fiestaturbo.com

[MattPym]

Okay so i thought i would make a little guide for homemade solid engine mounts as i was doing this recently and took some pics. In essence this is just filling your engine mount with silicon so it becomes solid. This is ideal for the rear engine mount on Zetec engined fiestas as a solid replacement bushing is not commercially available. It also can act as a cheaper alternative to aftermarket engine mounts

This is a fairly simple procedure, nothing complicated. So here is a list of the things you will need/what i used.

- Engine mount
- Degreaser (Jizer)
- Permanent Marker
- Masking Tape
- Cardboard or Thin Plastic Sheet
- Scissors
- Silicon (I used Sikaflex 227)
- Silicon Gun
- Miscellaneous Bolt(s)
- Latex Gloves
- Stanley blade
- Lollipop stick

Okay so to begin i cleaned off my engine mount in a small basin of degreaser as it was fairly gummy and covered in oil and dust, after which i rinsed it and dried it off



I then got a piece of cardboard and traced the outline of the mount onto the cardboard with the marker. I suggest that it might be better to use to thin plastic sheet as this wont peel off onto the silicon once it has dried like happened with mine.



Next get your scissors and cut out the outline of the mount drawn on the cardboard. Trim it so it sits neatly against the engine mount




Once you are happy with the your cutout secure it to the engine mount using the masking tape to seal up one side of the engine mount while leaving the other side open





Now if there are any threaded holes that are exposed on the inside of the engine mount, we need to cover this to prevent silicon getting in here. The best way to do this is to find a long bolt of the same thread and screw it all the way into the hole so it is completely covered. You can see in the pictures above that i used an old head bolt to fill a threaded hole in the mount

Now with your silicon gun you can start to pump the silicon into the mount. The aim here is to squeeze as much silicon in as possible leaving little or no air pockets.







Now you have a bit of an option here, you can fill the mount so it is roughly level with the top of the mount casing (as shown above) or if you want to be neat you can keep filling with silicon so it is now protruding from the mount. From here you can either smooth the silicon level with a lollipop stick or you can leave it to dry and then trim it flush with the top of the casing using a stanley blade

I chose to overfill the mount and will trim it once cured full



You will need to leave the engine mount to cure over a period of about 2-4 days. After this you can remove the cardboard backing, if there are any pockets or voids you can fill these is with some more silicon and then allow to cure for another couple days.

As i said before, cardboard is not the best choice for the backing and you can see why here. This will be trimmed off with a stanley blade! Also you can see that the silicone did not fill the mount completely so i will have to pump some more silicon onto this to finish it





Once fully cured you can then remove any bolts protecting threaded holes and then install the engine mount into your car

After this all you have to do is sit back and feel the vibrations

This guide is not a definitive bible, but should give you a good idea of one of the possible ways of making your own solid engine mounts. This method should be able to be used on most engine mounts but not all

If anyone has any suggestions or tips you would like to add in, just let me know

Cheers
Matt

[Ruishy1]

nice guide mate, rather than sikaflex i used tiger seal its more rigid

[Smo]

Good work

As you suggest, I imagine it'll cause at least 'some' vibrations, but if that doesn't bother people, it should do the job!

I think I have an old mount I might try this with, although I really want to remove some of the vibrations I already have, so probably not the best idea But I reckon it's worth a go to see what it's like

[Ruishy1]

If you dont want them too solid, only use some sealant, and some of the original rubber mount.

[dug112y]

grease your card/plastic so it dont stick

[John_D]

can i ask a stupid question, why would you do this? is there some benefit to the engine not moving?

[Ruishy1]

from what i understand it transmits more bhp/torque to the wheels instead of being lost in flex, i could be wrong though :)

[jonboisescort]

i used an old exhaust rubber and cut it up and pushed it into the gaps

worked a treat :) lol

[John_D]

[quote="jonboisescort"]i used an old exhaust rubber and cut it up and pushed it into the gaps

worked a treat :) lol[/quote]

working on a budget, i lke it :)

[russ-RST]

[quote="jonboisescort"]i used an old exhaust rubber and cut it up and pushed it into the gaps

worked a treat :) lol[/quote]

good idea :D im liking the sound of this i think when i do my conversion i 'l do this to the mount as im not bothered how rough the ride is as long as im going past people lol

[Excursion]

Great idea :)

[MK4 Rick]

Its a bloody good idea a lot of people reckon its a bodge lol.