Hi
Just purchased Mk1 1996 reg. and had a service.
Mechanic identified possibility of some missing rear suspension brace bars. I have 4 unused bolt holes around the differential.
Are these supposed to be there or only on some models?
Tried to attached photos but couldn’t (so need help there too!)
Any advise on this would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
If it is a UK 1.6 90hp model, Mazda left a lot of the braces off, I guess to save weight.
The rear bar is here
http://www.autolinkmx5.com/brace-bar-rear-subframe-mx-5-mk1-n007-28-845a-3338-p.asp
Just accept this if you are going to fit the bar do not use stainless steel nuts and bolts. Use at the least carbon steel grade 8.8. Again Autolink should have them just phone and they will advise. Do not buy crap fasteners online that says spec A2 or A4.
I have a UK spec 1997 1.6 car with no bracing.
As far as I can tell there is one bar that can be fitted at the back - captive nuts present.
Lots of cars with the front upper suspension brace but few fitted with the lower rear suspension brace. Quite a number of MK1/Eunos cars do not have the facility to bolt on.
Unless you are intending to do track work braces unlikely to make any real difference on the car.
Jack has asked me to post these pictures of his car.
he has put tissue paper in the holes in the rear wishbones to make them more obvious.
Looking at the diff from the back of the car
From underneath the car looking up
An underneath side view
An other Mk1 with the braces fitted both across the car and from back to front of the rear wishbones
I think the picture with the braces on may well be a 1.8 as the 1.8 brace is a U shape.
http://www.autolinkmx5.com/brace-bar-rear-chassis-mx-5-mk1-18-na75-56-3ay-3339-p.asp
The brace on my late UK mk1 1.8 has six bolts.
The four shown above and a further two closer to the front of the vehicle.
The OP hasn’t stated if the car is a 1996 1.6 or a 1996, 1.8, and if the car is UK spec. If the former, nothing to worry about, they are all like this. If the latter (1.8), then obviously somebody has removed the brace, which is a U shaped assembly (3 parts, welded). Amongst the reasons to remove this is bodging; fitment of a new exhaust usually requires removal of the brace (though you can maneuver a system around the brace), and in some cases, the hard points located on the floorpan just come away with rust. Not straightforward to repair.
Looks like a 1.6 diff, and the amount of rusting around the brace hard points on the subframe suggests braces have never been fitted to this car.
The OP can add a brace off a 92-93 1.6 with no issue. Not worth adding the full 1.8 brace, as that was mostly as a result of, as Bob Hall stated, making the 1.8 -18% better than the 1.6 (minus, because most of the so-called improvements were necessary to address the increase in kerb weight, itself as a result if a bigger engine being fitted, due to an increase in weight due to door cross beams and cabin cockpit brace (another brace that the 90hp car is missing); the cabin brace was needed due to US Federal regs (but not needed for anywhere else)).