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Any evidence of rub on the left lower arm about 5" from the rear pick-up?
None that I can see.
I took the time to take off the front left bearing. Documented it, before/after cleaning and also shot a few vids showing how much play the bearing developed. Mind you this bearing has less than 2k miles. The bearing is definitely trash. Its OEM, made in USA high quality stuff. On the back side, you can see some scratch marks. Dont know if its normal with the flash. There was quite a bit of crap on the back side also, some hard material which you can see on the paper towel more clearly. Spindle looked fine from what I can tell.
The hub+ bearing are replaced together as a unit. There Is a rubber seal on the back side. Its hard to see from the pics but the seal is still intact and not really flattened out.
Ill upload the vids on another sever to post. But from my computer and phone im seeing the vids.
Thanks for the input so far.
Edit: this bearing/hub def has less than 2k miles.
Last edited by ArmenMAxx; Jan 4, 2017 at 10:46 AM.
Tap those bearings out and let's see what the innards look like.
Do you hear any noises turning the steering wheel now that the hubs are off? Touch/grip the control arms while someone else turns the steering wheel. Do you feel anything clicking or rumbling?
Also, how much torque are you using on the hub nut? Might want to try a different torque wrench in case yours is out of spec.
Last edited by gracer7-rx7; Jan 4, 2017 at 10:44 AM.
Turns out the new hub bearing has a similar amount of play. Replaced it, torqued to 170lb fts. Im using a borrowed husky wrench but I have a snap-on wrench ordered already. Noise is gone for now... but itll be back lol
Just want to point out there is no play when wiggling the wheel/tire. Never has been. Back of the nut and spindle seemed flat and smooth, but I'm not very experienced with this stuff so could be overlooking some issues.
Took the older bearing apart. Looks good to me inside I think.
Last edited by ArmenMAxx; Jan 4, 2017 at 02:33 PM.
Defect on the back of the bearing, a bit more than a scratch, look like fractures.
Over here we're getting Chinese bearings with other country markings...usually Japan. These are OEM new from Mazda or recoed swaps, don't recall ever seeing US labelled bearings on the hubs here?
Armen - the torque setting is on the upper range of allowable torque so hopefully your torque wrench is somewhat accurate. I think I torqued mine to 150. Some additional reference: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...etails-283722/
The inside of that hub looks ok. There is grease and the grease doesn't look burnt. All the ball bearings are there. Try and inspect the ball bearings to look for a cracked one if you are in the mood to pull them out.
Turn the hub as is and see if it feels or sounds rough while turning
Echoing what billy mentioned, are those OEM hubs or cheap parts store? The Spec Miata community has seen a rash of **** hubs and knockoffs of good brand hubs that fail very quickly.
Last edited by gracer7-rx7; Jan 4, 2017 at 04:21 PM.
Ill get back in the garage soon and further inspect the hub. Havnt had much time.
Its OEM, according to the supplier, who is a reputable wholesaler. Not saying they arnt incorrect however.. not sure about the USA stamped bearings. But previously I have ordered bearings from Lucky 7, which came in Mazda OEM packaging, same lingo.
Once I get a buddy to help out ill inspect the right (noisy) hub with some steering movement. I want to load the suspension with another jack and see if it reveals anything.
Those scratches seem worse because of the flash, I wouldnt call them fractures.
2nd last pic looked like the the inner race was cactus....but appears just to be grease.
Looked at an original, never changed, hub here today - Japanese bearing.
Dunno what equipment you have available. If you have oxy and/or die grinder, maybe bearings purchased from a reputable shopfront and diy? If nothing at hand, I'd be looking at buying a hub from Mazda, even if it cost a bit more.
2nd last pic looked like the the inner race was cactus....but appears just to be grease.
Looked at an original, never changed, hub here today - Japanese bearing.
Dunno what equipment you have available. If you have oxy and/or die grinder, maybe bearings purchased from a reputable shopfront and diy? If nothing at hand, I'd be looking at buying a hub from Mazda, even if it cost a bit more.
Interesting,
For kicks Ill go through Mazda for the front right* bearing. But, as mentioned earlier I have done this before using a Mazda-boxed-packaged bearing. That bearing went through the same pattern of making noise. Ive gone through like 4 bearings each side in a matter of 2 years.
Still havent had time to inspect the bearings further..
Last edited by ArmenMAxx; Jan 6, 2017 at 05:59 PM.
2nd last pic looked like the the inner race was cactus....but appears just to be grease.
Looked at an original, never changed, hub here today - Japanese bearing.
I see it now in the 2nd to last pic. It does look like a crack but the last pic does indeed look more normal.
Armen - does it look like the lettering on the bearing race is rubbed off at all?
I wonder if you are onto something though. The bearing race could be ever so slightly off causing a rub on something. The ball bearings could also be a wee bit small allowing races to shift and the hub contact something.
