Problems with rear trailing arms crop up all the time. I am currently doing battle with mine. I managed to unbolt the nearside one, but the bolt holding the offside one to the chassis didn't want to come undone. Turns out the 'captive nut' was not so captive, and was rotating as I tried to undo the bolt. I tried hammering the 'cage' so it was tight around the nut, but the bolt is so tight it just bent the cage out again. In the end I sawed off the surrounding metal so I could see what's going on better. I managed to get almost all the old cage metal removed and tried holding the square bolt with mole grips. Still no joy, it looked like it was going to take many hours to get the bolt out. So my plan now is to return later with an angle grinder and hack that square nut off the bolt.

For anyone else struggling with this, heres some pictures.
Here's the 'cage' that is meant to stop the square nut from spinning when the bolt is undone
[img]https://i.imgur.com/jyKJAZ8l.jpg[/img]

Here I've removed most of the cage
[img]https://i.imgur.com/IDppSrsl.jpg[/img]

I will update this post when I have the trailing arm removed...
[img]https://i.imgur.com/MJXxu0cl.jpg[/img]

Looks like you are battling some pretty bad rustmonkeys as well mate.

Trailing arms and rearaxle stuff is a nightmare on any car. Keep us posted!

In the end an angle grinder took the nut off cleanly, with plenty of intermittent cooling squirts to prevent the rubber getting damaged. If I have this problem again I'll probably try welding the captive nut in place before trying to undo the bolt!

Many of the bodywork parts are now in the for-sale section, but I did want to share these pics
No springs, so a lump of wood will have to do
[img]https://i.imgur.com/l04qKNfl.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/nSXEt6kl.jpg[/img]
This V6 is beyond repair, but still looks soooo cool
[img]https://i.imgur.com/7VmZOPEl.jpg[/img]
The famous tiny V6 still fills out the available space
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Q7HBkF2l.jpg[/img]
Serena knows all about rusty oil cooler pipes!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/kYUPIn5l.jpg[/img]
Someones had the air box and stuff
[img]https://i.imgur.com/RakxrA0l.jpg[/img]
Both ends (from LXi to ZXi)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/zzzWOx2l.jpg[/img]
This is just one reason why this car is beyond repair
[img]https://i.imgur.com/K5SMYu5l.jpg[/img]
Just about driveable still
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZMPEzkCl.jpg[/img]
In fact, here it is moving! The V6 sounds lovely (that's why I'm keeping it)
https://vimeo.com/844942213?share=copy
Yes, it is driving with block of wood where the springs should be, but it only needs to move about on the drive. In a few years I will update everyone with a finished V6 project...

Anyone got a part code for the trailing arms?

The trailing arm that I fitted to my 1.5 BA came from Autodoc, but the part is widely available
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/bc5b28200

It is not identical to the original Mazda part, but has functioned perfectly well and passed all MOT tests

For reference, the original Mazda part numbers can be seen at partsouq
https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine ... d=53565&q=

The picture at partsouq shows the straight trailing arm as used on 1.5 and 1.8 and also an image of the 'kinked' V6 trailing arm

Common opinion has it that the stright part will go on a V6 but there is a risk of rubbing against the inside of the rear tyres if they are wide tyres. The V6 part has a bend in it to accomodate this. Mazda UK no longer supply the V6 part

I think SerenaJ has a contact who can fabricate new V6 ones, or at least renovate old ones

Hope that helps

I had to replace my trailing arms a few years ago. Try as I might, I could not get the correct parts so ended up with the straight ones for the 4 pot engined ones.

I've hung on to the old ones with the hope I can find an engineering company who might replicate them. I just need to get my finger out and make a few calls.

If I do get anywhere, I'll let you know.