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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Engine mounts

Hi All,
Odd little question. I fitted my Rover 4.2 into my 74 MGB yesterday.
When the engine sits on the mounts, the mounting rubber is tight against the frame mounts at the bottom, but there is about a 1/8" gap at the top, is this normal? I assume I am putting the mounts in correctly, with the stud towards the bottom?
The engine mounts that are on the frame are British Heritage and I bought the mounts that go on the engine from D&D. The rubber bits are standard V8 round mounts.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

If the lid shuts you are home and dry but I would guess your engine is sitting a little too high - if would want to lower it - try a thin RV8 rubber mount (Clive Wheatley) on the port side - and put the right (Starboard) mounting stud uppermost.

Remember you may need at least one spacer on the right or a stabilizer to prevent rubbing on the steering.
Good luck

Roger
Roger

Hi Roger,
I have modified/lowered the steering (not the mounts)so there is no contact/rubbing. The engine rubber mounts are all the way down in the chassis mounts and the front lip of the sump (oil pan) is about 1/10" above the steering rack. The issue isn't how high or low the engine is, it seems to be the fact that the engine side mounts appear to be at a slightly different angle to the chassis maounts, hence the "gap" between the top of the rubber and the chassis mounts?
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

Tony,

Now I can picture what you’re talking about. No, that’s not normal. I made my own mounts that bolt to the block similar to the ones you got from D&D. Before beginning I measured and re-measured the angle of the chassis mounts. I found them to be 30° and then made the block mounts to match that 30°. My guess is that either the block mounts got bent or the chassis mounts are welded at slightly the wrong angle. It’s a little difficult to get in there with a protractor with the motor in place to check, but maybe you could fold or cut a piece of paper at 30° and stick it down there to see which is off. Does the construction of the block mounts allow them to be bent to a new angle to compensate?

George
George Champion

Hi George,
Thanks for your comments, you are spot on with the problem. It sounds like I need to measure (and change) the angle of the motor mounts with some careful cutting and welding. I'll measure the chassis mounts and adjust the motor mounts to fit....this is going to be a real pain!
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

Tony - I hope the D&D brackets were not expensive - is it possible that a small spacer would adjust the angle on the engine and do the trick ?
Roger
Roger

I think the stud on the back of the engine mounting (rubber bit), should be offset towards the top of the chassis mounting slot. If you have a gap at the top what is happening is the weight of the engine is tipping the mounting away from the chassis because the stud has hit the bottom of the slot.
Les Cole

Maybe showing my ignorance here, but is it possible to install the mounts on the wrong sides of the engine?
George B.

Les,
You make an excellent point, I currently have the studs at the "bottom" of the rubber mounts and they are in deed resting on the bottom of the chassis mount slots, possibly tipping the mounting away from the chassis.
Should the stud be at the "bottom" or the "top" of the rubber mount?
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

Tony

The stud normally goes at the bottom, but that is when you are using standard engine mounts, which do not position the rubber all the way down in the chassis mounts. Your D&D engine mounts seem to position the engine lower (a good thing!)but it looks like you have to invert the rubber to position the stud at the top of the rubber. Its OK to fit them that way if that is what works for your installation.

Geoff
Geoff Richmond

George B,

The mounts could be installed on the wrong sides of the block, but that wouldn’t change the angle it would set the motor very far forward.

If you want to see what they look like go to http://www.ebay.com/ and search for mgb v8 where somebody happens to be selling some. There is also a set of the rubber mounts listed just above.

George
George Champion

Hi All,
Thanks for the inputs, the engine sits extremely low, within 1/10" of the steering rack and the rubbers "sit" on the ridge at the bottom of the chassis mounts, possibly tipping the mounting away from the chassis mount at the top.
It looks like I need to turn the rubbers around so that the studs are at the top. I will then need to check that the engine mounts and chassis mounts are parallel to each other. Lastly, I may need to move the engine mounts out a bit using spacers to make the engine sit a little higher in the mounts and stop the rubbers sitting on the ridge at the bottom of the chassis mounts. If this doesn't solve the problem, I will need to alter the angle of the mounts to make them fit.

Any other ideas???

More news after the weekend when I do all this !!
Thanks
Tony
Tony Bates

It is certainly possibly to get the plates that fit between block and rubbers on the wrong sides on the facyory engine, as George says this doesn't alter the angle, but it does alter the fore and aft position of the engine. I had to twist the engine slightly to get the first stud in the slot, twist it the otherway to get the second one in, then twist it back slightly till both rubbers sat the same distance down the chassis plates, you can't just lower the engine and get both studs in at the dsame time, on a factory car anyway. I also tapped the top edge of the chassis end of the rubbers down so the rubbers weren't under any vertical shear. If the angle is wrong you can use tapered shims, if they are too low then use flat shims. The factory car had such shims but it was common to add another.
Paul Hunt

Hi Paul,
Yes I agree, I had the same experience, get one side in, twist the engine, do the other side then fit the gearbox mounts. I took a look at my engine last night and visually, it looks like the mounts are at the same angle and the rubbers are definately sitting on the ridge at the bottom of the chassis mounts. At the weekend I will try fitting some spacers (washers) between the engine mounts and the engine to move the mounts out a bit, this should allow the rubbers to fit properly (hopefully).
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates


When bolting your engine in, not a bad way to make things go a little easier is to attach the rubber mounts to the chassis brackets (just start the nuts, leave the mounts loose).Position you engine (hanging from the crane)and then bolt the loose mounts to the engine brackets. I find it easiest to get at the RHS bolts from underneath. Tighten everything up after that.

By the way the restraining "bolt/rod" from underneath the old Mark 3 1800 engine/gearbox fits exactly across the back of the V8. One of those very few "easy solutions" that occur from time to time.
Peter

Hi All,
Just to update everyone, I put 1/4" spacers behind the engine mountings on both sides (between the mounting and the engine block). This moved the engine mounting "out" and effectively lifted the engine (due to the angle of the mounts) and the rubber mounting are now in perfect alignment. The front edge of the oil pan is now just under 1/2" above the steering rack.
Thanks for all the valuable advice.
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

This thread was discussed between 27/05/2003 and 08/06/2003

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