Hi: I recently got new replacement engine and transmission mounts installed in my 1993 240SX SE. I expected a smoother movements from my engine, but to my surprise I can feel more vibrations in the car. You can even see that the engine looks very tight in the compartment, it almost doesn't move.
Something else, these mounts sit the engine like 1/2 inch or 1 inch higher and now my Stillen strut bar doesn't fit.
Any comments on this, is it fixable? Suggestions?
New mounts...MORE VIBRATION???
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Julio Bro!
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Tue Jul 30, 2002 11:01 am
- Car: 1993 240SX SE, manual transmission, Stillen intake & strut bar, Magnaflow cat + custom cat-back, NISMO sus
Yea, I know how you feel about the STB not fitting. I recently (finally) got my engine and transmission mounts in my car, and found out that the STB no longer fits. I took the cam cover off and shaved the letters (twin cam 16 valve) off, and painted it w/ heat resistant paint. It worked out better than I could've possibly imagined. There still is minor contact that I will try to remedy by placing a thin sheet of metal b/w the STB and the strut towers.
Another thing that rubbed was a screw that bolts the fuel line to the intake manifold. All I did w/ that was remove my screw. There are a couple more holding it in, and I seriously doubt that it's going anywhere.
I also dremmeled the underside of the STB where there was contact. Yea, dremmeling a STB might reduce its structural integrity, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than rubbing against the cam cover. Now that's REALLY annoying. It was like having the engine solidly mounted, w/o the benefits. lol.
I do love the mounts, though, and would do it again in a heart beat. Probably not by myself again, but w/ a little help.
I didn't notice any more vibration you mentioned, though. To be honest, I noticed a reduction in vibration--especially whenever you gas it, the car just seems to rev up, instead of rattling the occupants. I think this, partly, has to do w/ the fact that my stock ones were pretty worn out. This entire post was written under the assumption that the mounts you installed were the Nismo mounts. I've never heared of other moutns raising the placement of the engine. If you got polyurethane mounts, or URAS type mounts that are just a thin sheet of rubber on a aluminum block, then I understand the vibration.
Anyway, the easiest fix for the STB is probably going to be to get a thin sheet of metal, and sandwich it b/w the STB and the ST. Good luck on trying to make it fit. . . and don't get a sheet that's too thick. the bolts are only so long, and you will need to have adequate thread, and the STB may have a problem clearing you hood.
Good Luck,KennyUnderground Motorsports
Another thing that rubbed was a screw that bolts the fuel line to the intake manifold. All I did w/ that was remove my screw. There are a couple more holding it in, and I seriously doubt that it's going anywhere.
I also dremmeled the underside of the STB where there was contact. Yea, dremmeling a STB might reduce its structural integrity, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than rubbing against the cam cover. Now that's REALLY annoying. It was like having the engine solidly mounted, w/o the benefits. lol.
I do love the mounts, though, and would do it again in a heart beat. Probably not by myself again, but w/ a little help.
I didn't notice any more vibration you mentioned, though. To be honest, I noticed a reduction in vibration--especially whenever you gas it, the car just seems to rev up, instead of rattling the occupants. I think this, partly, has to do w/ the fact that my stock ones were pretty worn out. This entire post was written under the assumption that the mounts you installed were the Nismo mounts. I've never heared of other moutns raising the placement of the engine. If you got polyurethane mounts, or URAS type mounts that are just a thin sheet of rubber on a aluminum block, then I understand the vibration.
Anyway, the easiest fix for the STB is probably going to be to get a thin sheet of metal, and sandwich it b/w the STB and the ST. Good luck on trying to make it fit. . . and don't get a sheet that's too thick. the bolts are only so long, and you will need to have adequate thread, and the STB may have a problem clearing you hood.
Good Luck,KennyUnderground Motorsports
Wouldn't you expect at least a bit more vibration with a slightly stiffer mount? Like you said, it's not like these are solid mounts, but I'd certainly hope the NISMO mounts are quite a bit more stiff than stock.
If your engine is moving less, that energy has to go somewhere. Just out of curiousity, were your old mounts trashed?
Other than finding new bars that are known to work with NISMO mounts, I suppose Kenny's solution is your best bet.
