How much trouble did you guys have putting the motor mount bolts in? I'm not talking about the bolts that hold the motor mount stand to the frame, but the two bolts that go through the stands and through the bushings.

My problem is that I can get one side lined up and the bolt through, but then the other side is out of whack and I can't get it lined up for the life of me. Is it just a matter of shifting things around? Did any of you install the engine and trans together from above?

 

That gave me hell - until I had a local F-bud come over. He saw that I'd used washers under the mount plates that bolt to the block (they came with the plates, so I'd automatically used 'em & promptly forgot about 'em) - when we removed the washers, that gave just enough room to get that 2nd bolt through.

But yeah, I was hating life for a little bit there...

 

They are a swine to line up. I had to use lots of long pry bars and some taper drifts to line up the one hole. It took a few of us to wrestle it completely into place as this task is triple hard when running poly mounts as they have very little give

 

i think all cars are different. if you ran the stock rubber ls1 clamshells, it would be a piece of cake because the mounts are pretty weak. The Poly inserts are much stiffer and will give you more trouble but are well worth the cost. mine went right in, just had to use a punch to line up the second bolt, but it was pretty easy (i have poly mounts)

 

Those gave me trouble. what I did was also loosn the bolts that go on the k-member so the mounts could wiggle a little. used lot of pb blaster etc.

I have since removed and installed so many times for mockup i am an expert now.

I guess since your k-member is already installed in the car it makes it a bit more difficult.

get a few of ur friends together

good luck.

 

I used the Spohn conversion mounts on the frame and poly inserts in the 4th gen clamshells. I could get one side it, the other simply wouldn't line up on both ends (could get one side of the mount only to line up). I ended up putting a vicegrip on the Spohn mount and poly insert and forcing them to line up and driving the bolt through.

I was really bummed when I discovered I needed to lift the engine to get the passenger side Hawks header in. I only had to lift the passenger side, but I had to go through the same routine again - originally the passenger side mount bolt is the one I got in first, but with the driver side in now, the passenger side didn't line up.

I'm sure if the clamshells to engine and mounts to frame bolts were all loose, the long bolts would slide right home. But, that would bring on a whole 'nuther set of "get that bolt tight" issues.

 

I had a buddy come over today and we got both bolts most of the way in. Now the problem is the bolts through the other side of the kmember bracket. It's like the engine needs to be rotated towards the passenger side for them to line up. Here's a picture to explain what I've got going on.



The red parts are where the bolts are sitting. It seems like no amount of hammering/prying/jacking/swearing will make those bolts go through It makes me wonder if I wouldn't be better off taking the trans off the engine. It's got me stumped for sure. I'm using Spohn mounts with poly bushings. Those poly bushings better be worth it.

Tomorrow I might try loosening the mount to kmember bolts to give me some wiggle room. If that doesn't work and I get pissed I might drill the mount hole out bigger. It's not the right way to do it, but it'll get the job done.

 

I went through the same thing! I found that inventing new curse-words helped out a lot. Seriously, once I was fed-up with it, I quit for a couple of hours and then came back to it and it seemed easier.
Good luck!

 

had the same problem here, I tried bolting the the motor mount stands to the k-member and bolting the clamshells to the engine and tried doing it that way. I could not get the damn things to line up! this may sound weird but I left the clamshells on the motor, bolted the stands to the clamshells with the long bolt thru the bushing, Then I set the engine down onto the k-member that way. Then bolted the stands to the k-member, the bolts lined right up! I swear it's the weirdest thing. I tried it the other way for hours and couldn't get it even close!

 

I may have to do what dynodanmanda did. I'm very hesitant on undoing anything at this point because the bolts are SO close to going through. I'd hate to be back at square one

 

here's a 5 minute drawing of what i'm talking about

 

My 5 minute drawing is better.... Yah I get what you're saying. How hard was it to get the mounts to line up with the holes in the kmember? Doesn't seem like there would be much room to get to the top of the bolts with the engine there.

