snapped engine mount

[RippleEphex]

i put a post up here asking what this was a while ago, only just found out what it was ....
snapped the metal bit that goes inbetween the engine and the rubber mount, not sure what its called, mount or bracket?

pics attached of where the bolt has gone through the bracket,

so after staring at the rubber bit engine mounts for a few hours, i thought maybe the bolt has come out on the engine ...... well i was close lol, the bolt is there but the metal bracket has shit itself.

so now the engine it sitting on top (luckily) could have ended much much worse

so now to the question, how to swap the mounts over? can i put a jack under the engine and lift it up half inch and swap them?

its a 4cyl starfire also any thoughts on how this happened? weird that it happened to such a small motor and when i was just cruising at 80 on a straight flat bit of road

[VK_3800]

Yes just jack the engine up a bit you should be able to slip it out and get a new one in.

Vibration, misalignment due to other damaged/worn components can cause stuff like this, maybe it was abused when the engine was previously removed. Have a good look around and satisfy yourself that nothing else needs fixing but it shouldn't be a major problem.

[RippleEphex]

awesome, so a trolley jack underneath with a bit of wood in between to support the whole thing? also anything i need to take off before lifting?

yeah seems to be a strange one, its been tuned since this happened (didnt know what the problem was) so maybe just too long running rough, im pretty sure the engine has never been out before, only a starfire so no reason to take it out, aswell as being a bit hard to give it a flogging, just doesnt have any power lol

[ari666]

where is the dizzy on the starfire? on a V8 you have to be really careful not to crush the dizzy cap on the firewall, but other than that, loosen off the exhaust and loosen off the trans mount and it should lift pretty easily.

also be reallllllllly careful about jacking from the sump, they are not all that strong and you are putting around 100kg on it, so try and spread out the weight if you can. it really would be best to lift from the top if you have a crane or block and tackle if you have access to one.

usually if the mount is that far gone the trans mount will be on its way as well so best check it. i personally would replace all three at the same time, but that depends on your finances.

[immortality]

use a block of wood under the sump to spread the load. done it dozens of times

4cyl dizzy is in the middle of the block so no worries about it hitting anything

[RippleEphex]

thanks guys, great help! will loosen off those things and use some wood to spread the load, yeah would love to lift it properly and do it properly but i just don't have the equipment hopefully i wont have to lift it up much, just up enough to slot in new bracket,

any idea what the access is going to be like? unfortunately its the passenger side so it has the exhaust and inlet in the way, i haven't had a chance to have a good look yet and see how im going to do it, but the quick look i had looks like it will be tight, unless i take some stuff off, which i don't want to do lol

will have a look at replacing the mounts, but they look pretty good, should only be the trans mount that will be gone if anything, because of the engine sitting on it a bit harder.
a big thanks to 'starfire vc' for selling me the parts from his conversion for this fix, not a wrecker in the state has a starfire commodore laying around, and a big no thanks to the idiot mechanic who told me the mounts were just on the way out, obviously didnt have a good look, otherwise he would have seen that the engine wasnt attached to anything at all on the passenger side, on top of the rubber mounts being fine,

[RippleEphex]

Update - i have fixed the engine mount lifted up the motor and took out the old one, lol there was no bolts in it! apart from that one in the photo, so went and bought new bolts (70km trip to supercheap :/ couldnt find the right size "7/16" if anyones that curious lol ) got back to my house, and it all went together eventually, im not going to lie, it was a pain in the ass of a job (barely any access to bolts with socket set, had to buy a new one of those aswell) but now that ive done it, it will be faster the next time,

now the mighty starfire is back to her former (quiet) glory!

Thanks for your help guys! and thankyou to starfire vc for the parts

[ari666]

im not going to lie, it was a pain in the ass of a job

lol. if you call that a BIG pain in the arse, dont ever get into the auto trade. but anyways, good work mate

[RippleEphex]

haha was probably mostly because i've never done it before glad ive done it though, saved some money too which is good, yeah i dont think the auto trade is for me, i only like working on my own car haha, thanks mate