If your engine is moving less, that energy has to go somewhere. Just out of curiousity, were your old mounts trashed?
Other than finding new bars that are known to work with NISMO mounts, I suppose Kenny's solution is your best bet.
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Julio Bro!
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Tue Jul 30, 2002 11:01 am
- Car: 1993 240SX SE, manual transmission, Stillen intake & strut bar, Magnaflow cat + custom cat-back, NISMO sus
I don't know which replacemente the shop used. This was done at the same place I took the car for some body and paint job...you know, those things happen.
They are experts on suspension too and so they know some mechanical stuff; they told me about the faulty mounts, particularly the transmission one was completely cut. I authorized the change, the originals were trashed, but I can see the stickers of the new ones and they indicate Nissan 240SX for my years. I will call them to ask for the brand.
Reading this posts and others I understand the vibration...it's not harsh, just not what I expected. Now I know I shouldn't expect "like new" tranquility in a 140K engine with 10-1/2 years, particularly if the mounts are probably stiffer than the originals. I did notice the better throttle and I can feel the rear slam when shifting hard...that's new and cool.
Regarding the bar, I do love my Stillen unit, this what I'll try. As it's a matter of maybe 1/2 inch, the bases of the bar have the main support at the inside screw, I'll put there a thick washer and slowly tight the nuts back. The bases are not that thick, so I expect they'll bend to the modified position, this will be my first attempt. The second attempt could be fitting a washer per nut or asking Stillen if they have a taller base.
Thanks, I'll be in touch.
They are experts on suspension too and so they know some mechanical stuff; they told me about the faulty mounts, particularly the transmission one was completely cut. I authorized the change, the originals were trashed, but I can see the stickers of the new ones and they indicate Nissan 240SX for my years. I will call them to ask for the brand.
Reading this posts and others I understand the vibration...it's not harsh, just not what I expected. Now I know I shouldn't expect "like new" tranquility in a 140K engine with 10-1/2 years, particularly if the mounts are probably stiffer than the originals. I did notice the better throttle and I can feel the rear slam when shifting hard...that's new and cool.
Regarding the bar, I do love my Stillen unit, this what I'll try. As it's a matter of maybe 1/2 inch, the bases of the bar have the main support at the inside screw, I'll put there a thick washer and slowly tight the nuts back. The bases are not that thick, so I expect they'll bend to the modified position, this will be my first attempt. The second attempt could be fitting a washer per nut or asking Stillen if they have a taller base.
Thanks, I'll be in touch.
the nismo mounts are cheaper than the OEM ones. At least from my local dealer. so thats why you probably ended up with them.They are more stiff and sit higher than the OEM mounts. This might be due to the fact the the old mounts are squished flat. mine came apart in pieces when i pulled them.More vibration is a given. The KA is a truck motor. the SR or RB is much smoother.Put washers under the inner-most bolt under the strut bar mount, this will shim it up. If that doesnt work, take the strut bar off and bend it. heat it up, use a pipe bender, whatever.
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barrigas14
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:53 am
buy a lexus...seriously. my car vibrates because i have BRAND NEW mounts...no way!! your old ones were shot to hell. and the new ones are better. if the are the Nismo ones then they did you a favor. Nismo = $220 for both sides of engine and transmission. new gel filled bs Nissan OEM mounts are $95 or so for one engine mount.
haveblue...common man...KA is NOT A TRUCK MOTOR!!!!! it was first in cars then in the truck...btw the truck KA is/was made in Mexico and lacks some of the internal parts that the Japanese made KA has.
haveblue...common man...KA is NOT A TRUCK MOTOR!!!!! it was first in cars then in the truck...btw the truck KA is/was made in Mexico and lacks some of the internal parts that the Japanese made KA has.
