Gearbox (and engine) mounts

[Kieran]

Bum. As if I didn't already have enough items on the 'fix it' list ...

Whilst PSB and I were swearing at Ariadne on Sunday, Paul spotted that the engine and gearbox mounts are all in need of replacement. All of them appear to be worn, and the mount that sits on the crossmember has totally collapsed - Resulting in the gearbox now rubbing on the crossmember!!

Anyway - here's some parts and prices for Mitsubishi OEM ones. Interesting pricing structure(!!!) and they're all special order. Bloomin' typical.

MR198381 £24.07 + VAT
MR235603 £52.35 + VAT
MR198377 £76.17 + VAT
MR198388 £99.51 + VAT

Now, so far I have learned that MR198381 is the crossmember mounting, and it appears identical in size, shape and fitting to the 2G Eclipse Turbo mount. This would make sense as Edmund VR4's recent post about replacement bushes mentioned this model too.

My question is:

Does anyone know of any other mountings (maybe from the FTO?) that will fit the VR-4? And where to get them?

In the meantime, I think I shall perform the semi-bodge that is Urethane window sealant to repair and reinforce the knackered mount (click HERE for details), but I don't want to rely on this.

I'll give it a week or two, and if there's no news, looks like I'll be calling 'Robbin Blind' at the Mitsubishi Parts Desk again!!

[Wodjno]

Hi Kieren .. Not good news that.. Hope this may be of some use .. I put those part numbers into google and it only came up with 1 find and that was this site.. Think it maybe russian , not sure. http://vr4.hut1.ru/sale3.htm I can't translate it on work PC. But there maybe some pricing for these parts on there somewhere.. Hopefully cheaper.

[AllBeItMine]

would you like me to see if i can get better pricing for this in NZ?

[Kenneth]

My front engine mount is broken. the rubber stuff has collapsed.

I was thinking of getting some Urethane bar or the like and just put it on the lathe to make some inserts. From what I can see there is basically a metal outer ring and a metal insert in the middle... make a nice snug fit and theoretically that should be that...

Could be I am missing something though

/edit I suppose it could be a bit soft to turn down with a lathe... only one way to find out I suppose

[Kenneth]

speaking of hardness (er, minds out of the gutter... lol ) does anyone know what sort of hardness range would be needed for engine mounts?

[AllBeItMine]

there is a company Pitstop use that will pour liquid Nolathane into existing engine mounts after you pull the rubber inserts out. it takes a day or so for the stuff to dry to the point of being useable but once thats done they are all good.

costs about $100 per mount/bush however so buying new ones from mitsi might be a better plan

[Kenneth]

costs about $100 per mount/bush however so buying new ones from mitsi might be a better plan

There was a place on William Pickering (the road I work on interestingly enough) which sells the liquid for you to do it yourself. IIRC it was nearly $100 for 1L or 1lb (or some such) of the stuff, but that should be enough to do all your mounts with.

Here is part of the email conversation I had regarding it. You will see it was some time ago

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tracey Tohill" <tracey@itwpolymersandfluids.co.nz>
To: "Ken Simpson"
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 1:49 PM
Subject: RE: Devcon Flexane


Hi Ken

We do stock Flexane 80 Liquid & Putty 450g. We have stock of the Flexane 80
Liquid at the moment with the Putty arriving into stock any day.

Unfortnately we only supply through selected distributors these being
companies like - Blackwoods, Paykels, Bay Engineering, Brassfit etc. If you
drop me an e-mail back as to your location I would be happy to advise you
with contact details for a distributor nearby. This distributor will be able
to provide you with pricing.

I have enclosed the data sheets on both of these products for your perusal.

Thanks for your enquiry

Kind Regards

Tracey Tohill

[Kieran]

would you like me to see if i can get better pricing for this in NZ?

Yes please.

And Kenneth - Funnily enough, there's a company that supply Flexane over here (www.frost.co.uk). I had not considered them simply because I didn't think that Flexane would be strong enough... Hmm... Do you still have the data sheet (flexane is sold in 3 levels of hardness by Frost, you see).

[zentac]

If anyone has got caps installed they can check on there to see if the mounts are used on any other cars, ... if not I will check tonight when I get home

[zentac]

If they are the same as FTO you can have 2 of mine (right and left ones) as Ive got 2 new ones arriving next week.

[Kieran]

Cheers Richard.

I have been doing further research on 'Flexane' and it's a popular way of upgrading and repairing knackered mountings. So, I think I shall order a pot of Flexane '60' or '80' and having a go with that - I'm leaning towards flexane 60, as this would yield a softer mounting - and less NVH as a result. Only thing I'm not sure of is wether Flexane '60' has enough tensile strength to deal with the torque it will be subjected to.

I shall keep you posted - as at £40 a tin (enough to do several mounts), it could prove to be a very economical and effective way to reproduce all the rubber bits that are starting to get a bit crumbly on the older VR-4s in the club

[enigma]

So do we call Nick Dirty Boy or Del Boy from now on??

[Kieran]

So do we call Nick Dirty Boy or Del Boy from now on??

How's about 'Dirty Del' ......



Sorry Nick!! I'll behave now!!

[Nick Mann]

I have a finger that's just the right shape for poking you in the eye!!

P!$$ taking bar stewards! Grrrrr.......

And I may be helping you use that pot, K, as I'm sure I have movement somewhere that I shouldn't have and I suspect the near side engine mount.

[pezza]

How's about 'Dirty Del' ......

careful now...

[Kieran]

careful now...

Errr We'll stick with Dirty Boy then!!

[zentac]

sorry not of the part numbers for the FTO are the same as the ones youve listed. Whats your chassis number and I will tell you if they are used on any other car.

[The Vee]

[QUOTE=Nick Mann]

And I may be helping you use that pot, K, as I'm sure I have movement somewhere that I shouldn't have .[/QUOTE

...................... Sorry!!

[Kenneth]

Here it is.

I would probably go the 80... comfort? bah to comfort

[AllBeItMine]

Yes please.

And Kenneth - Funnily enough, there's a company that supply Flexane over here (www.frost.co.uk). I had not considered them simply because I didn't think that Flexane would be strong enough... Hmm... Do you still have the data sheet (flexane is sold in 3 levels of hardness by Frost, you see).

all prices (NZD) have 12.5% tax ontop of them

JCMR198381 @ 50.00+ gst
JCMR235603 @ 80.00+ gst
JCMR198377 @ 145.00+ gst
JCMR198388 @ 115.00+gst