So about a month ago , I came home from work with my 88 GTX and started to back into my driveway .All of sudden the car felt as if the brakes were on , it took more power to get the car to move , and it dog tracked in reverse down the driveway . Upon inspection I found the rear lateral link had busted in two , the rear wheel was now wandering right into the inner wheel well. This is what I found ...
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GTX rear lateral link fix
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OK crap , another repair needed but should be pretty straightforward (I think). Next day come up with the OE part number , go see my local Mazda Parts guy (knows me well thanks to my fleet of Mazdas). No part available in North America but can order one from Japan. I order one , figure its going to be a while so better put insurance on my WRX. About 4 weeks later I am told no stock in Japan either , part is NLA. Hmm , now what.....Car is insured , runs and drives great (until this) and I put feelers out for a replacement. Helpful CP members gave me links to modifying something to work , but I decided to go another way. I sourced some Aurora heim joints ,grade 8 readi-rod and lock nuts and built a replacement. Not only should it be tougher than the original but it only cost me about $50 in materials. (Mazda wanted about $150 for the OE piece ).
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The big pain in the *** was trying to get the through bolt out that connects both lateral links to the wheel hub assembly. The inner one by the diff was free and loose , but the one at the wheel end was completely seized in the hub. I had some advice from fellow CP member that went through this too ; I was hoping I was not going to have to remove the whole wheel end .
Wishful thinking didn't help me .... so here we go !
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A lot of WD40 , heat , cutting wheels , swearing , hammering later , I got the remnants of the rusted through bolt out. I decided to got to two separate bolts rather than the one through bolt to make this simpler for the install. I used a grade 8 5/8 NF for the rear / heim joint end and used a metric suspension bolt that fit nice (from an RX-7)for the forward replacement. Checked everything else out and begin re-assembly with new part. This is how it turned out....
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job well done! your missing one of the attachments in post 4. could you fix that. id like to see whats missing---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---
1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi
I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it
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What size tires and which model, they look good. How is the body rust wise. it looks nice but that rear subframe is rough. Keep up the good work.Ian Boyd- Bellingham, WA (click vehicle to view)
1988 BF GTX
1990 x2 BG AWD Protege
1991 Escort GT- SOLD
1975 911 S Widebody 3.6 conversion
2005 Corolla
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The tires are BFG G-Force all seasons 195/60-14's. I am quite impressed with the grip considering , and of course really good in the rain (the Wet Coast). Car is fairly good for rust as good as GTX's go in the Pacific Northwest I guess. Has usual rust in rear 1/4's but the rest of the car is good. It just turned over 200,00 km (about 125,000 miles).
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@323gtxawd you are my hero! I have seized up rear lateral links that bend whenever I try to adjust the alignment. So I thought I could buy replacements but ain't so easy. This seems to be a good alternative but not sure how good it will hold up long-term. Would you happen to have a materials list handy from where you sourced them?
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Parts for link
Originally posted by estebond008 View Post@323gtxawd you are my hero! I have seized up rear lateral links that bend whenever I try to adjust the alignment. So I thought I could buy replacements but ain't so easy. This seems to be a good alternative but not sure how good it will hold up long-term. Would you happen to have a materials list handy from where you sourced them?
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Originally posted by crazycanadian View PostNice little fix bud... where abouts on the west coast are you from?
Did you look into BG lateral links? I run BG trailing arms on my gtx
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