After the last few days of 'spirited' driving I seem to have sheared a motor mount. The rubber insulator has completley broken in half, with the motor actually moving about 2-3 inches forward. What is the easiest way to A) Swap in a new mount and B) relocate the motor to its proper location? I've allways just supported the oil pan with a few 2x4's and jacked it up to gain sufficient clearance, but I actually care about this car (and don't feel like searching for a new pan), so what's the safest method?
A definite thumbs up on that spirited driving! However if your are going to play you have to pay. If your front mount is torn then your trans mount and thrust pad are gone,so get two engine mounts a trans mount and a thrust pad. Replacement is a 'beach'! the engine and trans will have to be supported and the rear with torque pulled back...the rear trans support will have to be removed. I usually use an engine hoist in addition. Order your parts, study the shop manual and the car while waiting a get some help lined up...and check back here for more details Willie
322bnh, thanks for the heads up on the tranny mount issue. But to be frank, there is no way in hell I'm pulling the torque tube AGAIN! It was fun enough when the DynaSlush was rebuilt. I'll check out the other mounts and if indeed they are trashed, I'll start collecting the parts required to convert to an open drive line. While kits to adapt the nailhead to a 700R4 are not cheap, the idea of messing around with the dyna and torque tube just don't float my boat.
Althought it is a pain to change the original mounts, it's still easier than changing transmissions which will require new fabricated mounts (& cross member) and attachment for the new rear plus incidentals like brake lines shocks...although I am curious about the performance and gas mileage of a 322 with a modern trans. Your rebuilt dynaflow will last a long time and new mounts will outlast it...change them and go back to smokin' the tires! Willie
While we are talking about the swap, check out this pic of a stock Buick rear converted for an open driveshaft. I have spoken in detail to several individuals, and I think the required labour would not be that much greater than that rrequired to pull the existing.
Another pic I'm not sure why the owner used a 4 link. I would assume that the factory mounting method would suffice.
So finally a pic of the mount: Note that the motor has been centered up as best as I could without unbolting the pass side or trans mounts (which seem to be ok)
If you go to an open driveshaft you need links in (addition to the pannard bar) or leaf springs,otherwise the axle will move back and forth and rotate when torque is applied. You do not need to remove the torque tube, just pull it back to get everthing lined up again. Willie
Just did this! Last couple of weeks, I was on the GM vacation, first two weeks of July off. On June 30th, our first day off, I worked on my '56 Special 2 door sedan, since I knew the passenger side motor mount was broke for a couple of years, and the car needed a fuel pump replacement, I went for it. Found that the motor mounts are different right to left. Ordered a righthand, passenger side motor mount from Kanter, for $25 plus $3 shipping on Wed, it arrived the following Wed, and immediately went to work, first thing I found was the studs in the mm were not lined up with the holes in the frame, which also holds the gen, thought about it for a while and decided to get the air hose and die grinder out and make the holes in the bracket wider, and about 10-20 minutes later the mm fit! Now for the fun stuff, the left mm had already been replaced by the ex, and apparently he didn't understand the geometry of the 322 and put one 5/16" bolt in the driver's side MM, when a 3/8" bolt is right, so that was all that was holding the engine down. I discovered 5 yrs ago with help from Joe T that the right side mm was broke as the car would jump out of reverse, when trying to back up. So since the car wouldn't start and with the Fuel pump out of the way facilitates the motor mount replacement, I took on this project. What I found was if I jacked up the engine with a board on the oil pan, and put all the motor mounts in and the bolts from the brackets on the engine, that as I dropped the jack slowly that the bolts fell right into place and the engine was in the correct position, I did loosen the transmission bolts so as not to mess up the trans mount which has also been replaced. I have driven the car over 150 miles since this work, and it is like a new car! Other than the 8 year old Uniroyal Racials are starting to look beat. I have driven this car to Franklin, KY on h78-15s as that's what was on it when I bought it then 225-15s from Sam's, Uniroyal Radials to OK and TN! The radials with manual steering make a world of difference! This car's speedo says 36K, I don't know if that is correct, drove it again tonight, and whipped on a some litte Mitshibitshi 2 door stick, been whipping, Trailblazers, diesel trucks, and the like for the last week. See everyone in Flnt that will be there, 35 '56 Buicks on display, one is mine, one is my Brother's '56 green and white Century that came from Seattle and ended up in Buffalo! He bought it a couple of years ago, and in the last two weeks has made it roadworthy, complete with seat belts for the kids car seats, and will be in Flint! We hope! RV
