[s10quinn]

I need to replace a motor mount with the motor in.

I have been unthreading the moto mount plate that attaches to the frame.

All of the bolts keep spinning but they aren't backing out.

I have been trying to back them out all afternoon but theyu just spin.

Are there nuts on the inside of the frame that I have to hang on to? If so, how do I get to them? I can't see them, find them or figure out i you actually can getto them?

Just need help getting these plates of the frame.

just to be clear - I'm not talking about the through pin, those came out just fine. This is the plate that has the actuall rubber and bolts to the frame.

Thanks

 

[tom3]

Darn near impossible. I changed these with the engine out a while back. Finally torched the bolts and barely managed to put the new ones back in. GM really created a monster there. I'd have to say forget it.

 

[s10quinn]

Bolts with or without nuts?

Does that mena the threads are fixed into the frame ?

Via welded nuts?

Why does it not thread out?

 

[meeh350]

the reason why the bolts just keep spinning is because there are nuts on the inside of the frame.... only way to get to them is to drop the lower control arm and reach up in with a wrench.... god bless GM for that one.... I dont know why your replacing the bottom half..... if i remember correctly they are all metal..... just replace the top half.... take out the bolt on each side to seperate the two halfs and lift the motor up with a cherry picker.... then unbolt the three bolts....have fun...... it wont be fun

the nuts are just regular nuts....... NO IDEA why gm didn't weld them to the frame....... woulda saved me about 3 hrs during my 4.3 swap because the left lower control arm sprung when i unbolted it and it was a MOFO to try and get it back in by myself.

 

[s10quinn]

motor mount prob

Thanks, you presented me with the solution, not one that I wanted to hear, but its the solution never the less.

I have intentions of slipping in some 3" coils that I have bought. I guess this is the best time to do just that.

I have to replace the bottom part of the mount. My mounts are two piece, one on top with just steel as a mount, the rubber mount is the lower part, with the three bolts and the dreaded nuts.

You must be describing a slightly different mount if you suggest I only need to remove the other portion.

Thanks again.

 

[s10quinn]

Your truck

Whoa, too wierd, I just saw your truck profile. Almost EXACTLY what I am putting together. Here's what I have so far, I'm just in the process of bolting it all up.

86 s10
3" coil fron, 3" block rear
sir michael's roll pan
IROC wheels (89)
APC sport mirrors

Soon to include 2" drop a arms from the wreck I got my donor motor from

I have to return my mirrors, somehow got a full size chev set. Did you mirrors bolt righto n with no mods?

 

[meeh350]

yeah i remember now.. the 2.8s have the rubber on the frame side.... 4.3 has the rubber on the motor........ i think..... ive been looking back and forth so much its all a blur....... i am sure about the access and nuts though... it sucks

 

[uyt67]

hey on the motor mount thing. i took off the passenger side tire and was able to get a wrench(5/8'') and a 5/8" socket on the other side. that got it loose it was pretty easy about twenty minutes of arthritic manuvering and it was out.
then i loosened the three bolts that go int the frame but the highest one near the tire is blocked by the upper cusion so loosen it till it is just spinning and then put the tire back on lower the jack and jack under the engine and it will come up.

I can't at this point figure out how to get the upper block or mount off the rubber part is blocking the socket as is th aluminum heat shield and i cant saeem to get to any of the rear bolts either any solutions?

 

[s10quinn]

I figured it all out

Ok, this is my first Chev, I'm typically a Ford guy but only by coincidence.

I figured GM would have everything all worked out nice and totally compatible....nope.

Would you believe the ONLY way to get to the nuts for the actuat motor mount itself is to drop the lower A arms? Yeah, I just finished doing this over the weekend.

You gotta drop the coil springs so be sure to get an INTERNAL spring compressor. Not external, I tried to use a pair of external on an internal application.....scary. The internal compressor is the only way to go.


Get a nice long ratchet extension about 2 feet and a universal joint on the end with your socket. 15 mm I believe. Why the f*&k would GM go half metric half standard all over the truck? Its this type of thing that makes people go postal.

