Hi!
So i have gotten a bad bearing in the back, and need to get myself a set of new ones. But what should i choose?
- OEM Mazda - $678 - "30 year old specs". Nylon liners.
- Sakebomb - $890 - Motorsports-grade teflon-lined Aurora Bearing. Rebuldable, MAde in the USA.
- J-Auto - $439 - Hard anodized aluminum pillow *****, Teflon liners, Rebuildable, made in the USA.
- Any other brands available?

Does anyone have any experience with anything other than OEM?
I was considering J-Auto, but then i found the Sakebomb kit. Given their trackrecord i do not doubt the quality of the parts, Only question is are they twise as good as J-Auto
Money is not an issue with this car, i just want the best and most reliable product.
I will be doing a full suspension overhaul when mounting this so they will be paired up with a full set of brand new OEM bushings on the entire car.

 

Never even know J-Auto existed. Would love to hear what everyone says as well. Once I get some proper seat time after my build is done, going to get into completely refreshing the suspension.

 

i have the J-Auto ones. I have installed them but my car is not yet back on the road. They look like they are very good quality though and i know there are quite a few members on here that have used them as well.

 

I run the J Auto ones and probably countless others over the years. Some are still advocates for OEM's as they lasted this far and SBG is a solid choice for their race line. Adding new OEM dust caps is key as well. Having the rebuild service option down the line is also a nice option.

 

WIth the pillow ball bushings failure isn't an issue with the bushings it's the dust boots. The boots start to sag over time which creates an opening for dirt and grit to get in. This grit gets between the nylon shell and the metal ball and eats the nylon away, eventually making slop in the joint and giving you the clunk.

These dust boots should be on the yearly inspection list. When they start to sag, replace them. I think if this was known a long time ago and was a routine maintenance item you'd NEVER have a bushing failure.

That said, I don't think any of the aftermarket ones are any better or worse than OEM. I know of people running the J-Auto bushings and have been happy with them.

For the price, I think the Sakebomb kit is a lot of money and it's hard to justify that they will have a benefit over stock or J-auto.

Dale

 

I have the J-Auto one with new dust seals for about 7 years now, no issue.

Good call on checking the seals, I need to do that next time when the car is up on stands for maintenance.

 

J-Autos are the only ones worth justifying in my opinion. Like Dale mentioned, the boots are generally the main failure point.

 

Which and where do you get a replacement dust boot?

 

OEM, part # FD01-26-250. I got everything from J-Auto along with the pillow *****, but you should be able to order them from any Mazda dealer.

 

Wow, J-Auto has grown his offerings quite a bit since back in the day.

Regarding J-Auto vs Sakebomb, they are different grade bearings judging by the price. The Auroras are on the upper end of quality - and therefore price. I'm sure that the J-Auto are good quality as well but he doesn't list the manufacturer. Ultimately, people have options to fit their budget so that's good.

I'm running the stock pillowballs sourced from Ray Crowe.

 

J auto here. Juan is a very cool guy and explained to me before all the intricate details of how he sourced his bushings. I was impressed. I only have a few miles on the so I can't really say, but no issues so far.

 

3years and about 12k miles on J Auto pillow *****.
No issues, completely happy with them 👍

Steve

 

or your own custom, had very good, tight, long term service from Aurora PNB series over the common COM spherical bearings, of course they cost more you cheap bastages ...

 

@Zepticon - what did you end up going with ? I'm trying to decide between the 3 you mentioned as well. Sakebomb has a sale going on through Monday which makes their kit a similar price point to OEM w/ Ray Crowe. J-Auto would be a great option but it seems customer service and availability is lacking on his end.

 

I didnt buy anything (wasnt any money left when BF came around) but i will get the Sakebomb aurora bearings when time come. More expensive but i hope more better

 

I have the J-auto ones installed for a few years now. No issues and when I took them down to my local rotary shop to have them installed to the control arms they did comment that the quality appeared very good (comparable to OEM)

 

J-Auto costs less, you get what you order. No extra emails, no communication, but nobody has been stiffed and it's a known good product. What customer service do you actually need for something simple?

 

Either way, if you want them to last you need to do 2 things -

- New dust seals when you install. If you re-use the old ones, dirt can get in and tear them up. I learned this the hard way and destroyed new bushings in less than a year.

- Check the dust seals once a year or so. If they are starting to sag and not seal up, get new ones. Clean out, fresh grease, and new seals.

In theory if you do that they can last for damn ever. The only thing that kills them is dirt getting into the bearings, that's it.

Dale

 

Bumping an old thread, does the advice change if the OEM pillowballs cost the exact same price as the J-Auto pillowballs? With a Mazda Motorsports account, the OEM pillowballs end up being a couple dollars cheaper than the J-auto ones.

 

@scotty305 - just as a quick update, I ended going with the J-Auto pillowballs. They are a huge improvement to my aged OEM ones. I am semi-local to J-Auto so I had Juan do the install as well, nice guy, he was super accommodating to my schedule, I would recommend them if you are on the fence about it.

 

I did J Auto pillow ***** about 6-7 years ago and they are still good.

Like others have mentioned check the rubber boot/cover yearly to make sure they aren’t sagging and allowing contaminates in which leads to failure.


Steve

 

I thought my OEMs where bad, but after tightening the bolts in the rear properly the sounds went away. Tho im planning a full suspension rebuild, vaporhone and paint anyway, so they will be used then. Went with J-Auto over OEM.

 

I have a Mazda Motorsports account and just buy all the pillowballs, snap rings, seals, and suspension hardware from Mazda. A lot of the bushing / pillowball kits still rely on you supplying the big pillowball for the rear lower control arm. Mazda is fairly priced and I just feel like an OEM knows how to produce hardware better than small volume vendors.