engine moving/ body damage

[saltshaker]

I don" want to use solid motor mounts, so how do you secure the engine from torquring up? My side pipes on the drivers side has left a circular mark in the cut out ! Any pictures would help.......
Jon

[FWB]

Originally Posted by saltshaker

I don" want to use solid motor mounts, so how do you secure the engine from torquring up? My side pipes on the drivers side has left a circular mark in the cut out ! Any pictures would help.......
Jon

jon,

i have two ideas, which are used on my car.
1st is buy motor plates and mounts from crites restorations, they make a OEM one and a heavy duty non-factory one, i used the heavy duty.

2nd put a little adjustable heim joint attached to the drivers cylinder head that goes down to the frame to keep the motor from torquing alot, this will also be an insurance policy for your hood in case of the mount letting go

[CobraEd]

or wrap strong chain around the left mount.


.

[tcrist]

If you have stock rubber mounts you could change to poly mounts. That might help. Also, your side pipe cutouts might just be too close to your side-pipes.

[ERA 778]

ERA has a method they suggest on their site (Might just be accessable to owners) where you drill a hole through the motor mount and put a nice, heavy bolt through and then add a locknut that you crank down to about 0.010 inch gap.

I did that to mine, but since I'm still building, I can't say if it actually works, but it should.

[mickmate]

Yes the bolt through the mount helps but most people undersize the side pipe cut outs. They can be opened up without hurting the paint if you're careful and use sharp abrasives that don't burn through the glass.

[undy]

Most of the new "aftermarket" motor mounts (not the poly performance type) are made in China. The rubber is softer, not as strong and not up to snuff compared to the mounts of yester-year. You add some weight, a good bit of power and a bunch of header heat and you have a recipe for a sagging or torn motor mount. The thru-bolt trick will work until the mount starts sagging and deforming. After that the thru-bolts are pretty much useless. My solution was to fabricate some solid mounts from a set of Chinese specials. Hell, this car is all about NHV anyway... An added bonus of solid mounts is you can rigid mount your sidepipes too.

Here's some pics I posted over on Lone Star's foum;



Here's a new mount torn in half with about 500 miles on it.



Here's where I trimmed the rubber around the perimeter to enable welding the 1/8" x 1 1/4" strap steel around it.



Here's the finished mount. All totalled, I've got about 2 hours and 50 bucks in the new solid mounts.

[saltshaker]

Dave, the toqure bar you made....that didn't work?
Jon

[undy]

Originally Posted by saltshaker

Dave, the toqure bar you made....that didn't work?
Jon

Nope, it kept the mount together on the Driver's side but the passenger's side still tore in half. These mounts they sell today are total POSs. They sagged and shifted about 3/8" in a short time. The rubber is really soft and has no heat resistance either. Unfortunately nobody make a poly mount for my application. I should have went to solid mounts a long time ago.

Dave

[CJ428CJ]

Here are the instructions that ERA provides: http://erareplicas.com/427man/engine/mountmod/index.htm

I did it on my car and it made a world of difference.

Chris

[ratsnst1]

the bottom line when that is happening, and your driver side is hitting the body is nothing but a build mistake, getting that out there, you shoud have at least a half inch or more clearence, alot of csx cars have this problem, when the paint starts chipping then really looks like a bad build, bottom line befor paint or when headers are built that needs to be addressed, solid moter mounts, is about the only way with out looking to cheessy.that is one of the fisrt things I look at when checking a car out, I would hate to see the paint chip or even peel the paint from the heat .

[mickmate]

I use a totally different motor mount style than the one pictured on the FE's. It has an L profile in the rubber that resists forces in two planes.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by CJ428CJ

Here are the instructions that ERA provides: http://erareplicas.com/427man/engine/mountmod/index.htm
I did it on my car and it made a world of difference.
Chris

In addition to this modification link Chris sent above, I added another step. I fabbed up a 1/4" thick plate of steel about 2"x2" (maybe a tad larger) and used it in place of a round hardended washer on the back side of the mount where the nut goes on the bolt threads. It applies a broader clamping force to the backside of the motor mount and allows you to tighten down on the mount without distorting the rubber as much. Has a MUCH more solid feel to the motor and I don't get the sidepipes hitting the body any more like I use to from torque of the FE. Works great.

[Wbulk]

Have you considered making your own mounts? It would seem that a mount with reduced movement would be the best of both worlds. A piece of .120 wall tubing with rubber bushings about 1/4" thick with tabs welded to it works pretty good. You can put two other tabs on an engine plate or the frame and then put a through bolt through the tabs on each side of the tube. I prefer to put the tubing with tabs welded to the frame and the other tabs welded on an engine plate. Hope this makes sense.

[rob byrum]

I made a mount like this for my 32 with 427.
Put mount face up on drill press. Drill out
original studd all the way through. Use transfer
punch to find center of stud. Start small. Replace
original stud with 8 grade bolt. Engine will still sit on rubber,
but won't break. Hope this helps. Rob
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[saltshaker]

I like the idea of drilling the bolt out of the mount and replacing it with a fender washer and a bolt ...is the bolt secured to the plate or the rubber mount? An adjustable heim joint would also be a great choice.
Jon

[tcrist]

Guys years ago used to use a limiting cable. That way in normal driving it would not vibrate as much.

[John Martin]

You can try mounting the engine a bit on an angle opposite of the tork

[tcrist]

Originally Posted by undy

Nope, it kept the mount together on the Driver's side but the passenger's side still tore in half. These mounts they sell today are total POSs. They sagged and shifted about 3/8" in a short time. The rubber is really soft and has no heat resistance either. Unfortunately nobody make a poly mount for my application. I should have went to solid mounts a long time ago.

Dave

Undy,

What would cause the passenger side to fail? I have had drivers side fail a few times (in other cars) but the passenger side seems real odd.

[undy]

Originally Posted by tcrist

Undy,

What would cause the passenger side to fail? I have had drivers side fail a few times (in other cars) but the passenger side seems real odd.

I had a heim joint ended torque rod going from the driver's head to the frame. I think the Chinese mounts sagged and shifted putting increased shear loads on the POS soft rubber mount.

Funny thing... the car actually feels smoother with steel mounts. I'm just sorry I didn't do the swap earlier.