Swopping a Mk2 front suspension onto my Mk1

[Bluebell18]

To be honest I have no idea, the uprights are fairly solid units so degradation due to corrosion will be a lot less than on the thin sheet steel of the lower arms.
Hence my desire to change.
Dave

[Mazda Mender]

Looking at the protection you did..they should still be not to bad.
M-m

[Bluebell18]

Well I have got the bits now and I feel that it is time to do something major, think it's call spanner itch, spanneritus or something similar.
Haven't done much recently apart from burst heater pipe replacement and rebrushing the alternator that was on the blink.
Dave

[Bluebell18]

In between treating the garden fence panels, a start has been made and as promised a few photos.

I unpacked the two s/hand front hubs and they are the usual rusty collection of bits.



Next I started to dismantle one hub, getting the dust cap off was the first obstacle as it looked fairly new and I was keen to not damage it, the nut followed and I immediately discovered why this is easier when it is all attached to the car.
Nut off and I withdrew the hub which I may reuse as it appears to be in good condition, the three brake shield bolts needed some release fluid but finally came free with a breaker bar.
The bottom ball joint needed the large separator but I finally had a collection of parts.



Well almost as this donor vehicle had ABS so the sensor also needed removing, how you do this on the car I can only imagine!
The hub has the toothed ring and I would be interested to know if this is removable or do I just leave it be?
The upright was next introduced to the wire brush on the angle grinder and finally coated in Deox rust remover and left in a sealed plastic bag overnight.



All for now, more to follow.
Dave

[Mazda Mender]

The hub has the toothed ring and I would be interested to know if this is removable or do I just leave it be?


Leave it be, it is for the ABS sensor pick up,will not give any uses to not change them bud.
M-m

[Bluebell18]

Mm



Dave

[Bluebell18]

Storm Ciara and the weather is not conducive to working outdoors.

So as start was made on painting the Mk2 parts, the upright is sound and now looks resplendent in a coat of red oxide primer and because the hub bearings appear to be ok this has been similarly sprayed.

Whist these were drying in the warm workshop I ventured into the cold garage to compare an original Mk1 wishbone with the Mk2 copy part, a few photos and observations follow.

picture hosting

First impression of the top surface is of a clean pressing, new ball joint & rubbers and a good coat of paint. Interestingly all the welds have a blue line which I assume is a QC check either at source or by the UK supplier. Metal is the same thickness.



Underneath is a similar story however the lower plate is extended to the large central hole. This made me wonder, was it for the ABS bracket or had I got the wrong part. Autolinks website has a helpful photo of a Mk1,Mk2 & Mk2.5 wishbone and the Mk2.5 has the extended plate. I check my order and it was correct, I compared the shape and dimension with a Mk1 component and it was the same and finally I looked at a major parts supplier's website to find that their Mk1 part also had the extended plate.



Welds look ok.



Old and new comparison.

Dave

[Mazda Mender]

M-m

[GlennyGills]

Boldly going where no mender has gone before

[Bluebell18]

Wrong adjective, cautiously would be more appropriate.
Dave

[Bluebell18]

Progress is slow, thanks to the weather but the uprights are now painted and the hub/bearings sorted however the search for newish brake shields has proved pointless in this country. I will probably be able to reclaim the exiting units but this will take time and I am trying to minimise the down time by having everything ready to bolt back on.

Having sourced the correct size 29mm socket I note from the manual that to preload the bearings on assembly a torque of 123 - 159 ft/lbs is required, this is beyond my present torque wrench so the source is on for an affordable one. Would be interested to know why such a range and more importantly what figure I am aiming for?

As I will be removing the lower wishbone I have ordered new camber adjustment bolts, again when I reassemble what/how should I set these up? I appreciate that a full alignment is the answer but to keep the budget within limits I will be doing the rear end next year. Can one have just the front end aligned or does it have to be the whole car?

Dave

[Mazda Mender]

We highly recommend having a full alignment done...the benefits will speak for themselves when you drive the mx after it as been done...fast road is the one to get don't go for the standard alignment..it is a waste of time.
M-m

[Bluebell18]

We live in interesting and confusing times.

Ok, so it has been a while and decorating, gardening and other domestic duties have taken preference but with the recent spell of fine warm weather I thought it was time to start some fettling. I was originally aiming for foe a June MOT but that has all changed with the present situation add to that the cancellation of two caravan holidays and a trip to Croatia my social calendar suddenly has a lot of empty time & space, which Boris says I must spend at home.

I thought that rather than dive into the suspension I would fix one or two annoying little jobs first, starting with the after market central locking which packed up last year. Door cards off, plastic membrane peeled back and the first job is to dry out the door cards which are damp. The locking is a wiring issue, the quality of the cable is so poor that it is almost impossible to strip the ends to make a good contact, however with perseverance locking/unlocking was restored. Thought that whilst all was accessible I would grease the electric window cables etc which had been getting a little slower than usual, and of course something snapped.

Looked at new regulator, expensive, looked at s/hand and could not find RHS then discovered MX5 parts were selling a repair kit two cables + drum for £30 and genuine Mazda parts as well. Whilst waiting for this to arrive I continued to process the new wishbones, waxoiled the interior cavities and a couple of good coats of satin black on the outside. I have also sourced new steering rack boots as I noticed a small split in one which I will replace when I have the track rod ends off. So the rebuild kit arrived and I spent a day removing the window regulator, cleaning out the door and a good coat of waxoil, and tidying up the odd rust patch on the parts. I anticipated that rewinding the drum may be problematic but in the end it was a bit fiddly, very greasy but totally successful and another half day saw it all back together and working fine. It is definitely an improvement as the window goes up and down much faster and more smoothly.

So that just leaves the other little job that I set out to do and of course the weather has changed!

Sorry no pictures but I will document the main even for anyone that may be interested.

Dave

[blackyb]

Its crap out there. I work part time in a garage but been laid off.

Unfortunately, I had already serviced up the MX and my motorbike as well as the wifes fiesta so all I have is the garden, greenhouse and two generators that aren't generating to fill my enforced stay at home.

Spend most of my time reading build threads from start to finish to help fill my days in.

So keep the updates coming

[Bluebell18]

Hi Blackyb,
Sorry to hear about your present circumstances regarding work, hopefully you can find something to do on your 5 to pass some of the time. My car lives outside so working on it requires some decent weather which at the moment is in short supply, to help keep my aches & pains under control.

I am ready to start and want to drop the under tray which has developed a droop at the rear end and is catching on speed bumps, I am thinking that I may be able to reinforce it with some strip aluminium but not sure until I get it off. Don't anticipate any problems removing it as I replaced all the bolts with new stainless a few years ago.

Whilst it is off I will do the steering rack boots, change the oil and filter and clean the underside of the engine, as well as the suspension. The car is not going anywhere now so down time is not important now.

Let's hope that things improve soon and we can get out and enjoy our cars.

Dave