Thanks for all of the help and information many of you have sent me on this
topic so far. I have done some further investigation of my problem with the
way the engine is sitting in the car. Here is what I have done and found
out this past weekend.
1. I disconnected the engine stabilizer link and the engine didn't move one
way or the other.
2. The front motor mount looks alright but the rubber might be soft, the
engine moves very easily from side to side.
3.The bracket the engine stabilizer link attaches to that bolts to the
frame has a problem. This plate doesn't look original (looks new). The
rear bolt that attaches it to the frame was missing. I couldn't move the
bracket around to line up with the bolt hole because it hit the bolt that
attaches the cradle (piece that the front mount bolts too) to the bearer
plate (on front of engine). How much clearance should be between the
bracket and the bolt? This make me believe the engine is a little far
forward. There was about 1/2" gap between the frame cross member and this
bracket. The DPO had used washers to shim up the gap. Is the front bolt
supposed to be through the rear inside shock mounting bolt.
4. The stabilizer link is on an angle (front to back). Where it mounts to
the engine is forward of the bracket.
5. I have about 1 1/4" gap between the rear cover on the head and the
engine bulkhead.
6. Is the center of the crankshaft pulley, center of the water pump pulley
and the center of the thermostat housing opening on the same center line?
My engine is sitting with the center of the thermostat housing to the right
(looking at it from the front would be to the left). I can easily tilt the
engine so that all three of these items are on the same centerline (which I
believe is correct).
7. My car is an early TD which has Girling front shocks. Looking at some
catalogs I see that the Girling shock has a thicker base then the later
Armstrong shocks. My engine stabilizer bracket is bolted to the frame using
the rear inside shock mounting bolt (bracket mounting hole on top of the
shock). If the Girling shocks are thicker then this has to make a
difference to the bracket in the way the bracket sits Can anyone tell me if
the bracket is mounted correctly or do I need a different bracket with the
Girling shocks?
Any help or additional information would be appreciated.
Thanks
Ron Olds
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