Engine/gearbox mounts

Hi all,  Okay.  All eight brake shoes dispatched for relining so on with the other tasks.  New dust covers on order.  As well as tending to irritating minor oil leaks I'm also going to fit a Kenlowe and replace the engine/gearbox mounts.  Having had a quick look at what's involved today, I get the impression that replacement of these seemingly innocuous mountings is quite an involved process.  Unless I've missed something it appears tat it's drain coolant, disconnect hoses, speedometer drive, oil pressure pipe, fuel line and exhaust.  Then it's out with the seats,carpets and flooring before there is sufficient space available to lift the engine/gearbox sufficiently clear of the old mounts.  Or is there an easier route?  All advise very welcome, please!  Tony Posted by TonyO 06/09/2012 14:44:23

[quote="TonyO":1p7ihdbm]Hi all,  As well as tending to irritating minor oil leaks I'm also going to fit a Kenlowe and replace the engine/gearbox mounts.  Having had a quick look at what's involved today, I get the impression that replacement of these seemingly innocuous mountings is quite an involved process.  Unless I've missed something it appears tat it's drain coolant, disconnect hoses, speedometer drive, oil pressure pipe, fuel line and exhaust.  Then it's out with the seats,carpets and flooring before there is sufficient space available to lift the engine/gearbox sufficiently clear of the old mounts.  Or is there an easier route?  All advise very welcome, please!  Tony[/quote:1p7ihdbm]  Hi Tony, I had the luxury of doing mine on a bare chassis, so had no such issues. I think you're right though, in the long run the best thing to do is to dismantle properly to make the eventual swap more straight-forward. If you try relying on the "flexibility" of the various bits and bobs, you'll have an awful job trying to fit the new mountings, and might well end up breaking things.  Also, please check that the metal parts of your new mountings are well attached to the rubber parts. On one of the mountings that I got from Red Trianlge, the metal was almost completely detached, and I only noticed by accident. they replaced it immediately, but if I hadn't noticed, the dud one would still be attached to the car!  Regards, Paul. Posted by pryantcc 06/09/2012 15:00:17

Evening Paul,  Whilst idling over a cool beer in the evening sun I had another thought:  is it easier to unfix the body from the chassis and just lift the whole thing clear?  I haven't had a look at what's involved yet but I don't suppose there's too many fixing points.  Or is there?  Déjà-vous for me.  I had to do the same thing on the TR4 around two months ago.  A simple little job that only took 50 or so hours! Many of which seemed to be upside down under the dashboard. Aargh!  All the best,  Tony Posted by TonyO 06/09/2012 18:00:57

[quote="TonyO":1dz1yzvo]Evening Paul,  Whilst idling over a cool beer in the evening sun I had another thought:  is it easier to unfix the body from the chassis and just lift the whole thing clear?  [/quote:1dz1yzvo] Hi Tony, I think that lifting the whole body would probably turn out to be even more trouble. It does, of course, depend on how your car is put together, the condition of the woodwork, the condition and accessability of the fixings, how much stuff is attached to both the body and the chassis, etc.  I suspect that you may also end up discovering all kinds of things that you would have preferred not to know about! I prefer your initial plan, provided you have enough space between the bulkhead and bell-housing to permit lifting the engine/'box sufficiently.  Regards, Paul. Posted by pryantcc 06/09/2012 20:24:04

[quote:3fnyew8d] Hi Tony, ...provided you have enough space between the bulkhead and bell-housing to permit lifting the engine/'box sufficiently. [/quote:3fnyew8d]  mmmm.... I don't think that 10 mm is going to be enough.  I've been mulling it over and suspect that the 50 hours on the Triumph is going to pale into insignificance.  Ho hum!  Tony Posted by TonyO 07/09/2012 05:32:47

Had a proper chance to look at what's involved in swapping the mounts over today and it doesn't look to be anything like the gruesome task I suspected.  My proposal is to :  support the front of the engine  remove the lower nuts from the engine mount   Remove the mounting bracket and remove mount  Replace mounting bracket, with temporary wooden pack to avoid metal to metal contact  Lower the engine onto its support bracket  Loosen rear gearbox mounts and lift the gearbox to (hopefully) provide enough room to remove/replace  Finally, go back to front of the engine and fix the front mount  Hey ho!, job done!  This is of course all made much easier as I have her up on a car lift.  She's too hgh fr a jack to be any use so I've rigged-up a anjustable prop with an Acrow.  I would have done the job today but the box of replacement mounts I have been sent is short of the front mount :-(. Supplier contacted and front mount on route (I hope!)  Oh well, at least in gave me time to get on with installing a Kenlowe and override switch.  Hope that this method of use to someone else.  Tony Posted by TonyO 11/09/2012 20:20:22

Hello Tony How did it go? I am contemplating the same job, so do you have any tips? I don't have the luxury of a lift so will be squirming about underneath! Is there enough clearance to lift the gearbox clear without having to remove the interior? Posted by PeterMadge 25/06/2014 15:59:39