I have some broken welds on the frame cross member to which the
shocks and rear differential mounts attach. The front diff
mounts are fine. The right front mount was repaired by the DPO.
All mounting rubber looks in very good condition and was replaced
just a few years ago. The car is rust free and has spent it's
life in So. CA.
Examining things closer, I noticed the left rear mount actually
moved up and down. The large washer (#9 on page 200 in the TRF
TR6 blue catalogue) tightened against the shoulder of the frame
mounting bolt (17). I removed both rear mounts (#5) and the
dimensions are the same. The metal center of the mounts (5) is
about 2.45 inches. The distance from the shoulder of the frame
mounting bolt (17) to the mounting bracket (16) is about 2.7
inches. A friend measured some spare mounts and and had just
under 2.5 inches rubber and 2.5 inches for urethane. Molded in
the rubber of my mounts is 17/1068 9 METALAST.
Translation of the above paragraph: The rear differential mounts
(5) will slide up and down on the frame mounting bolts (17) about
1/32 of an inch.
I don't think this is right. I believe the washers (9) should
tighten down against the diff mount (5) and not contact the
shoulder of the bolt (17). Can anyone tell me if this is
correct? I suspect the mounting bracket (16) to be bent upwards.
I plan to fully box all mounts in the standard way. I also plan
to insert a plate above the rear differential mounts to remove
the play detailed above. I will also add brackets to strengthen
the connection of the cross member to frame joint near where the
shocks bolt after fixing these broken welds.
If any of you can verify or contradict my thinking above, please
let me know.
Thanks,
Brian Kemp
72 TR6 at http://home.earthlink.net/~bk13/brian.htm
|