Anyhoo, here's irony for yah. I dropped the springs and decided why I was there it was time to put in my new lowering springs. I put em in, got all excited, dropped the truck on the ground and BAM! the truck is exactly the same height. It wa supposed to drop 3".

I double checked with my parts dealer on Friday. I said "I have the factory spring out, and the new one next to it, they are the same height. He says,"What color is the spring?" I say "Silver" he says, "Thats the right one"

Wait till they get a mouth full from me on Monday. They can do the re & re now. Idiots.

Anyways, sorry to say but if you want the mounts out, you gotta split the a arm from the spindle, get the coil out, remove the a arm and then yo can reach up in the frame. The ONLY way bud. sorry.

 

[Dr.Fiero]

On those springs... drive it for a few weeks. The suspension techniques ones in my summer car (see left!) are 1.5-2" drops. When I first put them in the car sat HIGHER than stock! Took a bit for them to settle down - now it's nice and low - and rides like I've got 2*4's for shocks (sigh - trade offs!).

 

[meeh350]

Re: I figured it all out

I figured GM would have everything all worked out nice and totally compatible....nope.
You gotta drop the coil springs so be sure to get an INTERNAL spring compressor. Not external, I tried to use a pair of external on an internal application.....scary. The internal compressor is the only way to go.
Anyways, sorry to say but if you want the mounts out, you gotta split the a arm from the spindle, get the coil out, remove the a arm and then yo can reach up in the frame. The ONLY way bud. sorry.

Wrong

drop the control arm by undoing the two pivot bolts...... let the spring drop the control arm out and you can reach up in fine... i did it. its alot less work if you dont need the springs out... in your case it worked out and you were already putting new springs in... but for those who are doing it for just motor mounts they dont need to... I did it by myself, it would be 100 times easier with another person to help put it back together though.

oh yeah, i believe that ford and chevy are equally reliable..... but i lean to gms because parts are Cheap and abundant and other than these motor mounts they are ALOT easier to work on.....

 

[grayline]

i have just started with a 4cyl. to v8 motor swap as everything was going smooth until i ran into an issue with the nuts on the bottom side of the motor mounts. Instead of dropping the lower arm we cut a 1'' by 3" slot with a cut-off wheel in the frame and stuck a wrench in the gap to get at the nuts and as of right now, that only worked for the passenger side because the driver side has the gas lines running through it. now that i have read other posts we will prob drop the lower arm on the driver side and passenger side to get the nuts back on smfh wat aggravation. start back woking tommorow and will let u know what we came up with... ps. weld a plate back if you are gonna try to cut the frame

 

[jimmykicker]

^^^^^^^...true...If you have a grinder, you can cut some access slots in the front crossmember like I did. Look at the thread in my signature and you can see how I did it. This might not be feasible with the engine in the truck without removing a LOT of stuff in which case may be more work than removing the control arms. I did this on mine with the motor OUT and the front core support removed, so it was cake. Benefit of this? Next time I need to replace one, I can do it with minimal effort....Worked on both sides for me. Tip...just don't hit the gas lines! It is true, that they are there, but it's plain to see where they are, so avoiding them is pretty easy. Take your time

The JTR V8 conversion book suggests a hole saw for this same process. Might be easier

 

[jimmykicker]

i have just started with a 4cyl. to v8 motor swap as everything was going smooth until i ran into an issue with the nuts on the bottom side of the motor mounts. Instead of dropping the lower arm we cut a 1'' by 3" slot with a cut-off wheel in the frame and stuck a wrench in the gap to get at the nuts and as of right now, that only worked for the passenger side because the driver side has the gas lines running through it. now that i have read other posts we will prob drop the lower arm on the driver side and passenger side to get the nuts back on smfh wat aggravation. start back woking tommorow and will let u know what we came up with... ps. weld a plate back if you are gonna try to cut the frame

Man, I'm not really sure that two small slots are going to affect the integrity of the crossmember....I don't think that's necessary. Mine hasn't collapsed yet. There's holes all over the frame from the factory.

