Bloody engine mounts

**TICK4D-TAS** · 28-03-2006, 08:23 PM

Well well well, had the XR8 play up on the weekend, felt funny changing gears and real bouncy on the highway with 4ppl in it. Had it on the hoist today, and on closer inspection found that the LHS engine mount blots are busted off at the head, thus leaving the thread still in the block. ARGH what a pain in the ring.

i know that a few members have had the same problem, but my question is, who did u pay to fix it? i dont really trust the local ford dealler. they are ИИИИhouse with my ba work car so i dont want them near the xr8. Is it an easy fix? or a major problem?
any info would be great.

Cheers
Tim

svo347 · 28-03-2006, 08:27 PM

Id say an easyout would be your best option but dam its goin to be tight in that engine bay!!!!.
Personally id take it out and do it, whilst i was there change ANY or the std core plugs you have to brass and do a bay clean up.
Maybe even get your accillaries brackets black chromed.
thats what im up too :P:P

xr8ute · 28-03-2006, 08:49 PM

Do you have a dent in your bonnet?

Cost me about $500 to get mine sorted. Apparantly they have to drop the K-Frame so they can get access to that part of the block...

**TICK4D-TAS** · 28-03-2006, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xr8ute

Do you have a dent in your bonnet?

Cost me about $500 to get mine sorted. Apparantly they have to drop the K-Frame so they can get access to that part of the block...

nah no dent in the bonnet, well not that i have noticed, but it does explain why the hose's were rubbing on the bonnet insulator.
Bugger $500... i'm going to make a few calls tommorrow to see how much it is. :(

XR6-VCT-2000 · 29-03-2006, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svo347

Id say an easyout would be your best option but dam its goin to be tight in that engine bay!!!!.
Personally id take it out and do it, whilst i was there change ANY or the std core plugs you have to brass and do a bay clean up.
Maybe even get your accillaries brackets black chromed.
thats what im up too :P:P

Totally agree .. prolly gonna have to take it out to do it ! , unfortunatelly .

Sorry to hear ya dramas , pain in the arsss job . :gren:

HSE2 · 29-03-2006, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDXR6

nah no dent in the bonnet, well not that i have noticed, but it does explain why the hose's were rubbing on the bonnet insulator.
Bugger $500... i'm going to make a few calls tommorrow to see how much it is. :(

Keep in touch today Tim and let me know what the story is. Will be on my mobile all day.

T3man · 29-03-2006, 11:28 AM

It is a VERY common problem with all the V8s - it is so common that if you ring Ford Customer Relationship Centre and complain about it they will probably do a warranty for you even if the car is way out of it's warranty period.

You will have better success if you have had the car regularly serviced at a Ford dealer.

What I told them was "I have a car which is now unroadworthy and cannot be registered because of the faulty engine mount bolts. I will have to see what my local registration authority thinks about this." This will really get their attention. It worked for me so good luck.

Also, be aware that Ford have a batch of bad bolts at present that will just keep snapping even as they are being fitted - after mine were replaced five times in the workshop, Ford finally agreed to allow the dealer to source some aftermarket bolts.

HSE2 · 29-03-2006, 11:40 AM

I will see if i can get hold of him and bring this to his attention.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 29-03-2006, 05:25 PM

HSE2 , sorry off the topic here for a sec ... Nice avatar ! - is that an OCC bike ? .. very nice !

HSE2 · 30-03-2006, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

HSE2 , sorry off the topic here for a sec ... Nice avatar ! - is that an OCC bike ? .. very nice !

Sure Tim won’t mind as thanks to some excellent feedback he has the situation under control.

No it isn’t an OCC bike but in fact made right here in Australia by Scotties choppers. As you are aware of the OCC you might also be aware of the series of biker build offs. This bike was the Australian entry in one of those competitions. It is an excellent episode and they did us proud.

