Hi all,
After driving the car today i noticed a knocking noise from the offside front of the car.
Checking it over it appears that the droplink that bolts to the lower wishbone has broken its mounting.
Where is the best place to get a new/second hand wishbone and what bolts/nuts do i need and will i need to get the suspension set up afterwards?
Thanks,
Craig.
Welcome to the forum
http://www.mx5heaven.co.uk/ would be my first port of call.
You are probably as well getting the suspension setup done - the removal/fitting of components can be enough to knock it out (and it is not that expensive anyway).
Andrew does a variety of options, from secondhand to new—
http://www.boundville.co.uk/suspension-parts-nall29curpage-2-29-c.asp
Do i need new bolts and adjuster washers?
I bought a used NSF lower wishbone for a MK1 from Autolink on Saturday. £34 including bushes, bolts and arb droplink. Bit of WD40 and the bolts will be fine I expect.
Finally got the wishbone today, apart from rusty nuts and bolts are any bits going to give me any trouble?
Craig
The lower balljoint may be a little tricky but should be defeated using a large hammer and a well placed blow.
Google mx5 ball joint replacement or variations on that theme.
The rear inner bolt can be a pig because you cannot get enough leverage on the nut unless the car is on a ramp. I ended up taking off the head of the bolt with a powerfile. On my MX5 (1996, 128k miles) two of the bolts sheared, but they all tapped out easily with a drift. Make a note/digital photo of the bolt plate positions before you start, so that you can get them back close to the correct positions.
And finally, what size sockets/spanners do i need?
Tried in vain today to get any of the nuts or bolts out but they are so rusty its hard to see where the bolt ends and the nut starts.
How am i going to get these off?
Will i need to use heat on them or try and cut them off?
The simplest method for the inner (adjustment) bolts is to buy four new ones and get a friendly garage to replace them. Take photos of the bolts beforehand so that the new bolts can be aligned properly. When the car is on a lift it is easy to get a long bar breaker, put it on the head of the bolt and give it a good pull. The bolt will almost certainly snap and then just drift out. (Oddly these bolts do not rust in/seize). Without a lift you cannot get the clearance for a bar breaker. The alternative is to grind off the heads of the bolts, keeping the bushes cool by spraying them with water. I’ve done it - it takes bl**dy hours!
what is the best grinder to use,given the limited space?
I used a B & D powerfile. A fantastic tool for all sorts of jobs. Buy the belts from Screwfix, not B&Q (four times the price). Takes forever, mind!
Due to lack of funds and no decent garages around my way i will have to do this myself.
Would i be able to get a grinder onto these nuts/bolts?