Was running the car up the drive at the weekend (under it's own power!) and it was obvious that something was moving around rather more than it's supposed to. Lo and behold, an engine mount has come apart.
Now this is a "heavy duty" part from one of our suppliers of things TR and it's been on the car around two years, during which time it has sat in the garage waiting for me to get round to finishing it. No, it isn't under any strain, if it was the layrub at the back would rapidy shred itself, and I haven't jacked the car by the sump.
Whilst I was embracing the front wheel to get to the offending item I rolled under and eyeballed the trunnion grease seals. And, yes, they have perished as well. These are three years old, and still zero miles.
I've payed this silly game before with ball joint covers, so this time I've re-used the originals. 50 years old - they're fine. And all of the suspension joints are nylatron, fit and forget. There are just some components that you have to use a rubber seal, no alternative is available.
Now I know I can return the item and get a replacement, but I've still got to strip the trunnions, and pull the engine mounts, and it's B* cold out there. What I really want is a rubber component that's fit for purpose and yes, I am prepared to pay a premium price so that I don't have to rebuild the suspension every other year.
And these things are not just an irritant, they are MOT Fail, safety items. Don't even think about how good the rubber seals are in the brake calipers because they are from the same supplier.
Does this sound a familiar story? Has this happened to you? Is there anywhere we can buy rubber stuff that actually works like it's supposed to?
aaar that rubber (or lack of it) problem is still out there my friend.
I did listen to my mate Richard at the TR International talking to another very old friend of mine, Mike Hazzlewood. When I first met Mike some thirty years ago he had
one of every tr marque...and all on the road at the same time!
He's raced most of the numbers as well over the years but is clearing out "stuff" and was selling at the auto jumble section of the IWE.
Richard needed a 4 cylinder front engine plate. Mike had one, very grubby and covered in dead leaves etc. Richard offered "X" amount, Mike said yea but without the engine mounts....To my surprise
Richard said he wanted the mounts more than the plate!.......... that's when I knew there was still a problem with the market........
I will throw this over the New Spare Development Fund of the TR Register and see what they have to say..
Thanks Nigel. It would be nice if the SDF could help.
There are only a couple of places where rubber components haven't been superseded by polybush (or nylatron) alternatives. All of these are MOT fail, safety related items.
Foolishly I had assumed that buying "Heavy duty" mounts (at three times the price) would overcome the problems I've had with these in the past, especially the one under the gearbox tail. Sadly, this wasn't the case, one engine mount has just come unglued.
I know enough about tooling and production costs to understand the arithmetic in play here. As I see it, it just needs whoever procures these bits (and given the volumes involved, its probably single-sourced) to get the supplier by the short and curlys and kick him until he makes a batch in a verified, high specification modern compound, preferably in a prominent colour that's not black. We don't need any new tooling or re-costing, just a supply chain run by grown-ups that understand how quality works and will guarantee the product they sell.
If I was to turn up with a box of these bits at the international I could charge £10 a pop for the trunnion seals, and I'd have a queue round the block, just like Martin Jay does for his red rotor arms. This quality/performance/marketing model works for polybush, LED bulbs, and even a steering Rack fitting for TS2. Modern quality beats third-world copies of fifties engineering every time.
Sadly, I suspect that what we'll get is the same old sorry excuses, and a discussion that wanders off into panel fit for TR2's or something.
I was sat in the little room, you know, the place that you go to fill in forms, and the following thought came to me. Pausing only long enough to complete the paperwork, I popped into the shed and turned it into metal.
Pic DSCF4537.JPG is the "Heavy Duty" engine mount that has come apart after being sat in a stationary car for two years.
Pic DSCF4540.JPG is a piece of 3mm plate, cunningly cut to the same shape as the lower part of the mount, with three holes in it.
Pic DSCF4542.JPG is how it fits above the upper mount plate and stops the mount falling to bits in service.
I'm sure that this will inhibit the mount from moving, not that an HD mount is going to move much, so it'll be fitted with Nyloc nuts to stop it coming apart. If it's a bit noisier will I notice?
Once I have a gearbox mount in my hands I can probably make up a similar plate, which should sort the problem for ever.
