fordcortina.com.au
Tuning & Tech Center => DIY: Do It Yourself articles => Topic started by: BigNorm on August 28, 2007, 10:11:00 PM
-
yep, i took this back from the old place.
i get alot of emails asking me how i made my engine mounts for the 4.0 litre. i didnt document how i made the first lot but now that i've changed my mind and made new ones i've taken a few pics of how i did it. these should do until i change my mind again.
it doesnt matter what kind of engine u use in whatever car, this principle will pretty much work for anything.
this is what the original ones look like. they were made back in the day when i was in a hurry and only had an arc welder which would only strike an arc at 120amp+. they use the original cortina rubber mount and served thier purpose well.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount001.jpg)
First, slide a trolley jack under the sump and support the engine. remove the old mount. what i did next was using a thin peice of cardboard, made a template of where the bolt holes are and what shape i need the backing plate. this was a bit difficult on one of the bottom holes as it had a broken bolt so i couldnt trace the hole too well - i fixed it and replaced the bolt in the last photo.
then i traced the template onto 100X10 mild steel flatbar. cut it out, ground it to shape and drilled the holes. the trial fit:
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount002.jpg)
with these mounts i cut up a pair of upper trailing arms and removed the bush and bush sleeve. the beauty of suspension bushes is they are strong, readily available and should they not be strong enough for my purpose i can always replace them with nolathane bushes.
i cut up a couple of pieces of 50mm angle iron, cut them to size and drilled both side holes for the base of the mount. what isnt shown in the next photo is welded a short piece of 50mmX3mm square tubing to the bush sleeve. i left the old bush in the sleeve to prevent the sleeve from distorting while i welded.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount003.jpg)
then using the jack i lifted the engine to the position i wanted the engine to sit. (WARNING: if u use the original cortina rubbers like i did for my first pair, alloy a couple of millimetres for the mount to sag.) i bolted up the backing plate and the base to the arm and sat the base where i wanted it to sit on the chassis.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount004.jpg)
when i was happy where it all sat and how it sat, i tack welded it. this is where i learnt that the batteries in my welding mask are not immortal so the tacks were welded pretty much blind.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount005.jpg)
down to the chemist to grab another set of batteries. i then removed the mount and finished the welding on the bench. this is the welded, sandblasted, finished product next to the old scabby mount.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount006.jpg)
then i primed and painted it, pressed in a new bush and bolted her up. it was about now that i removed the snapped bolt. this is it. it should in theory be 10 times stronger than the old mount and a little more pleasing on the eye. i still have to grind the welds on the subframe but i'll do that next time i have the engine out.
(http://www.spyderbyte.com.au/enginemounts/enginemount007.jpg)
voila!! there u have it. repeat the procedure for the other side.
this took me about 4 hours(incl drilling, tapping and helicoiling the snapped bolt) from the time i opened the fridge for the first time to when i stood up and thought "that'll do".
remember to measure twice, cut once
it's not really that much of a mystery
cheers
-
Hmmm, you make it look so easy... LOL.... Wanna make me some?
Joke buddy, I would post up mine, but I need to find a server to host the pics...
-
Hmmm, you make it look so easy... LOL.... Wanna make me some?
Joke buddy, I would post up mine, but I need to find a server to host the pics...
use the gallery
-
Great article.
I did a very similar thing with my engine and they are still going with 630 rwhp.
With the TE cortina you don't need to weld those angle irons onto the original mount on the car. I used a U shaped bracket instead of two L shaped ones. That way it bolted on where the old rubber went through.
See the pic below.
(http://fordcortina.com.au/gallery/albums/userpics/10151/Engine_Mount.JPG)