1938 Plymouth Motor Mounts With A Distribution Tube Thrown In

[deathbound]

I've searched motor mounts/engine mounts & came up with a lot of results....most of which only included the words "engine", "mount", etc...anyway, to the problem at hand. I can get at 3 of the 4 nuts for the front mount (rubber sandwiched between the 2 plates). I can't access the front right (passenger side) bottom nut under the front "cross member". The timing chain cover protrudes out & blocks access to the nut. My question is:how do you access the nut? Do I need to remove the 2 top nuts (done) & lift the engine enough to unbolt the cross member/remove from the car & then remove the engine mount from the cross member? I plan on also replacing the rear mounts. E-brake cable will be addressed (running over trans cross member). Pics included for "WOW" factor, along with pics of the "garage made" distribution tube I pulled out, which will be replaced, along with the rebuilt water pump. (1938 Plymouth P6 Coupe)

       

       front

 

 

      rear drivers side-upper

 

      rear drivers side-lower

      rear passenger side-upper

      rear passenger side-lower

 

 

 

[deathbound]

Now the distribution tube...................

 

    "garage built" dist tube/replacement dist tube

 

EDIT:just to be clear...this "garage built" dist tube (on right in 1st pic) is what I removed....I did NOT make this.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2013 by deathbound

[TodFitch]

Been a long time since I did the engine mounts and I had the body off the frame at the time, but I think I had to remove the front engine support. Only a few bolts holding it on to the frame so it should not be too bad, just block up the engine or use a engine hoist to raise it a bit.

[Andydodge]

Those have got to be the worst looking engine and gearbox mounts I have ever seen.........lol....almost worth keeping hung on the wall......lol......with the front mount, undo the top 2 nuts which you have done, then get underneath and remove the bolts holding the mount support that go thru the front crossmember. The original "bolts" that were used here were a special "U" shaped bolt that held in place whilst you undid the nuts underneath, they sometimes get replaced with normal bolts.......ideally jack the car up, support the chassis and place a bottle jack under the engine with a piece of timber on the bottom of the sump at the front, when the bolts are undone, jack up the engine slowly, maybe an 1" or so then you can remove the support bolts and take the support off and access the nut you can't reach on the bench..........bolt the mount onto the support plate and reinstall the support with the new rubber mount, install bolts and nuts & do up.......as for the rear mounts, make sure to note exactly what washers, plates, etc go where and in what order..........basically the same as the front mount, jack up and support chassis and use a bottle jack or similar to gently lift the bellhousing/gearbox up maybe 1/2-1" and undo the remains of the mount........looks like lots of oil & grease........yummy.............lol.......regards, andyd

[Desotodav]

I pulled the front mounting bracket off my 52 truck when I removed the engine a few weeks back. I did it much the same the way that AndyD mentioned. I assume that your earlier model car has a similar setup as my 52 truck as they design didn't change too much over the years. I found that the bolts at the bottom of the engine mount were pretty much impossible to get at. I was able to get enough of a gap to remove the front mounting brace by lifting the engine up slightly. There's not a lot of gap between the engine mounting brace and the top of the timing chain cover so don't lift your engine too much. I hope it all goes well for you DB!

[desoto1939]

When I replaced ny fron motor mount on my 39 Desoto I did not have to take out the front metal bracket. I removed the two top moutning nuts then put a 2x4 under the oil pan at the front ant lifted the engine up so that the  studs where no longer sticking out throught the top of the bracket. It is a tight fit then loosened the two bottom nuts and removed the rubber support.

 

Installed inthe reverse order.  Did this about 10 years ago.  It is very tight take the fan blade off and also the water pump pulley to gain access to the motor mount. area.

 

Rich HArtung

desoto1939@aol.com

[sorensen_dk]

I did as Rich Hartung describes but only removed the fanbelt up front. I remember having to shorten the upper bolts of the front mount a bit due to clearance problems as engine was raised to the max. Getting the old one out was not a problem since it was completely flattened. I used engine mounts from Steele front and back.