 

LOL The mounts lined right up with the holes in the k-member, yeah there isn't a whole lot of room with the engine in the way but it's not as frustrating as trying to get the clamshells and stands to line up.

 

Yah I'm thinking I'm going to have to try that tomorrow. But like I said, I'm hesitant to start over again. Damn damn damn

 

Yeah I know that feeling, it's really frustrating. I really hope it works out for you because I'll feel bad if it doesn't. I am 100% sure this is the method I had to use and the holes lined perfectly, I wish you good luck and I hope it works for you.

 

Thanks man. I'll post my progress tomorrow night. Hopefully she'll go in without too much of a fight.

 

Good luck man! Sounds like I got lucky, mine just kind of lined up when i dropped it in. haha. there is hope!

 

my spohn mounts did the same thing as your initial post. I did find it easier switching to having the other side bolted in first (drivers side in + doing passenger side = impossible, other way around worked).

 

If ur that close...all u need is a wiggle room...I think loosening the mounts to K-member will give u that. also if u find it difficult to get to those little bolts with the engine in the way.. use an engine hoist to get the engine load of the k-member and wiggle.

Let us know what happens

 

There's plenty of play in the sphon mount holes that go to the k-member that right away I knew not to tighten it down first.
I mean I could twist the thing a bit one way or another so how could you possibly know where to have it when you tighted the bolts down.
So I just loosely started all the bolts in to the k-memeber, dropped the engine in while I still had play in the mounts.
Then once I had the two bolt throw on the mounts, tightend the k-member bolts up.

 

So here's what I did today: I loosened all the mount to kmember bolts to get some wiggle room. I got the passenger side motor mount bolt to go through, but the driver side was a no go; hardly any play at all and the bolts were just barely threaded into the nuts inside the frame. So I took the driver's side frame mount off completely, put the motor mount bolt through it, then tried to line up the kmember bolts. Of course the frame holes didn't line up with the mount holes. The holes are off by about 3/16"-1/4". So my brilliant plan now is to elongate the holes in the driver's side mount. I'm fed up with this motor mount stuff. I've spent 3 days trying to get two bolts in

 

are you positive you've made enough clearance from the oil pan to the kmember? it could be just enough its throwing off your ability to line that up.

another note, theres tabs on the lips of the clamshells to aid in lining up those mount bolts. if they're on wrong or damaged it could be a real paint to seat the motor right.

I had the clamshells mounted to the block and and mounts on the kmember in the car, motor bolted down in 20 minutes with a crowbar and a second pair of eyes to tell where the clamshells were.

 

Oil pan has more than enough clearance. It's a finger-width away from the kmember at all points. I used cam-'s pictures as a guide when I notched the kmember.

I honestly have no idea why this thing won't line up. This is the third motor swap I've done in this car. The other motors lined up just fine, granted those were SBC's that reused the stock kmember mounts.

I've tried everything, jacked everything, pried everything and still nothing. I don't know if I got a bad set of mounts or what. It's very close to lining up, but just a little too far to force things into place.

It really makes me wonder if having the trans connected is making my situation worse.

 

I elongated the bolt holes like I planned and finally got everything to line up. I should be out cruising around in about a week

 

jack under the transmission, and/or someone wiggling the tailshaft helps greatly.
motor mount bolts are never fun.

 

mine was a piece of cake TJ. The Hawks k-member made it a breeze and I did it by myself in under a hour with the motor AND trans bolted together. To date it has been the ONLY thing easy about this whole thing. I have the dash back in now though and most of the wiring done.

 

looking good.
cant read it from the pic, but i bet that cylinder head is stamped with 4484.
haha.
whats the dash out for, you cleaning house?
i have the steam line i made when i had those heads. i think it laying around somewhere....
id let it go for 20 bucks.
ive got about 70 in it.

