unless somebody has gone totally neanderthal installing, usual tightness is between the ball and the liner......that can be remedied by spinning up the ball in a drill, as long as you don't go nuts.

 

Too tight due to race being compressed could be either elastic or yield (less likely) deformation by being too tight in the arm. In either case, the only way I know to see if they're too tight is to disassemble enough to be able to wiggle the ball with a rod or something. What billyboy said is what I sometimes do on my racecar rodends to loosen them just enough to prevent excess friction. The other thing I often do is use a heat gun on them. You do have to be cautious doing either method because if you loosen (heat) them too much, you ruin the Teflon liner, and it's going to be junk.