Regardless, judging by the color of the grease, it looks like something is rubbing. I second billy's suggestion of getting another hub - this time from a different source like Ray or Mazda Motorsports.
On the other hand, you mention that you've used a Mazda boxed hub and have tried this multiple times... Something doesn't seem right. Either with the batch of hubs you have used or perhaps applying too much torque. Try torque at 150 lb/ft and use a new hub nut.
Are your older videos with the sound it makes still available? I'd like to hear the sound.
Last edited by gracer7-rx7; Jan 6, 2017 at 12:28 PM.
Interesting,
For kicks Ill go through Mazda for the front left bearing. But, as mentioned earlier I have done this before using a Mazda-boxed-packaged bearing. That bearing went through the same pattern of making noise. Ive gone through like 4 bearings each side in a matter of 2 years.
Still havent had time to inspect the bearings further..
A mate does source some stuff out of China, he's sent me a few copies of emails where various potential suppliers offer to print packaging to whatever branding he wants..it's a sad state affairs! Not saying this is your problem, but with the number of other knock-offs in the automotive world, it's one way to eliminate what I assume is the common factor in all four failures.
Looking at this new hub, Mazda appears just to use an induction heating loop to drop them in -
more of a pita to do, but an alternative way to control that variable if Mazda has suddenly started to use rubbish bearings, which I find difficult to believe.
Never heard of it happening, but a straight edge/square over the spindle to see if there's anything weird at play?
I see it now in the 2nd to last pic. It does look like a crack but the last pic does indeed look more normal.
Armen - does it look like the lettering on the bearing race is rubbed off at all?
I wonder if you are onto something though. The bearing race could be ever so slightly off causing a rub on something. The ball bearings could also be a wee bit small allowing races to shift and the hub contact something.
Regardless, judging by the color of the grease, it looks like something is rubbing. I second billy's suggestion of getting another hub - this time from a different source like Ray or Mazda Motorsports.
On the other hand, you mention that you've used a Mazda boxed hub and have tried this multiple times... Something doesn't seem right. Either with the batch of hubs you have used or perhaps applying too much torque. Try torque at 150 lb/ft and use a new hub nut.
Are your older videos with the sound it makes still available? I'd like to hear the sound.
The lettering does look slightly rubbed off, but pretty much equally on front and back sides. I cleaned up the old hub and took more pics. No cracked bearing *****. Inside looked pretty smooth. Nothing I can feel on on the races with my fingernails. I also added 2 vids I just shot showcasing how bad the front right is. Let me know if they dont work, so I upload it on youtube instead.
You can see my old hub has the heat marks also, as did my new one. I dont know if that means anything, but again Ill go through Ray for the new front right hub.
It doesn't sound like any bad wheel bearing I've ever heard either. One of the reasons why I initially thought it was my AP racing brakes. Which are gone now, replaced with ST.
Seriously thinking about buying a whole front clip and swapping at this point lol.
Maybe jack up the car, jack stands and spin it by hand to see if you hear anything. You can also start the car, put it in 1st or 2nd gear and let it run while you listen for stuff under the car.
Maybe jack up the car, jack stands and spin it by hand to see if you hear anything. You can also start the car, put it in 1st or 2nd gear and let it run while you listen for stuff under the car.
Finally flew back to LA. Drove the car up the canyon this morning and now the front drivers side started making noise again. The bearing has less than 300miles on it, 2 canyon drives no track days. Its very minimal but its getting worse the more I drive it hard.
Not sure how itll be the driveshaft? When you stand outside and listen while the car is turning, you can easily hear its coming from the hub. No question its from the front hub assembly but I just dont know what exactly.
Next step is to buy new spindles for the hell of it?
^It's hard to tell where the sound is coming from in the video so I took a wild *** guess at something else that rotates
I think I have a spare, old hub if you want to try it. I replaced it just b/c a number of years ago. I had intended on rebuilding it with synthetic grease but got busy with life.
^It's hard to tell where the sound is coming from in the video so I took a wild *** guess at something else that rotates
I think I have a spare, old hub if you want to try it. I replaced it just b/c a number of years ago. I had intended on rebuilding it with synthetic grease but got busy with life.
Yea without hearing it in person its difficult to tell where the noise originates from.
Ill shoot you a PM regarding the hold hub! Im also going to order new spindle/bearing nuts. If the noise still continues after this Im crushing the car and building a new FD.
Asking the dealer today, after finding I'm in need of replacements and not too keen on using some unknown mileage spares, it's a NLA item....626 owners are also out of luck too for their rear end....another source of spares if desperate!
There's a few vendors here selling re-manufactured items but I'd sooner make hubs from scratch with larger bearings. If the bearing is anything other than NTN HUB066, you're running a reco.