Actually most of the biker build off series is way above that of the OCC and I think this might be one reason why OCC have gone so much in house. One comment by Scottie about the difference between assemblers and builders hit home.

website is http://www.scottys-choppers.com.au/

You will notice they have built another bike that has done well in world comp.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 30-03-2006, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HSE2

Sure Tim won’t mind as thanks to some excellent feedback he has the situation under control.

No it isn’t an OCC bike but in fact made right here in Australia by Scotties choppers. As you are aware of the OCC you might also be aware of the series of biker build offs. This bike was the Australian entry in one of those competitions. It is an excellent episode and they did us proud.

Actually most of the biker build off series is way above that of the OCC and I think this might be one reason why OCC have gone so much in house. One comment by Scottie about the difference between assemblers and builders hit home.

website is http://www.scottys-choppers.com.au/

You will notice they have built another bike that has done well in world comp.

Awesome , thanks mate , i'll check that link out

.... Anyway - now back to the topic , the BROKEN ENGINE MOUNT BOLTS ! .. ;)

**TICK4D-TAS** · 30-03-2006, 05:22 PM

Well, they are fixed. Not too much of a drama. One of our club members shares a workshop with a mechanic, and he was able to squeez me in b4 the weekend to get it fixed. here is a pic of one of the good ones, and whats left of the 2 busted ones. I replaced all 4 with new higher strength ones. After what i heard about the genuine ones, i didnt want to use them.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 30-03-2006, 07:17 PM

wd mate , good to see you sorted it out , did you manage to get in there np without having to hoist the engine a bit ? if so good 1 ;)

**TICK4D-TAS** · 30-03-2006, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

wd mate , good to see you sorted it out , did you manage to get in there np without having to hoist the engine a bit ? if so good 1 ;)

I was at work when they did it, but he told me that they supported the engine from up top, raised the car on the hoist, dropped the steering rack, and drilled and used some easy outs. he said it was straight forward and even surprised him how long it took. they started on the car at 8.30am and i got a call at 1.30pm this arvo to say its done. and that included him going to the local nubco store to get some replacement bolts. It only cost me $300 all up including 4 new bolts. so i was happy with that.
so now i can concentrate on a clay detail and wax ready for the club car show this weekend.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 30-03-2006, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDXR6

I was at work when they did it, but he told me that they supported the engine from up top, raised the car on the hoist, dropped the steering rack, and drilled and used some easy outs. he said it was straight forward and even surprised him how long it took. they started on the car at 8.30am and i got a call at 1.30pm this arvo to say its done. and that included him going to the local nubco store to get some replacement bolts. It only cost me $300 all up including 4 new bolts. so i was happy with that.
so now i can concentrate on a clay detail and wax ready for the club car show this weekend.

Cool , thats not a bad price for what would of been alot of messing around for yaself , good to hear ya got it fixed np

.

GK · 30-03-2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3man

Also, be aware that Ford have a batch of bad bolts at present that will just keep snapping even as they are being fitted - after mine were replaced five times in the workshop, Ford finally agreed to allow the dealer to source some aftermarket bolts.

Five times! Mate that would've driven you nuts wouldn't it?

:

GK

T3man · 31-03-2006, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK

Five times! Mate that would've driven you nuts wouldn't it?

:

GK

Not just me - but the mechanic, the workshop foreman and the service manager as well.

The car was off the road for almost three weeks.

After the first set broke during assembly Ford told them to follow a test procedure which was to put the bolts in and tension them up, even without the mount in place, and then let them sit overnight before trying to install the mount. However none of the "new" bolts even lasted more than a few hours. Mostly, within a couple of hours they would simply go "ping" and fly across the workshop floor. After breaking ten, yes TEN, "new" bolts a couple of local hardware shop sourced bolts have gone in and so far they are fine.

Most of the time the car was of the road wasn't due to the time it takes to replace the bolts, or even the one day's delay each time a new set were ordered, but the time spent waiting for Ford's responses each time a set of bolts snapped. It literally took two weeks of phone calls and arguing for them to "allow" after market bolts to be used in place of the genuine Ford item.