gonzalaga1
Probationary Member
- 22
- 0
- Jan 26, 2008
-
Atlanta,
Georgia
Well I recently purchased my '91 GSX with the only "known" problem being a leaking front axle shaft seal. While taking care of that I notice that the rear lower engine/trans bolt is missing, so of course I immediately check the front mount, and it is of course, sheared clean off. Dammit.
Step 1: Panic for about 90 seconds while lying on your back under your car.
Step 2: Mutter expletives to yourself cursing the previous owner.
Step 3: Get on dsmtuners and search every combination of "engine, ear, broken, transmission, block" you can think of
Step 4: Find highly informative and ingenious post by Slow Old Poop and rejoice!
The following is my own adaptation of the technique, targeted towards the daily driver DSM owner who may have a welder, but probably not the facilities to drill and tap a chromemoly steel rod.
The basic idea is to forget the part of the seemingly fragile cast iron block, and instead weld a new mount onto the front engine mount. The mount is pretty thick and the bolts that secure it are hardened and have lock washers. Anything welded correctly to this should be *at least* as strong as that little cast iron ear.
Pic 1: picture of the broken piece (trash)
Pic 2: the broken block (clean up with a high speed grinder/sander, to make sure there are no clearance issues)
Pic 3: 7/16" threaded coupler for standard threaded rod (found at ACE, Lowes, etc.)
Pic 4: threaded coupler welded to a grade 8 7/16" nut - I used all 7/16" hardware for this, and actually had to bore out the mount hole in the transmission to accomodate it. You can stay metric and avoid boring out the transmission hole, but you'll probably have to order all of your hardware online, or have some damn good hardware stores in your area
Pic 5: Coupler placed in between engine mount and transmission bellhousing. I had to grind the mount-side of the coupler at an angle to get a better fit - I marked it in red to show where to grind.
Pic 6: Final welded piece before painting. I cut a small steel triangle out of some scrap to support the nut/coupler - if it ends up breaking, I'll just go back and add a few more supports.
Pic 7: Final, painted and in place, and not a craftsman advertisement.
I still have to re-assemble my driver's side wheel assy., so I can't report on whether or not it made it around the block yet. I'll post a followup as soon as I get the car on the road!
I welcome any critique, suggestions, etc.
Dan
Step 1: Panic for about 90 seconds while lying on your back under your car.
Step 2: Mutter expletives to yourself cursing the previous owner.
Step 3: Get on dsmtuners and search every combination of "engine, ear, broken, transmission, block" you can think of
Step 4: Find highly informative and ingenious post by Slow Old Poop and rejoice!
The following is my own adaptation of the technique, targeted towards the daily driver DSM owner who may have a welder, but probably not the facilities to drill and tap a chromemoly steel rod.
The basic idea is to forget the part of the seemingly fragile cast iron block, and instead weld a new mount onto the front engine mount. The mount is pretty thick and the bolts that secure it are hardened and have lock washers. Anything welded correctly to this should be *at least* as strong as that little cast iron ear.
Pic 1: picture of the broken piece (trash)
Pic 2: the broken block (clean up with a high speed grinder/sander, to make sure there are no clearance issues)
Pic 3: 7/16" threaded coupler for standard threaded rod (found at ACE, Lowes, etc.)
Pic 4: threaded coupler welded to a grade 8 7/16" nut - I used all 7/16" hardware for this, and actually had to bore out the mount hole in the transmission to accomodate it. You can stay metric and avoid boring out the transmission hole, but you'll probably have to order all of your hardware online, or have some damn good hardware stores in your area
Pic 5: Coupler placed in between engine mount and transmission bellhousing. I had to grind the mount-side of the coupler at an angle to get a better fit - I marked it in red to show where to grind.
Pic 6: Final welded piece before painting. I cut a small steel triangle out of some scrap to support the nut/coupler - if it ends up breaking, I'll just go back and add a few more supports.
Pic 7: Final, painted and in place, and not a craftsman advertisement.
I still have to re-assemble my driver's side wheel assy., so I can't report on whether or not it made it around the block yet. I'll post a followup as soon as I get the car on the road!
I welcome any critique, suggestions, etc.
Dan
I plan to take pics of mine, once I can get started...
