bottem engine mount /stabiliser broken

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

oops, it seems my bottom engine mount has sheared in the middle, as i was initiating a lovely tailslide u-turn , there was a little crack and then the engine was a wobblin’ round.

i will order the eliseparts adjustable number to replace the duff one. could weld it up i suppose but just doesnt seem right for the old girl… seems like an odd component to fail, sort of important.

has anyone else had this happen out of interest?

2

Was quite a common problem, for trackday regulars, in the first couple of years after the car’s launch.

Fixed by, either welding an original (ie MGF) to make it a “box” shape, or fitting an Eliseparts jobbie.

3

I order the Eliseparts jobbie (actually a Lotus part) and it was the same as the one already on my (late S1) car. (and Geary blooming charged me a re-stocking fee to send it back! )

Have an Edwards special (welded) now.

Ian

4

Just weld up the old one - make it a bit stronger and then refit, no need to go to the trouble or expense of a different part.

Like Pesky said it was a pretty common part to go but once welded not heard of one going a second time.

5

I whipped it off last night, well both bits… and it has sheared the two narrow areas of steel, i am going for the weld job. Just needs beefing up really. But looking at the design of the part it does look very weak there, especially after the 3 inches of weld holding the metal bushing tube to the plate. Anyway thanks for the feedback. Good to know it is a ‘series’ failure

6

Mitch, could you please post pictures of the break? because I have never seen this, and can’t remember the piece well enough to figure which is the weak spot.

I have tried teh Eliseparts one and didn’t really like it, it transmits too much vibrations to the subframe.
Still, needed to figure out a better way to fix the engine so I took on the original one and just filled up the holes in the rubber with silicone.
Works perfectly!

But it’s still the original one and so far no problem, just wanted to see what is the weak part.

7

Sure thing Uldis, I will take a picture later before I refit the bracket. Now i have taken the bracket off and know what we are talking about… what failed on my car is the gearbox mounted bracket, not the link arm to the chassis. i will post a couple of pics in due course. it is welded up and painted already but you can see where the repair is. what you are talking about i beleive is the link arm, this is the part offered by eliseparts. I think i will copy your modification and fill the original rubber bush holes with silicon too, reducing the movement there. hurry up work day…i want to play in the garage…

8

So back together again, and I took a couple of pics to show which bit failed. welding bit messy but i thought better leave more material on there to increase the section.


[image]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/davismike/bracket-enginestab001.jpg[/image]

now mounted on the car, missing washer was replaced afterwards. oh the scorn.

[image]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/davismike/bracket-enginestab002.jpg[/image]