i have my car up on jacks right now and trying to do the install. after doing a search, i found that most people said that the m2 trailing are longer than stock, this doesn't seem to be the case for me. the m2 trailing arms that i bought from rx7store seerms to be shorter than stock, did i receive the wrong one?

also, on the joint end i notice there's a screw that allows me to extend the trailing arm, should it be extended? if i extend it to get it to the same length as stock, i'm not able to tighten up the bolts, if i tighten one end, it just loosens up the other.

please help, i have my car up on jacks and really don't want to put the stock ones back on to have to redo this process again.

i can be reached at 415 672 5153 now if anyone can help.

thanks.

 

Yes, the ends are adjustable for that reason.

Also, it is HIGHLY recommened you get an alignment after installing them.

 

dude, that's what the locking nut is for. Adjust the arm length as close to the stock as possible and tighten the locking nut, install, get alignment done. It's not that difficult, trust me, I've installed two set already.

 

Hey Sam,
I hope my phone call helped you out a little bit. These guys pretty much gave you the answer here. Its one of those things you can't really do much about other than torque the locking nut down real good without the shaft of the arm spinning. I installed these on my friend's car back in January and we've had no problems with them since, but I'll send a note to him to check the nuts this weekend to make sure they have not yet loosened up. He has not had an alignment yet, but I'm sure that will be a better insurance for knowing the arms are set to the right length on the car and all. Good luck with it and don't worry, I put them on and took them off several times before I finally got them to fit the way I wanted them to. Post again when you're done.
-Dave

 

Thanks guys for the affirmation and support, especially Dave. All the searches on the M2 trailing arm, everyone noted that the M2 version was longer than stock, so I panicked. Here are 2 links that states that the M2 are longer,

http://www.negative-camber.org/crispyrx7/m2link.htm
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ng+arm+install

Also, I wasn't able to get the locking nut to hold tight. If I held the locking nut while tightening the bolt, it was lenghtening the bar. So, the trailing arm is suppose to be adjustable? There's no harm in lengthening the arm by loosening up the bolt? If you're gonna install them, I recommend removing the two shields under the car along with the small black guards in front of the rear wheel openings. This allows better access to the forward bolt that attaches the arms to the frame.


Anyways, I think I got it installed now. I did this to eliminate the clunking in the rear, but still clunking with the new trailing arms. But I did notice that the bushings on the toe links are pretty worn out and I was able to easily move the toe links back and forth without much force. Can someone tell me if it's normal for the toe links to twist back and forth?


Thanks again.

 

You should be able to tighten the jam nut to hold the rod end in place. Hold the link or the rod end and tighten the nut against the end of the link. It will jam in place when you tighten it.

If you match the length up to the stock link (except make them just a tiny bit longer since they will be at a slightly larger angle than the stock links) the alignment should be very close to what it was before. It is a good idea to get an alignment anyway, but you'll be pretty close if you match the lengths up to the stock links.

Trailing links aren't likely to fix any clunks since the only bushing they replace is the rubber one at the front end of the link. It should help reduce wheel hop a bit and gives you a little more room for wheels, so they are still worth having. But, the pillow ***** and two links are the most likely causes of clunking. It sounds like you need to replace the trailing links if you can "steer" the rear wheel with your hands pretty easily. The pillow ***** wear out, too, so they are worth a check, but they are most likely loose, so you might just want to get replacements anyway. It is hard to tell just what is loose if it is more than one thing. I replaced two pillow *****, only to find that the other four were also loose when I got done. Here's my write-up on how to replace them with hand tools and some stuff from the hardware store:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/...lls/index.html

If you are going to do a bunch of replacements, you should probably hold off on the alignment until everything is installed. If you match up the lengths of the trailing and toe links pretty well to the stock ones, the alignment will be close enough that you can drive around a bit before you do the rest without any major problems if you need to. I realize that it isn't always convenient to get an alignment right away, and you should be fine with some careful match-ups. It is a good idea to get the alignment at some point, but some strange vehicle dynamics and bad tire wear are about the worst you'll get if it isn't quite right. If the car does drive a bit strangely and it isn't something major like loose jam nuts or other loose fasteners, just don't go on a high speed run or put yourself in danger otherwise from the weird dynamics.

