Overview
This post will tell you how to build heavy duty motor mounts for your Eclipse, Laser or Talon (or nearly any other front wheel drive car).
Why would you want to do that?
Better throttle response (no "floppy engine" from ON to OFF throttle).
Less strain on the transmission mounts (caused by fatigued stock mounts banging into the stops under hard acceleration)
Save money by doing it yourself!
Why NOT do this?
More vibration / noise under 1500 RPM
Lazy / no free time / too much money in your wallet :)
The big trick is finding the urethane resin. I know of two suppliers.
Grainger's Industrial supply carries a line of "Flexane" (by Devcon)
castable urethanes, although they tend to be rather expensive
($50/pint).
The better way is to go through McMaster-Carr at:
http://www.mcmaster-carr.com
McMaster-Carr is a great source for all sorts of odd hardware. Plus -
they'll sell/ship over the phone to anyone with a credit card!
They carry a generic "flexane equivalent" in two hardnesses:
80 Shore A Durometer - 1lb resin/hardener - p/n 8644K11 ~$26
94 Shore A Durometer - 1lb resin/hardener - p/n 8644K18 ~$26
I've only used the 80 Shore hardness compound. One pound is more than enough to fill all three mounts plus the torque strap!
So far I've 'treated' my front mount and the rear engine to frame mount.
Remove the offending mount from the car, being careful to support the
engine with something SOLID! Note that over time most hydraulic jacks
will seep a bit, and will possibly lower the engine too much, damaging
the remaining mounts. I use an old scissors jack for things like this.
Use duct-tape or go to Lowe's and get some metal Duct tape (works much better!!) to seal off one side of the mount. Place the mount on the
bench with the open areas facing up. Mix an appropriate amout of resin
according to the instructions. Wait for it to start to thicken (about
10 minutes) and pour it into the gaps in the mount.
Wait 12-24 hrs and reinstall. The resin has a working time of ~15
minutes, is basically set up after 3 hrs, and achieves full strength
after 2 days.
Any questions - please ask! Using this technique you can do the whole
car for about $26 plus time.
I'm going to try to make my own sway bar and control arm bushings, using plaster of paris as a mold. Anyone else game to try? You'd probably want to use the 94 durometer compound.
Some people use these urethane resins to re-create door moldings and
various other rubber parts for classic/antique cars...
- -Dave
'90 Laser RS
Frequently Asked Questions
Q) Do I remove the rubber from the stock mounts before pouring in the resin?
No. Just pour the resin into the holes in the stock mounts.
Q) How do I mix it?
The instructions say to mix the 80 durometer componds by weight. However, I don't have a scale so I mixed by volume. I used two parts resin and one part hardner with good results.
Q) Are there any other resins etc which would work?
I'm told that Eastwood sells a rubber resin used for making reproduciton car parts:
The Eastwood stuff is a rubber casting material...the application they show is
casting replacment parts like pedals...probably about the same stiffness...
More than that - I cannot say.
