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Broken engine ear mount, plus fix

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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
 

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The previous owner did the engine swap himself, I guess that was one of his custom mods... ;)

I honestly didn't even notice, but thanks for the catch. Looks like I'll be making another trip to Lowes for some grade 8's..

Dan
 
Wow, I just ran into the same problem but with a little twist. The same mount is broken straight across the threaded hole... Plus, it looks like someone either booger welded or jb welded it back on where it's broken. My question is, do you think this method would work or should I try and have it welded back together and re-tapped? I'm going to be shooting for 500whp or so and don't really want to build one motor just to have to build another do to a constantly breaking transmission mount. Sorry for jacking the thread but it's the only one I've found with the same mount broken as mine.
Thanks for any info/advice people can give me!
 
How is this one holding up so far? I see that the thread is a bit old, but I am looking for insight as I too will be building this type of mount. It is very hard to find anyone that can weld the original tab/ear back on in my area, so I am hoping that this will resolve my last issue with the car right now. I had just rebuilt the engine, and got to drive around the block once before the ear broke. It seems in my half awake state, I forgot to bolt up the other ear!:toobad:

This thread provides new hope for me!
 
So far so good. Just be sure to check your transmission bellhousing too, as it likely cracked from all the torque going through those two top bolts. The mount fix is holding fine - i just need to get my trans bellhousing welded now... ;)
 
Same here...got a couple cracks, glad to hear the fix is still happy! :) I plan to take pics of mine, once I can get started...
 
Okay, I'm updating this thread because this has happened to me on ALL of my dsms.
1st of all. These are the easy way out. You need to have your ear re welded up with nickel. These "fixes" do not include a spot for the dowel. Which is ABSOLUTELY necessary. You will unspring a new clutch very shortly with these "fixes".
The ONLY way to fix this properly is to get it welded. Talk to a trans expert about how important the dowels are
Sorry to be a buzzkill. But if you want your car to last and redeem our name for having "Unreliable cars" please fix it right, and take it to a welder.
 
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