FE and T18/C6 mounts from Autofab, plus frame alignment.

[robroy]

Those look like really nice mounts. I like the color you painted them as well.

Thanks! The gray color is only temporary though; they'll wind up black (with the Rust Bullet Black Shell product). I think the relatively matte gray finish would get nasty looking very quickly compared to the gloss black.

im surprised you got ahold of John that quickly, he is known on the offroad-racing forums for great products but you usually have to go by his shop to get something done.

Yeah, he was extremely responsive. Maybe there are times when he's more eager for business than other times, but I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

-Robroy

[robroy]

Having refinished all three mounts, I installed the motor mounts and tentatively installed the transmission mount! Here are some pics of the finished transmission mount:




The task went pretty smoothly but there were some catches. I'll post again soon with more pictures and a description of some minor trials.

Thanks for reading!
-Robroy

[fordman]

i'm waiting to se pics of them and the engine installed. or atleast the mounts onto the crossmemeber

[robroy]

Hey Fordman! I have some pics of the transmission mount tentatively installed; I'll post those tonight!

-Robroy

[fordman]

just one or two would be enough. im on dial up.

[robroy]

Here's the transmission mount tentatively installed. Notice that it has three mounting holes for the crossmember, and one of them is intended to line up with the factory mount hole (the center one). But at least on my truck, it didn't really line up. It was a little too low.

Thankfully the mount has provisions for two additional bolts to secure it even better to the crossmember, so that's how I plan to do it. I'll just drill a couple of new holes! It'll be even more sturdy that way, so it's not a big deal that the center factory hole didn't line up.



The fit over the crossmember was very good, and the transmission bolted right on (with a little nudging, since it had shifted some from the engine being removed and all). Since there are slots in the mount, it looks like it'd work for either a T18 or C6.

I decided to wait until the engine's in and everything's tightened up before actually drilling holes in the crossmember for the trans' mount. I figure I want to give it the opportunity of finding its ideal position before bolting it down. Do you think this is the best strategy?

Since Fordman requested less photos I'll put only one of the mount in context (above). Here are some links to more pics of the transmission mount:

http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8163s.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8156s.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8152s.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8150s.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8149s.JPG

Here are the installed motor mounts:



And here's a link to another motor mount photo, taken before I installed the polyurethane bushings:

http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_8164s.JPG

Now that I've installed the motor mounts and tentatively installed the trans' mount, here are the special notes I've made:

1. The motor perches use a combo of factory perch holes, other factory holes that happen to be there on the frame, and one hole that you have to drill from scratch. That's minor though because measuring for it, which would normally be the hard part, is taken care of for you--all you have to do is line it up with the other existing holes.
2. The holes that are already there but weren't used by the factory for motor perches needed to be enlarged from around 1/4" to 3/8". I used a 3/8" drill bit for this and it was really easy.
3. One of the holes that needed to be enlarged to 3/8" and used for the perch mount was the hole originally used by the fuel line clip. So the fuel line needs to be held down in some other way. I installed two additional frame clips holding it under the cab so I may not even need a clip under the engine. This is something to be aware of though.
4. The factory trans' mount bolt hole on the crossmember didn't line up with the center hole in the Autofab mount on my truck. Perhaps it does line up on other trucks. This is minor, though, because the Autofab mount makes provisions for two additional mounting bolts. So I'll need to drill these holes with my 3/8" drill bit.

So are these mounts "bolt in?" I wouldn't call them that, but it depends on your definition. When I hear "bolt in" I think all I need to do is open the box, grab the part, and bolt it right on. Others could interpret "bolt in" as "doesn't require any welding." And these mounts certainly don't require any!

So far I'm very impressed! Of course I'll keep ya'll updated on how the mounts perform when the truck's on the road!

Thanks!
-Robroy

[fordman]

cool thanks now ill be watching to see how the engine mounts to them. you dont have to alway sdo the link thing for me. i dont always look at everyones pics. i jsut wanted to see these though. thanks.

[robroy]

Hey Fordman! You're welcome, and I understand how it is. I had a dialup connection for many years. I remember going to a web page and just walking away for a while to let it crawl across my screen.

[fordman]

i have learned to clcik the stop button at times. that helps alot. i miss pictures sometimes. but its not as bad as the old dialup used to be im sure. i can go pretty quickly with most pics unless the page is loaded with pics and then im in trouble.

[robroy]

I took two more photos of the engine mounts today; they're a little more illustrative than the ones I'd taken previously because the lighting was better. And the lighting was good enough to really show off my bad paint job too! I put on way too thick of a coat--whoops.





-Robroy

[LANCE65]

Those look GREAT! But I have one question...why is the pass. side mount not gusseted? BTW Thanks for sharing those pics. I have a friend that is friends with John @ AutoFab.
-Lance

[robroy]

Those look GREAT! But I have one question...why is the pass. side mount not gusseted?

Hey Lance! After looking up the meaning of the word "gusset" and staring at the photos for a while, I'm not sure exactly what you're seeing here. What part of the mount doesn't appear to be gusseted? I'm a novice when it comes to engine perches (and the whole universe) so using lots of words will increase your chances of stimulating a brain cell or two in my head.

BTW Thanks for sharing those pics. I have a friend that is friends with John @ AutoFab. -Lance

You're welcome! And it's good to hear that you're connected somehow with John @ AutoFab. From my letters and phone calls with him he seems like a genuine guy who's full of humor and humility.

Thanks Lance!
-Robroy

[LANCE65]

Hey robroy! The driver side has a plate with holes welded in between the two 'vertical' stands,boxing-gusseting the whole mount for more strength. The pass side, I dont see that? Unless I am missing something?
-Lance

[robroy]

Hey Lance! Got it, thanks for explaining.

I had the same question as you for a while, since it appeared that there were only three bolts holding the passenger side mount to the frame. But then I discovered a forth bolt hole. It's hidden in these photos unfortunately, but it's right in the zone that's shrouded by the polyurethane bushing on that mount. So there are four.

I know what you mean about not having two on the bottom and two up above the vertical metal "tower" on the mount. I think John chose to put them where they are because in that position, the highest number of factory bolt holes was used, which really makes it a lot easier to install (because there's no need to measure exactly where to put bolt holes).

I have no concerns about the ruggedness of these mounts or the way they attach to the frame though. They're made of thicker metal than the factory perches and I mounted them using grade eight bolts with Nord-Lock lockwashers (thanks to advice from Jamie [Ranchero50]).

Of course the extended road test will show their true nature; this thread will get a detailed review.

Thanks Lance!
-Robroy

[LANCE65]

Hey robroy, this is what I am talking about. Notice in the center of the mount on the driver side there is a gusset? The pass side does not have this..why?