-Max

 

To a certain degree. If you didn't tighten them down hard enough to the pillow ball, you WILL hear them tap dance back and forth as you brake and/or accelerate. It WILL literally sound like someone is tap dancing under the chassis

I wouldn't think their design has changed any, but don't forget you have this slot to hold down with a wrench as you tighten the bolt down at the control arm.

 

I called up M2 to find out if their trailing arm is longer or shorter than stock and they informed me that their's is slightly longer and that you should not need to adjust. Then I called up rx7store to find out if what they sold was the M2 product and was told that it's not, they sell the trailing arms made by Kr2d or something like that. And that it's adjustable.

So, it looks like I have the K2rd trailing arms and not M2. The M2 are black in color and the one rx7store sells is dark purple in color.

I placed an order for the toe links and I hope it solves my clunking problem. So far, I've replaced both left and right upper arm bushings and now the trialing arms, so toe links are next. If that doesn't solve the clunk, not sure what I'll do next.

Thanks.

 

I am 95% certain that your clunks are caused by:
- toe links
- the 6 pillow ball bushings (3 per side) that should be replaced with stock Mazda parts

-Max

 

No wonder it wasn't clear the first time, my writing was a mess! Here's the same info with corrections in bold:

Trailing links aren't likely to fix any clunks since the only bushing they replace is the rubber one at the front end of the link. It should help reduce wheel hop a bit and gives you a little more room for wheels, so they are still worth having. But, the pillow ***** and toe links are the most likely causes of clunking. It sounds like you need to replace the toe links if you can "steer" the rear wheel with your hands pretty easily. The pillow ***** wear out, too, so they are worth a check, but they are most likely loose, so you might just want to get replacements anyway. It is hard to tell just what is loose if it is more than one thing. I replaced two pillow *****, only to find that the other four were also loose when I got done. Here's my write-up on how to replace them with hand tools and some stuff from the hardware store:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to...alls/index.html

Squishy rubber bushings are not very likely to cause clunking unless they are totally trashed to the point where you have metal parts banging into each other. People spend a lot of time replacing rubber bushings with stock or Unobtanium bushings in hopes of fixing clunks. It won't.

It is the metal-on-metal bushings like the toe links (spherical bearings suspended in rubber) and the pillow ***** that cause the clunking. If your goal is to fix clunking, replace these first. It is very likely that they will fix your problem and you won't have to waste time needlessly replacing rubber bushings.

-Max

 

Thanks a lot Max, I've heard many good things about you from series7. I've replaced both of my upper control arm pillow mounts so far. I'll try the toe links next.

 

Definitely some helpful information in here, thanks guys! Hehe, I had my car up on jack stands too - when I started searching on here for tips. I need to look on here first next time. Needless to say, my new M2 Toe links and Trailing arms are on... and performing well. Took it out for a test run with my friend today and made it back with all wheels attached. Have noticed an immediate difference - everything seems a little more tighter and responsive... even a little quieter!

Did have a question though... for those who did the install as well... did you put any grease or lubricant on the toe-link's two bearings and the trailing arm's one bearing? I couldn't decide what to do... while grease would help it move smoother, it would also get dirt stuck to it, which would be abrasive and gradually wear down the metal bearing. Any thoughts on this?

I'm going to be getting it aligned early this week so I can drive it more confidently. Plus, I figure the alignment shop will tighten up the adjustment nuts to propper spec... maybe they'll have some thoughts about the grease issue.

Cheers!

 

Sams,

I'm pretty sure you have the Rotary Extreme links and not the M2. Either way, both are quality.

REx's:

http://www.rotaryextreme.com/toelink-1.jpg