Front engine mount? What kind/type/custom?

[allessence]

What are people using on the front hydraulic mount in Higher than standard horse power/torque loads?

I'm getting tired of replacing these.

Thanks J

[Vince T]

I've got one of these:

http://members.shaw.ca/saaboteur/spg...ne%20mount.jpg

Damien Shulock makes these. Email him at dshulock at gmail dot com, he should be able to sort you out. It's a solid piece of aluminum.

[IronJoe]

I just switched from the 900t hydraulic mount to the nonturbo & older style solid mount... this makes a big difference! My shifter doesn't do that annoying vibrating thing anymore, and best of all, it was extremely cheap. I just pulled one off of a n/a 900 in the junkyard and swapped it out, less than 5 bucks. Shifting is more crisp (along with the short-throw shifter) and they *never* wear out, unlike the hydraulic one that I replaced twice before this. Hope that helps



* oh yeah you'll need to get the other-style trans cover with it ;-)

[sonett1]

How about something like this..........

[Jared S]

IronJoe,

What year na saab 900's have the solid frount mount?

Thanks!

[nutcase]

Originally Posted by sonett1

How about something like this..........

That should hold it! Looks like 3 99 fronts chopped and shaped.

[Alex]

I'm using Brads poly front engine mount. Shifting is smoother as things aren't moving around, yet there is only a slight increase in vibration. Its most noticable when the engine is at idle.

[IronJoe]

Originally Posted by Jared S

What year na saab 900's have the solid frount mount?

err.... not sure, I was liking to think they all did! the replacement trans from the 1992 n/a I previously installed had it, and so did the 1993 n/a trans that I just installed does.

a quick look on thesaabsite shows that hydraulic mounts started in 86... can anyone else confirm?

[sonett1]

Originally Posted by nutcase

That should hold it! Looks like 3 99 fronts chopped and shaped.

That is actually the front from Will Gollops rallycross 99.
There is one downside to making the engine mounts stiffer, you will get more vibration transferred to the cabin, but the gearshifting is so much sweeter, as already mentioned. I have a solid lower gearbox mount fot my 106 rallye, anything below 2000rpm and you cannot see through the rear view mirror because of the vibration .

[uberfast]

I use the solid metal mount in my 900. I used a false hydrualic mount which basically was just a cup of rubber that bolted right in without any fabbing. It lasted for 3 months then the rubber separated. Got fed up and dished out the extra $50 for a solid metal one knowing it would be the last time I ever change that mount. (also offers the best performance out of any mount)

[Saab-Daniel]

What about us having the old engine-mount, anyone made an upgrade on those?
Daniel.

[Eric van Spelde]

Originally Posted by Saab-Daniel

What about us having the old engine-mount, anyone made an upgrade on those?
Daniel.

Shouldn't be necessary. Mine has coped with all I've been throwing at it (including 281 bhp/472 Nm on three track days) for as long as I can remember, and the drivetrain feels well located. There's other things than the engine mounts holding shift quality back in my case (although it's OK for a c900) - I'll try a well-engineered aftermarket short shift assembly with a new shift coupler sometime, probably.

[Eric van Spelde]

Oh, and BTW am I right in thinking the later solid rubber mount on N/A cars is different from the pre-'86 style (all cars)? I've got Damien's mount that's made to replace the later style (hydraulic) mount (it resides in Beek Auto Racing's display case tho') but looking at it, it mounts to the crossbeam in the engine compartment in a very different way from the earlier style...

[DeLorean]

the older solid mounts bolt up to the frame of the car directly via a metal piece welded directly to the frame that will not accept a hydraulic mount. the newer cars that have hydraulic mounts have a "bucket" welded to the frame that will accept either type of mount, solid or hydraulic. the newer solid mounts use an adaptor bracket along with the solid mount that bolts up to this "bucket" that will accept either type of mount. This adaptor bracket is the weak point on the newer cars, not the mount itself or the bucket. when the bracket snaps- and this does happen! you will have no front engine mount. the engine mount will just fall down and sit on the frame of the car. you will probably get stuck in what ever gear the car was in when it failed. If it fails under acceleration, it will smash your distributor cap and put a gaint dent in your hood.

the older cars have the most solid front mount you can find being bolted directly to a bracket welded directly to the frame that was designed for accepting that type of mount only.

[allessence]

I was looking at maybe a poly mount. But no one seems to offer them. I sent Brad and email but no response.

I would think a solid mount( alloy or steel would be to harsh) would transfer way to much noise to the cabin.

I like the idea of the older SAAB mount and yes it will bolt right in. Just need to change the front trans cover to the older style.

I am thinking of cleaning out the interior of the hydraulic mount and using a plate held in with bolts that would be rubber or poly mounted and then going to another poly bushing and the correct bolt for the engine. This would isolate the engine pretty well. I haven't found the bushing yet but will keep an eye out unless someone has a better idea.

Anyone try anything like this?

J

[NSE]

Originally Posted by Saab-Daniel

What about us having the old engine-mount, anyone made an upgrade on those?
Daniel.

I replaced all my solid mounts when I did my tranny swap in '04, and still had too much movement for my liking. Most of the movement came from the front mount which had very soft rubber in it. (bought from eEuroparts)

My solution was to fill the mount with polyurethane. This worked great and is still as stiff as when I filled it 1.5 years ago.

[nbell]

Originally Posted by IronJoe

My shifter doesn't do that annoying vibrating thing anymore

Hey Joe
Exactly what did it do? On the motorway/freeway my gear lever/shifter vibrates unless I put my hand on it. Very annoying. Is this what you had??

[nutcase]

Originally Posted by IronJoe

a quick look on thesaabsite shows that hydraulic mounts started in 86... can anyone else confirm?

I've found that a lot of things "start" in 86. But that's also the first year that the EPC starts, so if that's all you have, you'd have to guess when things came in.

[IronJoe]

Originally Posted by nbell

Hey Joe
Exactly what did it do? On the motorway/freeway my gear lever/shifter vibrates unless I put my hand on it. Very annoying. Is this what you had??

pretty much! And also if I would get on the gas, then let off the throttle while in gear, the shifter would annoyingly "shudder" and move.

I will also say that at the same time as swapping the motor mount, I also switched to the newer-style shifter linkage mount... the one that connects to the rod before it enters the transmission.

funny about these, it seems that saab used this style on the 9k, then switched to a newer, one piece unit that costs 3x to replace (typical, huh?) But eventually they switched BACK to the rectangular-style mount on the 9k! Apparently they recognized their original design as better. so I can't say whether it was this, the solid front mount, or a combination that got rid of the "stick shudder." either way, both were available at the junkyard for next to nothing at I'm happy

oh I also have a short throw shifter...

OLD STYLE:


NEW STYLE:


hope that helps.

[nbell]

Thanks Joe! I'm going to look into this...