These photos would've have been so much more useful had I marked the position with a piece of chalk and labeled which arm I was photographing! But, not the washer is cammed; this is how you adjust the camber and/or caster on a Miata.
Once you’ve marked the washer locations, you can loosen the nut and remove the long bolt holding the upper control arm to the frame. Then, do the same for the two bottom control-arm bolts. This can be harder than it seems when working in a tight space, and the bolts sometimes need a little coaxing with liberal use of lube. It may help to use a hammer and another smaller bolt to drive the control-arm bolts out. When we got the bolts out, we made sure to clean them up with some light sandpaper and coated them with white lithium grease before reinstalling. However, we still have a long way to go yet.
Rear Control Arm Removal
Removing the rear control arms is very similar to the front. We started by disconnecting the sway bar end links from the control arm. Next, we removed the two bolts securing the brake caliper to its bracket and set it on a bucket off to the side as well as the brake rotor revealing the axle hub. On the rear, we went ahead and removed the coilover and got it out of the way so the suspension could move freely. Pulling the rear spindle is slightly different than the front — instead of ball joints, there are upper and lower bolts that need to be removed that go through the control arms.
We kept the spindle and hub attached to the axle. You can pull all of this as one piece. It helped to lift the axle a bit, so it was almost in a straight line. Then, I grabbed the hub and gave it a good yank to pull the shaft out of the differential. Have some rags handy and leave the axle hanging in the spindle and set them off to the side to be reinstalled later.
Now you can remove the four bolts — two uppers and two lowers — holding the control arms to the frame. As with the front, you should mark your alignment washers before pulling them. Once you’ve got the bolts out, the control arms are free, and it’s time for the fun to begin!
Control Arm Bushing Removal/Install
We took the control arms over to the vise to figure out the best way to remove the bushings without the use of a press. After several failed attempts at an easy removal, we finally hit paydirt. We devised a plan to cut off the mushroom lip on one side of each bushing. Then, we ran a long ⅜-inch threaded-rod through both openings with a thick washer and nut on one end and a small socket, small washer, and nut on the other. We used lots of heat to loosen the rubber along with some spray lubricant.
Using an impact to “tighten” the bolt on one end and a double nut on the other, we made quick work of pulling the bushings free from each side.