Pillow Balls !!

[JonFD]

Obviously make sure you remove the circlip first.
Instead on bolts just use stud bar with nuts, any size you want then.
I had to soak mine in WD for a week then they cam out no problem with the nut and bolt method. The WD just breaks down the rust.
I had more difficulty getting them back in I couldn't get them lined up square again, had to use a press for that

So. I literally had the reverse of this - took the arm to the press over the road, and the midle ball bit of the bearing pushed through leaving the sleave - which is the same diameter as the lip so no chance of finding a draught/socket (and yes I used the biggest socket that would fit inside the lip a 24mm was perfect)

Hacksawed the sleave and then had to hammer the shite out of it to get it out.


Then the new pillow ball literally FELL into the arm, like no force at all.

Why why why lol It fought me every step of the way out, then soooo easy in lol.. Oh well at least it's done. I made a video of it going in as it was such a joke, but can't seem to up load it..




Also can anyone identify what type of pillow ball came out? It's nothing like the OEM Mazda and not like the J-auto ones either. It's a massive ball and race/sleave with spacers either side..

See how chewed up the sleave is from hammering lol..

 

[JonFD]

Whoever worked on this car before me needs to sort their life out - could well have been done in Japan, but the thing that came out is not a pillow ball by any means, I spoke to Essexrotary to get a second opinion on this too.

Some mug either filed the inside of the arm, or more likely due to how stuck in there it was, pressed a slightly over sized spherical bearing in there, ruining the arm. Double pisstake as the other bushes are poly and good nick.

The new pillow dosen;t hold in the link, only thing holding it is the snap ring...... Just gets more fun.

 

[rotors7]

Whoever worked on this car before me needs to sort their life out - could well have been done in Japan, but the thing that came out is not a pillow ball by any means, I spoke to Essexrotary to get a second opinion on this too.

Some mug either filed the inside of the arm, or more likely due to how stuck in there it was, pressed a slightly over sized spherical bearing in there, ruining the arm. Double pisstake as the other bushes are poly and good nick.

The new pillow dosen;t hold in the link, only thing holding it is the snap ring...... Just gets more fun.

I thought something was a bit odd, I cut one of the oem pillowballs open a while ago and yours didn't look like it at all.
The dimensions of the bearings are a right pain because there's virtually nothing off the shelf that'll fit.
I would hazard a guess that the bearing you had in there was a COM 14T, a fraction too big for the hole.
So I suppose your arm is buggered now ?

 

[JonFD]

@rotors7 Yeh tbats basically it regarding the arm,

It could well have been one of them, I actually found that website earlier searching spherical bearings, and to add the sleave I removed had a ptfe type liner aswell, so deffo points to one of those style bearings.


I suppose I could try and source one of those and hope it fits tight, but I don't like bodges, and that would deffo feel like one.


I've just been asking myself why you would bother to look up and then monster in a bearing like that instead of sourcing the correct part? cost its so minor and the effort way outweighs the £30 odd ? plus somone polyed the rest Oh well....

 

[JonFD]

Should add I just looked at the price of that COM 14T and its £8 lol, the ones that are abit wider are around the £50 mark on that site.

 

[JoeLanger]

I thought something was a bit odd, I cut one of the oem pillowballs open a while ago and yours didn't look like it at all.
The dimensions of the bearings are a right pain because there's virtually nothing off the shelf that'll fit.
I would hazard a guess that the bearing you had in there was a COM 14T, a fraction too big for the hole.
So I suppose your arm is buggered now ?

The bearing wizard there

 

[rotors7]

Should add I just looked at the price of that COM 14T and its £8 lol, the ones that are abit wider are around the £50 mark on that site.

The bearing wizard there

Ahem I have to admit to doing a great deal of research on the sodding things and carefully dissecting a poor pillow ball

 

[JonFD]

Ahem I have to admit to doing a great deal of research on the sodding things and carefully dissecting a poor pillow ball

I'll take your word on the sizes then lol

Can I ask why you did such research? I did think about finding other options to pillow balls, then realised I was being silly and mazda would know best etc.

How would that COM bearing compare to a pillow ball, to me it looked thinner around the actual bearing bit?

 

[rotors7]

The oem bearings have an angled ptfe interior it looks quite odd but despite their chunky size they still wear out.
It's a shame as the com bearings are widely used and should be up to the job, they're widely used in motorsport. At the price they could be changed for next to no expense.

I did it out of curiosity, I did get a bearing but they're really expensive and it's just not a feasible option.
I've also stripped a front lower arm and have had several goes at the replacement of the ball joint, both ongoing projects

 

[JonFD]

The oem bearings have an angled ptfe interior it looks quite odd but despite their chunky size they still wear out.
It's a shame as the com bearings are widely used and should be up to the job, they're widely used in motorsport. At the price they could be changed for next to no expense.

I did it out of curiosity, I did get a bearing but they're really expensive and it's just not a feasible option.
I've also stripped a front lower arm and have had several goes at the replacement of the ball joint, both ongoing projects

Ahhh fair enough, so the com isn't an option then I mean if I had one in and its used in other applications? I'm getting an arm anyway but out of curiosity?

And front lower ball joints is another I've been looking at - have you had any luck? Theres a company that sell OEM arm with the ball joint recess milled down so they can be changed, but they cost about $500 each or something...

 

[rotors7]

Ahhh fair enough, so the com isn't an option then I mean if I had one in and its used in other applications? I'm getting an arm anyway but out of curiosity?

And front lower ball joints is another I've been looking at - have you had any luck? Theres a company that sell OEM arm with the ball joint recess milled down so they can be changed, but they cost about $500 each or something...

I hadn't thought of it but a fraction amount taken out of the ball joint recess could be an option for a diy job.
I didn't know there was a company already doing that with the lower arm, I've been matching ball joints up with the recess, I've gotten quite close too !

 

[JonFD]

I hadn't thought of it but a fraction amount taken out of the ball joint recess could be an option for a diy job.
I didn't know there was a company already doing that with the lower arm, I've been matching ball joints up with the recess, I've gotten quite close too !

Hmmm, So COM 14T? at £8 I'll get one and give it a bash and report back with pics and any wanted info.

I saw the company on a old Rx7club thread, can't remember the name, just the price lol.

Thats interesting, how did you manage to get the original ball joint out?

 

[rotors7]

Hmmm, So COM 14T? at £8 I'll get one and give it a bash and report back with pics and any wanted info.

I saw the company on a old Rx7club thread, can't remember the name, just the price lol.

Thats interesting, how did you manage to get the original ball joint out?

Carefully filing around the base, it all drops out nicely

 

[JonFD]

Carefully filing around the base, it all drops out nicely

Fair enough, sound like what that company to do them then, I'll do some searching but I doubt I'd find the specs of the ball joints they use, hopefully you'll find one..




Back to the point, I got a new arm courtesey of @Jit, got the pillow ball in all good, and got the poly bushes out of the old arm.

The bush the strut joins to is easy, but how the hell do you get the inner stock bushes out of the arm? - (the ones that go to the body) They go in from the outside so a press worn't work, short of burning and cutting I'm lost...


The arm is on the car and 100% better than before, just no inner poly. TBH they were alot stiffer when compared with both links side by side, but after a good drive I can't actually feel a difference?

Could jsut be making life harder for no reaason persuing the other polys? All thoughts and imput welcome.