Broken engine mount?

I took the motor for a run round the lanes on the way back from work tonight. I was having great fun until I made a slightly spirited start from a junction. There were all kinds of loud, scary noises, now the car seems a bit fooked. From inside it sounds really horrible and very loud. From outside it sounds like a full on racing V8. (I like that bit )
The whole car rocks from side to side when you blip the throttle, and the gearshift feels a bit vague. I had trouble finding reverse.
My guess is a broken engine mount leading to a broken exhaust I have a few questions:

  1. Does this diagnosis sound right?

  2. Is it safe to drive the car about 30 miles to Nick Whale’s to get it sorted? Is that likely to cause more damage?

  3. I have the eliseparts adjustable engine mount fitted. Is it likely that this is the one that’s broken? (I’m a bit of a mechanical numpty, so I haven’t much of a clue as to where the mount actually is.)

Brendan

IMHO, your diagnosis sounds about right but… you have to have a look to see.

If a mount is broke then with a bit of effort I believe you could move the engine by grabbing it and rocking it without the car running. You could also visually inspect. There is a mount underneath (remove the tray and you can see it) Also I think the eliseparts one you are talking about is next to the cam belt cover (quite difficult to see properly but with good daylight or torch you should be able to see it okay)

If the mount is gone then i’m sure you could also see the engine move around a lot while it was running.

I couldn’t say if you should drive it like that - your choice - but they could pick it up ? Remember drive shafts and gearbox and all sorts of drivetrain components would be at risk if the engine was moving around a lot (not to mention oil pipes and coolant pipes which attach on their way back and forth from radiator and cooler etc…) - not just your exhaust

does it idle okay?

Or get somebody to watch the engine for movement as you rev it - there will be some movement anyway, but it is much more when you have a broken mount. You might also get driveshafts rubbing on the chassis.

Cheers

Thanks chaps. Yep, I did seem to be able to pull the engine backwards and forwards a bit by pulling on the left hand side.
It Idles a bit slowly, and it nearly stalled once. I guess this is down to the broken exhaust.

Interesting…It seems that what broke is actually the bracket which attaches the engine mount to the sump.
Now I’m wondering whether the stiffer eliseparts engine mount puts a bit more strain on this bracket. Should I investigate strengthening the bracket, revert to the standard part, or just consider the problem a one-off?
Any thoughts?

I think Steve and Martin Edwards have had the same problem and a couple of other.

General feeling is to weld up the bracket - I would buy a new one and strengthen it before fitting.

Thanks Andy. I’ll talk to the guys at Nick Whale’s and see what they can organize.
I assume the sump is well up to the stress?

Well I was just reading my weekly joke column … the Elise BBS and it seems we use an engine that will self destruct any moment so I guess the sump WILL fail next

If you need that bracket welding done let me know we have a Mig at Bromsgrove… ( welder that is …)

Funnily enough, I’ve just been reading that same thread. Very amusing Mr Scuffham has been remarkably restrained and helpful in the past few weeks since he got a real slagging off when he was banned from this site, but he’s certainly helping to liven up that debate
I thought you were talking about a Russian figher plane for a mo
Thanks for the offer, I’ll bear that in mind. I’ve emailed eliseparts to see if they have anything to say. It does seem a bit rough that a part I bought to help protect the clutch pipe has contributed to wrecking my exhaust.

Brendan

I think RussT & Pesky have also had this done ? - it seems to be quite common and I have worried about mine for some time since first reading posts about it. I know I know … i should get it sorted NOW before it snaps on th e1st session of a track day that I travelled 300 miles to get to… and paid a fortune for… or worse… at the start of a 2 day trip to SPA…

Yep Brendan

Quite a few of us have had the brackets welded/strengthened after failures. The bracket is standard MGF (not at all costly), & 2 of its 4 sides are open. Before a new one is fitted, get the open sides welded with plates so that the bracket becomes a “box”.

Are you going to fit the EBD big bore exhaust from Eliseparts too?

Pesky

I wish i had asked you about that mod ages ago… seems simple and cheap so i’m probably going to buy a bracket and have this done… so thanks for the new year pressie…

Are you going to fit the EBD big bore exhaust from Eliseparts too?

I wasn’t planning to. Is there any special reason you’re asking about this now? I’m getting paranoid, is something elise going to break next?

Brendan

Sorry, I thought that when you said the exhaust was broken, you meant the exhaust manifold, rather than the silencer!

If the silencer is broken, which one are going to use for its replacement? Only curious, cos I don’t know which one I’d go for if choosing between the Eliseparts, Powerspeed or Racespeed models!

Hey dad, you should be tucked up in bed at this time of night
Actually, to be honest I’m not 100% sure which bits are broken.
I was just going to do a direct replacement with whatever Nick Whale’s have in stock. I was only really thinking about what to do regarding the engine mount.

Hey dad, you should be tucked up in bed at this time of night

I was at 9.30, but my weak bladder started to play up…

Brendan
I replaced the mount recently �17 from the local Rover dealer
It was quite easy as I have not touched a car from DIY viewpoint in years

I then found there was still movement in the engine so I bought the Nylatron Bush from Eliseparts again easy to fit and it now feels rock solid
JohnC

Ps these are 2 different parts

FYI - when I was at Lakeside Eng they were talking about an Elise that had gone too far on the bracket strenghting and it actually lead to chassis damage!

Ian

You lot really make me feel guilty!!!
My Exige uses very little oil, has never brocken an engine mount, or brocken an air inlet mount or brocken an a/c pipe and that is in 35000 miles
i was going to check that it is an Exige but then I’ve got a yip (or two!)

OOps Sorry … Said Brocken…my scotch coming out - well dalwinnie anyway!!