Rear lower Suspension Brace - fitting tips

suburban_ennui · Post by **suburban_ennui** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:04 am

hey there. I bought a bunch of stuff for my 1990 NA when I bought it a month or so back. Everything else has worked out OK (new doorhandle, electric window switch, gearbox gaiter etc.) but this still has me a bit stumped, and Ross' explanation and the photos of the MX5 mart site aren't filling me with confidence. Can anyone offer me some suggestions as to dos-and-don'ts of this operation?

DBM58 · Post by **DBM58** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:14 am

I am in Lynfield, Auckland, if you want to come around and have the brace fitted.

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GEEMCB · Post by **GEEMCB** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:41 pm

Hi,

Am happy to help out too (Glendowie AKL).

You will most likely need to slot one or both of the holes - I used an electric jigsaw & file. While I happened to get lucky the first time I fitted the brace, come next wheel alignment things got tricky & the brace was restricting movement (for camber I'm guessing). Anyway - slotted & all's well.

Aside from that the only trick is not stuffing up alignment when you fit it - it's pretty easy as long as you don't allow the actual adjusting bolts to rotate.

Regards,
Greg

Bob K · Post by **Bob K** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:19 pm

I recently fitted a rear lower suspension brace to my 1989 NA. The brace looks the same as the MX5 Mart one and bolts on using the alignment adjusting bolts.
I marked the position of the adjustment cams by scratching a line from the cam onto the surrounding metal.
Then with the car on the ground, removed both nuts and fitted the brace over the bolts leaving the bolts and cams in place. There was plenty of thread on the bolts to accomodate the thickness of the brace.
Before fitting, check the hole spacing. In my case I had the brace tweaked (bent slightly) at a muffler shop and slotted the holes the last mm.
I had had a wheel alignment done a month or two before fitting the brace so I was happy to adjust the brace rather than alter the alignment to get it to fit.
Fitting a brace to the two swivel/adjustment points is a compromise I think.

Fletch · Post by **Fletch** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:36 pm

While I'm sure that both elongating the hole, or bending the brace, will indeed accomodate a slight miss-fit... I'd guess, as a first try, you could just jack up the car, and flex everything a bit... if the bolts need to be closer together, jack the diff so the wheels hang down... if they need to spread a little, jack under one wheel-arm so the suspension pulls out.

If there wasnt any flex in the system, it wouldnt need bracing

Mine fitted perfectly, so I didnt need any adjustment.

Fletch.