well i bought my rx7 over labor day weekend and i had two mechanics look at it and both said that the car was fine besides the leaky radiator and the bad struts. so i got a fluidyne and i got new suspension, but while i was installing the suspension i noticed that there is a huge *** crack where the lower control arm connects to the subframe....doh. i guess carfax cant tell you that a guy can just use jb weld to fix the frame can it? well anyways i got a new subframe i am picking it up today, but i dont want mazda to install it because they are stupid. there is another story about why i hate mazda techs. anyways my question is how hard is it going to be for me to do it. i have air tools and a couple of friends that are willing to help me. the only thing i dont have is a lift. i got a bunch of jack stands. i was wondering if anybody has done this before. i dont know really what to expect except that is going to take some time and i will owe my budies some food. any advice would be greatly appreciated.



thanks alot



John

 

Well I never put one on before... but I took one off. Its not that hard. Just watch out for the brake lines that are attached to the subframe... It's too bad you already bought one... I have a newer Japanese subframe comming in the next couple of weeks that I'm looking to sell.... it has added "bars" that run forward off the suframe.



Well good luck... be carefull of that Diff... It's heavy!!

 

yeah i didnt know there was a difference in subframes. if i would have known that i would have bought that one instead. who knows maybe that is the only one mazda sells now and i got it....i can dream cant i. well thanks for the info. i am kinda nervous about doing this. i think i might install my single turbo while i got the car apart. its just i dont have all the aprts for it yet so my car would sit until i can affrod to buy the ecu and stuff.

 

is it the front or rear? the front looks pretty easy (i havent done one since 96!), and the rear looks a little harder but not bad



mike

 

i just picked up the subframe today. it is for the front and after looking at it for a little bit it looks fairly easy. i bet i will have this puppy on in no time. the subframe is alot smaller than i originally thought. actually i brought my work truck down to pick it up, only to find i could have stuck it in my 7's trunk. actually that is where it is now. hahaha. well i will keep you guys updated on how it goes. maybe if i can swipe a digicam i will take pictures and post them for everyone to see.



thanks for all the help thus far,



John

 

oh yeah the front one is pretty easy, you get to align the car when you are done too



mike

 

ahhh front .. I thought back. my fault.. dont know anything about the front. Let us know what happens and if any problems arise.

 

the whole reason i bought a new subframe was because i couldnt get it aligned after i got my new suspension. i was like what the **** is that???? is that jb weld???? oh my god!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS jb weld !!!!!!!!!!!! well needless to say i will by happy when i get my subframe on. thank god i have a daily driver. i want to dig into it right now but i am going to wait until this weekend to fix it. rx7 or sleep????

 

update

i finished



holy **** replacing that subframe was a pain in the ***. i cannot believe how stupid that was. it took like 5 hours to do it and it was not as easy as i had hoped. first i need a engine lift which i thought i could borrow but couldnt and i finally found one at the last second. then all of the freaking bolts and nuts were seized and bent and stripped and whatever else could possible make it not work right. thank god i bought a couple of new ones. i wish i would have bought all new bolts and nuts but damn that **** is frustrating. 3 of my friends and i did it and it sucked. i am so glad i finally got it on though because now i can finish installing my single turbo. stupid *** subframe.

 

haha, well its a job you dont have to do again



mike