 

I'll take the line TJ. I had/have the dash out trying to lighten this pig up some. I bet I took 20lbs of crap/switches/relays/airbag harnesses...etc, etc out of here along with all the AC stuff. The worse thing is once it's back together nobody will ever know how much work was involved shooting wires, reading schematics etc to ensure my dash, windows and locks still work. Oh, and that rear window defroster as well. I know you appreciate the work....afer all, I'm just following your lead at this point. Get with me on that line though. I've got an extra $20 in my stash with your name on it!!

 

my rear defroster worked, but my glass was horrid.
in a thrash to get my car painted, i had to go with what i found.
its still not as nice as id like, but i can never seem to find a score in the junkyard on a hatch.

did you get rid of the convenience center?
ive rewired a bunch of stuff, and i was skeptical to get rid of it.
right now there is nothing plugged into it except the hazard flasher.
im tempted to go in and relook over things.
i havent been in the dash since 04. i think im more wiring worthy than i was, and with experience, i think i can do a better job. i just dont want to pull the dash.
that top panel is a pita on the 4th gen stuff.

 

my glass is in really good shape since the car has probably spent only a handful of days since new outside unless it was covered(helps when you own it for 17 years!) I kept the convenience stuff becuase I'm apt to leave keys in it and there was some stuff going to it I just wasn't sure whether to sacrifice or not. Most of what I removed was PCM and VATS wiring. I had to keep my power windows and locks(after all, it's a street car) I was originally going to run all my wiring for the motor inside as well and go through grommets behind the motor but I may go different now that I'm running short on time before I deploy. It'll be interesting to plug a battery in it this week or so and see how much smoke it makes!! lol Honestly though it should be no trouble at all. All been rewrapped and hung again so it looks factory. Hell, the radio might even still work!!
On another note Christopher and I went to bayfront last night for a bit just to get a change of pace from BK. Wow, what a freak show!! Some cool rice there but most was garbage and a lot of smack talk about roll racing and boost this and other crap that they heard on the fast and furious!! Funny sheeeit!!

 

Gunna jack this thread but do you guys know the size of the bolts for the motor mounts.

 

The bolts are longer than our 3rd gen bolts. I think they are M12. I searched for bolts when I was installing but couldn't find much info, so I ended up getting the bolts and nuts from the dealer. I think it cost about $15 for it all.

I had a bit of trouble installing them, but I still had the motor and trans connected to the hoist and leveler, so I was able to move them around and use a mallet to push the bolts through.

 

If inthe past you or the PO took the car offroading, then you may be suffering from extreme body twist and flexing. Many you can figure out which way to install a jack and lift the car so that the body can twist itself into the proper alignment. 

 

WOW! Spanking nice bro!

 

wow! well I guess Im the jerk who had no problems everything lined right up. (I used the spohn mount and new gm clam/bushings ) both times I installed the trans last

 

I didnt have any trouble either, but I left both the K-member and engine mounts loose until the long bolts were pushed through. It took a little extra time, but I didnt have to fight anything

 

Does anyone know the size and length of the through bolts.

 

To get a quick answer to the bolt, start a new thread under the engine board and name it "Anyone have thier engine out on a engine stand?" If someone does have the block on the engine stand, they can easily go and check for you since the bolt would probably be laying on the ground. Its tough to get under a 3rd gen and take out a mounting bolt while the engine is in place. Catch my drift?

 

I have a crappy time getting my motor mounts sorted out, I had 2 or 3 threads about it and ended up elongating the holes in the k member. Now it's fine

 

Now its far from original. But you do what you gotta do.

 

i just did mine yesterday. i'm using the plate adapters and its was a pain (so don't worry, its not just the spohn mounts that are hard). elongated the bolt holes a bit in the mounts and installed both halves to the engine and dropped it all on. Had to lift the motor from side to side a bit and installed the upper two bolts on each before finally getting it in place.