 

[Mad Max]

Man, a 9 year old thread coming back to life - YEAH. I changed the mount on my dime last February. I have a lift :rotf:... so, I can do this standing up which makes it a snap. One of my dimes has slots in the frame that look factory. They are perfectly symetrical as though they were punched in a punch machine (??) It's a '92 - do you think that GM finally figured it out???
Anyway, the one I changed the mount on - I used visegrips on the top bolt to hold it still, then I used a 1/2" long extension, universal joint and 15MM socket - it was a little tricky, but I got all of them out without too much difficulty. I have a Snap On impact swivel that made the job easy. It took 20 minutes start to finish :not:
I put the bolts in from the BOTTOM this time and ran the nuts down from the top I used the swivel to ram the bolts back in - remember, this is on a lift so it was tits. I just reached up and around the frame to start the nuts from the top. It sounds like it's impossible, but I used different angles from the bottom to get around the lower control arm.
Confucius say: Man with lift have easy job...

 

[Mad Max]

BTW, changing springs is also a breeze...
Jack the truck up, use jack stands under the FRAME, take the shock out - hardest part is holding the shock shaft still while you are taking off the top retaining nut - then crack the lower ball joint, make SURE you have a floor jack under the lower control arm!! - then lower the control arm. Lift the spindle out of the way, you can use a coat hanger to hold it out of the way, then lower the jack all the way. This will take tension off of the sring sufficiently to pry it out with a pry bar. It will pop out of the TOP spring perch by prying on it from the bottom. When istalling the new spring you have to MAKE SURE (!!) it is seated correctly in the control arm. The spring tail has to be in the indent or you will not have the ride height you want. Look in the upper and lower spring pocket, you'll see what I'm talking about. You will most likely have to use your foot with a solid boot on it to pop the spring back in. Once it is in, seat it. Then jack the floor jack back up, connect the ball joint and install the shock. Some trucks come with rubber isolators on the top of the spring, I put mine back on, while some guys leave them out. They are supposedly there to insulate against road noise. Your call.
Sounds simple? Yes it is. I takes me about 20 minutes/side. 20 minutes is a magic number here... :haha: Ok, maybe 30 minutes. Out of my six dimes, I have installed springs in 3 of them. Of course I have a lift and air tools, but it shouldn't be much worse without these tools. You will have to use jack stands under the frame - MAKE SURE you do that or you will be squashed.
Oh, and one last item - comparing your old spring to a new spring doesn't work. The new spring can be taller even though it is a lowering type unit. The spring wire comes in different ratings, so depending on the spring, there will be different heights.

 

[neo71665]

My 87 4x4 has small slots in it, stick the shouldered nut in the box end of a wrench and slide it in. My 91 2wd I changed out when I rebuilt the front end. I'm a neat freak so while I had it down I sandblasted and painted everything that could come off. Since the parts were off I just went in the lower a arm pockets.

Both of my trucks now have poly mounts so hopefuly its the last time I swap mounts.

 

[Mad Max]

My 87 4x4 has small slots in it, stick the shouldered nut in the box end of a wrench and slide it in. My 91 2wd I changed out when I rebuilt the front end. I'm a neat freak so while I had it down I sandblasted and painted everything that could come off. Since the parts were off I just went in the lower a arm pockets.

Both of my trucks now have poly mounts so hopefuly its the last time I swap mounts.

You are correcto Monsieure Neo. The only way to do a project correctly is the right way .
It has always amazed me that people hack and slash stuff together. I am dealing with that on the Luv project I just purchased. Wrong size washers, nuts instead of bushing stock, miss aligned parts, and CRAP fasteners. Man, washers, nuts, bolts and stuff is so inexpensive. Even stainless fasteners are CHEAP!! It takes short time to do it the right way, particularly when there is a unique project involved. WTF.
Confucius say: Man who do it right have nice result...