 

Tom

[deathbound]

Thanks for all the replies......Andy & Desotodav, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking I have to do (just needed confirmation). As you can see in the pictures, everything is removed, so I have unobstructed access to the front of the engine. The lower right (passenger side) engine mount nut is inaccessible with the way it sits now-believe me....I tried to get in there & it was laughing at me. I think the ONLY way to get to it is to remove the 2 bolts that hold the engine support to the frame & raise the engine enough to remove the engine support to access the nut & replace the engine mount. A few have said to use a jack/wood to raise the engine from under the oil pan. If I use an engine hoist, which are the 2 best picking points to use?

 

Anybody have any feedback on the distribution tube? The car didn't really run hot around town, but would get up to at least 212*+ on the freeway....according to my temp gauge. Hopefully the replacement distribution tube will help that. The holes in the "garage" built tube aren't even close to the replacement.

[Andydodge]

I would be more inclined to use the jack/timber method from underneath if possible as you don't have the raise it much, as mentioned about 1-1.5inches which it should be possible to do WITHOUT having to undo the exhaust, accelerator linkages, etc that MAYBE affected if you use a hoist and lift too far.......also by using the jack/timber from underneath method you don't have to find a way to LIFT the engine..........which will probably entail using the head bolts which then brings into play the chance of getting a blown head gasket...........me?......I did this job about 12/18mths ago on the 41 Plymouth and its a fiddly job but using some chassis stands, a jack and a piece of timber under the engine makes it relatively straightforward..........remove the engine mount support plate, bolt the rubber mount on it and replace..........its a piece of piss.........lol.........more or less..........lol..........but I'd save that front mount & rear mount at least until you can show them to the odd mate over a couple of beers.....lol.......andyd.    

[Don Coatney]

I did notice that the holes in your homebuilt water distribution tube were out of place. I believe the Crashler engineers placed the holes where they will do the most good. I applaud your efforts to do a remake but for fifty bucks why take a chance that your homebuilt will not work.

[TodFitch]

I did notice that the holes in your homebuilt water distribution tube were out of place. I believe the Crashler engineers placed the holes where they will do the most good. I applaud your efforts to do a remake but for fifty bucks why take a chance that your homebuilt will not work.

If I read the first post correctly, the home built distribution tube was found in the engine and it is being replaced with a correctly manufactured one.

[deathbound]

I did notice that the holes in your homebuilt water distribution tube were out of place. I believe the Crashler engineers placed the holes where they will do the most good. I applaud your efforts to do a remake but for fifty bucks why take a chance that your homebuilt will not work.

 

 

If I read the first post correctly, the home built distribution tube was found in the engine and it is being replaced with a correctly manufactured one.

 

 

Tod, you are 100% correct......found in the engine as mentioned in the first post. Even "IF" I had made that distribution tube, I sure wouldn't brag about it, especially on a public forum.

Edited May 9, 2013 by deathbound

[Don Coatney]

Sorry, I mis-read the original posting

[deathbound]

I have the mounts changed out............old mounts & replacement mounts:

 

First pic is a little misleading, but the studs line up exactly.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2013 by deathbound

[deathbound]

Mounts installed. Now the e-brake cable clears the x-member since the engine/trans sits higher. I will install the distribution tube, rebuilt water pump & related items soon. Thanks so far for all the replies & tips.

 

     drivers side rear upper mount

 

     drivers side rear lower mount

 

     passenger side rear upper mount

 

     passenger side rear lower mount

 

     front mount

 

[Don Coatney]

This information is for a P-15. Not sure if yours is the same.

 

[deathbound]

This information is for a P-15. Not sure if yours is the same.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Don, I copied that to my desktop a while back from 1 of your posts. I reassembled the rear mounts as they were when I removed them. Hopefully they are correct for the P6.

[deathbound]

Update....since I replaced the front engine mount/trans mounts, there is noticeably less vibration. Before I replaced the distribution tube, rebuilt the water pump, & installed a 160* thermostat, the car would run hot at freeway speeds (60-65 mph), the gauge would max out (212*) & I would get a little boil over. Since doing the work, it runs around 160* around town & the max temp I've seen at freeway speeds was about 190*. 

Edited August 18, 2013 by deathbound

[Andydodge]

Sounds like you've had a couple of wins.......great..........hope you kept those mounts.........lol........ain't cars fun.....lol.......andyd