Dog Bone mount options
- Thread starter Eastep
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- box engine mount
Bjorn Nilson
True Classic
The stock dog bone was too soft to handle the torque from my enginge. I removed the rubber, bought polyurethane and moulded it. Stiff like a hockey puck.
AKimball92
True Classic
I personally used the generic rubber pucks at like 3 bucks a piece that have been mentioned on here with varied success. Mine have worked fine so far with 1.5 summers of light use. I am looking for the link to the thread still.
I did find this thread:
https://xwebforums.com/forum/index....ted-with-new-content.33342/page-4#post-324153
Update the thread I was looking for is the same thread just page 1-3...
I did find this thread:
https://xwebforums.com/forum/index....ted-with-new-content.33342/page-4#post-324153
Update the thread I was looking for is the same thread just page 1-3...
Eastep
True Classic
I bought a couple solid pucks from Autozobe, for like $.99 each, about a year ago. They're the Chevy chassis bushings detailed.
Is it worth the effort of shaping and pressing them in? I seem to recall that its sort of a PITA?
lookforjoe
True Classic
The ones I bought from Vicks failed quickly - the insert fell apart. In their defense, they did replace the first one at no charge. They are not great quality unless the supplier has changed in the past few years.
lookforjoe
True Classic
I also found those deformed rather quickly. Kinda depends how large an OD sleeve you ram up it's orifice. If the sleeve insert doesn't expand the bush, it won't be tight in the casing, if the sleeve is too large OD, then the bushing has no give. I didn't find them particularly useful, and again, they can age harden & crack quickly in use. Prolly been sittig around in warehouses for 30 years waiting for idiots like us to buy them
I personally did not care for the essentially solid mount that these create when expanded enough not to flop around in the housing. I found vibration at idle to be harsh with most of the hacks I have tried, unfortunately. The Volvo torque rod bushings worked the best in that regard - they have openings in the bush that allow them to be compliant for idle, but limit movement under load. Problem is Volvo never sold the bush separate from the mount it comes in, so not a cheap option.
AKimball92
True Classic
its sort of a PITA but nothing a bit of lube cant fix. The only shaping I did was drill out the center for the metal insert first. To be honest i cant remember the drill size i used as the whole thing squishes into place. also wood drill bits in a press drilling fast with little pressure worked best. the material can catch and rip if you are too fast. mine were already the correct OD needed (oversized by measurement but intended to compress). the Chevy part number is listed in the OP of the thread I linked above.
From my experience if they last a few years of heavy use, no signs of wear yet, I would buy more and do it again.
Your "pucks" sound more like what i used to pad my jack to not crush the points or paint.
Eastep
True Classic
Thanks, brother. I might take this project on, this weekend.
Janis
True Classic
"Dog-bone" [engine torque strut] rebuild...updated with new content
I know this has been addressed a few times in the past, but I did not find any documentation of the procedure nor photos of the results (I apologize if someone else has documented this already). So I'll add what I did here: Prior posts have suggested a few alternatives for replacement bushings...
xwebforums.com
Eastep
True Classic
Thanks, fir the link. I'm familiar with the procedure and threads about pressing new rubber into the mount, and/or pouring urethane.
My original inquiry was more directed to member reviews of the different options available, to see which route I want to go.
Janis
True Classic
Sorry, misread (or didn't read carefully enough
)
Mike,
Here is my experience: I bought a Vicks unit for my 85 in at least a year ago. The 85 is not stock and the long tube header was barely touching the cross member producing a rattle. I figured I would do the trans mount and dog bone and see if it helped. The trans mount helped a little, but the Vicks dogbone made the rattle a little worse. After some measuring, I determined the Vicks dogbone was very slightly longer than stock. The slight deviation tipped the engine in the wrong direction to cure my rattle, so after about 6 months I put the old stock unit back in.
Since I knew the unit was still laying on the end of my work bench, I went out to inspect its condition last night. I found that it already had a crack forming near the center sleeve.
The length issue comes from the fact that the Vicks units are formed by cutting and welding a dogbone from some other Fiat. Perhaps a 128? The difference in length was very small and would have worked out if it had been too short vs too long. On a stock X, it might work fine, but the cracking in such a short time is a concern.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I found the same, this particular dogbone has been made by cutting and welding the middle rod to adapt it to the X. In my case it wasn't even welded straight, so there is a kink in the center rod putting the two ends out of alignment with one another. But that really did not matter because the rubber inserts had deteriorated so quickly the thing didn't stay on the car very long.
To be fair, short rubber insert life has been reported by many forum members for dogbones supplied by some of the other vendors as well. So this is not entirely unique to the vendor mentioned. However I'm sure there may be some made by someone out there somewhere that have a better quality of rubber?
The dogbone rebuild I did with the inexpensive rubber inserts was easy to do. The only 'modification' required was to enlarge the center hole in the rubber slightly. I used a drill to do that. The car is still undergoing a full restoration/customization so I have not tried the rebuilt dogbone to see how it works. In the process of experimenting with these rubber mounts for several potential applications I purchased several of them from a few different sources. I found that those particular rubber inserts are made by several different manufacturers and the quality differs considerably. While some feel/look/smell like old fashion rubber, others seem more like a blend with silicone or urethane of some sort. Also there might be a good chance some have been sitting on a shelf for years as @lookforjoe suggests. So the success with them may depend on what you happen to get.
Another option I'd like to try at some point is to take one of the 'new' crappy dogbones that everyone is selling and fill all of the void areas in the rubbers with urethane adhesive. This has been a popular mod with many vehicle applications, including various engine mounts, etc. that has worked very well. It still allows some compliance due to the fact the rubber is still there. But with the voids filled-in there is less play and reduced deterioration. Sort of a compromise between a urethane and a stock rubber. I don't believe anyone has tried this on a X1/9 dogbone yet. The same can be done to the lower mount that also collapses rapidly, as well as the snail mount which seems to migrate to one side severely. I think doing all three mounts will add enough support to make everything last longer, and offer more support without being overly stiff (e.g. transmit a lot of vibration). I plan to do this to all of my mounts when the car finally goes back together.
On the subject of Volvo mounts as described by @lookforjoe. I cannot speak to the particular ones he is referring to, but I know on a Volvo that my parents own the torque strut rubbers deteriorated very quickly when new, and the factory replacements all did the same after that. The last time it required replacement I did the urethane adhesive thing to it and it has been on the car ever since without any signs of falling apart. But that car rarely gets driven so despite that being several years ago, it hasn't had many miles put on it. I'm not saying that Volvo mounts do not last, only that the ones on this particular Volvo didn't. But keep in mind that car lives in the desert where everything rubber has a shorter life. So I'm speaking more about the urethane adhesive mod than the Volvo quality.
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lookforjoe
True Classic
I probably should have clarified which torque mount I was referring to - the upper one (on models that used it on the left side of the motor) has a notorious failure rate. The one I meant is the larger part of the lower trans torque mount, such as this:
I had to cut the aluminum housing to extract it. It only made sense becuse I had several used ones to cut up.
I also experimented with adding sections of silicone hose to limit flex, and rotating the insert to reduce inherent flex from the air gap
Vicks version
I had to cut the aluminum housing to extract it. It only made sense becuse I had several used ones to cut up.
I also experimented with adding sections of silicone hose to limit flex, and rotating the insert to reduce inherent flex from the air gap
Vicks version
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Dr.Jeff
True Classic
You are right, the Volvo mount in my experience is the upper one.