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And because I have an NB, instead of $30 replacement MOOG ball joints or whatever, I have to replace the whole FUCA. Goddammit.
Do not despair, it IS possible to replace the NB upper ball joints with the MOOG units - I did it. It's a bit scary to press out the old ones, but it is possible!
I replaced both sides more than a year ago and it's been fine. Several AX's and HPDEs, no problems.
Huh. Well, there shouldn't have been any oil in the intake side, they were never leaking AFAIK. I thought that was because I'm lame and still on the stock 99-00 coils?
You very well might be right. I don't know for sure, that's why I wonder.
I like the V8 roadster upper control arm option IF you are running poly bushings. I guess it all depends on how long you intend to own the car. Has anyone replaced two sets of ball joints in the ownership of a single street Miata?
G, just to clear something up: Those front Billet arms are $475. That price isn't per arm. That's for a pair. I wouldn't have bought them at the $950 price point. I paid less than $950 for front AND rear billet uppers.
Do not despair, it IS possible to replace the NB upper ball joints with the MOOG units - I did it. It's a bit scary to press out the old ones, but it is possible!
I replaced both sides more than a year ago and it's been fine. Several AX's and HPDEs, no problems.
Orly? Pics somewhere? I assume you just used the NA ones? I was under the impression the taper was different so I hadn't perused this.
Originally Posted by 18psi
You very well might be right. I don't know for sure, that's why I wonder.
Well now that Aidan has raised the bar, maybe we should schedule some dyno time? I'd really like to get the firmware upgraded and boost control working correctly with the Turbosmart dual port. We'll see if I can also make 300hp on a 3lb spring
Originally Posted by MiataMan00
ORRRRR
Get used control arms for dirt cheap and run them till they wear out.
But if you don't want to deal with it, id just get OEM ones.
I considered this, but not sure I can bring myself to do it. I hate replacing used parts with more used parts when new parts still exist. Its more of a "fix it right the first time" kind of deal. My world is one where "there is always time to do it right the second time for double the cost."
Originally Posted by Chiburbian
I like the V8 roadster upper control arm option IF you are running poly bushings. I guess it all depends on how long you intend to own the car. Has anyone replaced two sets of ball joints in the ownership of a single street Miata?
I will be running poly. I have a complete set of poly + Sadfap bronze retrofits waiting to be installed. If I pull the suspension apart again, this will probably actually happen. I've only been sitting on the poly for what, 6 years now?
Originally Posted by concealer404
G, just to clear something up: Those front Billet arms are $475. That price isn't per arm. That's for a pair. I wouldn't have bought them at the $950 price point. I paid less than $950 for front AND rear billet uppers.
Awww, you shouldn't have said anything. Now I'm not nearly as impressed with Hater.
Well now that Aidan has raised the bar, maybe we should schedule some dyno time? I'd really like to get the firmware upgraded and boost control working correctly with the Turbosmart dual port. We'll see if I can also make 300hp on a 3lb spring
Well now that Aidan has raised the bar, maybe we should schedule some dyno time? I'd really like to get the firmware upgraded and boost control working correctly with the Turbosmart dual port. We'll see if I can also make 300hp on a 3lb spring
These are the only pics that I could find;
Grungy NB vs clean NA (MOOG)
The NA is a "hair" shorter than the NB, so I had to shave a bit off the mount point on the UCA in order to the same thread engagement as the NB ball joint.
Ok, so I did some things and completely forgot to post about them.
Rather than tempt fate, I decided to order new NB FUCAs direct from Mazda using my shiny new MMD account. The standard ones were out of stock (of course) so I had to buy the ABS ones. The price difference was like $7 so I'm not going to cry about the $130+ I saved over buying from literally any other vendor online. I also bought a new under-tray No regrets.
So of course the first thing you do when buying new parts is modify them!
Following along on another thread, went to the hardware store and I built things thing:
And I had my bushings removed in a matter of minutes. Does anyone want a set of brand new, never used OEM rubber FUCA bushings?
Flanges still intact! Seriously, you want them let me know otherwise they are going in the trash. I've got way too much **** in my garage already.
The next step was to install Energy Suspension FUCA bushings that I've been sitting on since I bought the complete vehicle kit back in April of 2014:
Also seen here is the most excellent poly bushing bronze retrofit kit by those hansom devils over at SADFab. You can learn more about this in the Big *** bushing info thread
As you can see, it all went together flawlessly. Note that the retrofit includes zerk fittings for ease of maintenance.
And because Amsoil Dominator is appropriate for everything, I've chosen to use it on my suspension bushings as well.
^^ hi_im_sean and I have been chatting and taking measurements of things since yesterday evening, and we are both pretty much convinced the bushing thing is some sort of production variance/tolerance stacking on Mazda's part. You can get away with a lot of mismatch with a rubber bushing, but even less so with poly. Or delrin. I ain't even mad, its not like they can possibly take all variances into consideration when they build these things.
I'm going to try to buy some fender washers to use as shims today and try to figure out how much slack I need to take up in the FUCA. Not looking forward to trying to do this on the drill press, but the work vice should help. After that its find a lathe and see if I can (or more accurately, have someone else) remove the appropriate amount of material from the inner sleeve.
Although... I could just leave the washer shim in place and use that to adjust caster?
07-11-2017, 09:11 PM
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I'd really like to get the firmware upgraded and boost control working correctly with the Turbosmart dual port. We'll see if I can also make 300hp on a 3lb spring 
No regrets.