HaveBlue wrote:blah blah, the engine is torquey and not smooth and was used in pickup trucks. in my opinion it is exactly what a light truck motor is like. thats why i call it a truck motor. most motors designed for cars during that time were much smoother and had less torque than hp.
that fits the description of most domestic muscle car engines (except for them not being used in trucks) i dont think they are truck engines
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barrigas14
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:53 am
marshun wrote:japanese designed KA. the US cars were prolly made in mexico or canada or osmethin :P.
tear down the block and see the differences. the two engines are not the same. cars may be made in mexico...but engines are not.
so is a 350 V8 in the vette a truck motor because it is used in a 1500? (don't know the real displacement and blah blah blah...but you get the idea.)
barrigas14 wrote:tear down the block and see the differences. the two engines are not the same. cars may be made in mexico...but engines are not.
so is a 350 V8 in the vette a truck motor because it is used in a 1500? (don't know the real displacement and blah blah blah...but you get the idea.)
right, so you expect thousands of motors to get shipped from japan? you've got to be kidding. the motors are assembled other places man.
The question is this: Why do the NISMO mounts make the motor sit higher? I have a JIC Magic STB and I don't want to see it get ruined by rubbing against the hood or the motor after I get new mounts. If you have seen my posts before, you will know that I am just waiting for my school loans to come in so that I can purchase a few things.
I was planning on getting the solid Kazama mounts and now that sounds like a way better plan then the NISMO mounts. Does everybody have problems with these mounts and STB contact?
I was planning on getting the solid Kazama mounts and now that sounds like a way better plan then the NISMO mounts. Does everybody have problems with these mounts and STB contact?
lol....
The California Highway Patrol are the only state troopers that have ever pulled me over AND given me a ticket. I have been pulled over for speeding in NINE other states by state patrols and have NEVER gotten a ticket. Only in Cali, when cruising 11 miles over the limit. That's fine because I was breaking the law, but you know what I'm talking about..............
The California Highway Patrol are the only state troopers that have ever pulled me over AND given me a ticket. I have been pulled over for speeding in NINE other states by state patrols and have NEVER gotten a ticket. Only in Cali, when cruising 11 miles over the limit. That's fine because I was breaking the law, but you know what I'm talking about..............
we've had 2 newspaper articles about our 'troubles' with the cops here. pm me or catch me on aim and ill send you some links.-
barrigas14
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:53 am
marshun wrote:right, so you expect thousands of motors to get shipped from japan? you've got to be kidding. the motors are assembled other places man.
if you knew anything...anything about VIN numbers then you would know that a certain letter in the VIN tells where your car was assembled. if you don't believe it...take it up with Nissan...they can answer all those questions for you.
and yes the 240sx motor built in Japan. kinda like how BMW and other cars are built in other countries then shipped here. its not like the 240sx was killer seller.
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Julio Bro!
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Tue Jul 30, 2002 11:01 am
- Car: 1993 240SX SE, manual transmission, Stillen intake & strut bar, Magnaflow cat + custom cat-back, NISMO sus
OK, for now the problem is corrected, although not that troublefree as I thought.
I bought 6 galvanized metal washers and began testing for height by placing, one at a time, underneath the bar base on the inner bolt.
One washer kept the bar touching the valve cover, a second washer left it, I would say like 2 cm away from the valve cover at the rear of the bar. As the bar is angled, it looked great at the front, but the rear was very close.
I test with the third washer, but then there was no threading left at the bolt to grip the nut; so turned back to 2 washers at each base and began tightening the nuts. Here the problem came, the nuts are like connical at the bottom with no threads at the beggining. This left the bolt grabbing just a few threads and when I began tightening it wasn't locking. So slowly I took the nut out and there I saw the threading was beggining to damage.
The bigger damage was on the nut, the bolt was OK with just one thread "twisted". I dismantled everything and went to a nuts and bolts shop and bought 6 normal nuts with the threads beggining at the very bottom. Went back to the bar and slowly tighten the new nuts with my torque wrench at 35 lbs-ft...voila! The Stillen bar is back in place.
As I said it's off the valve cover by a few cm, but it's enough for the engine to move when cranking. The only thing that's still touching is the wire top of spark number 3, which as you know it's almost under the bar. That's silicone rubber so I suppose it's not gonna get damaged, maybe marked, but not broken...I hope.
So the washers worked with no bending or heat treating of the bar, which could've changed it's specs. I hope this is helpful for the people that got taller than OEM engine mounts.
I bought 6 galvanized metal washers and began testing for height by placing, one at a time, underneath the bar base on the inner bolt.
One washer kept the bar touching the valve cover, a second washer left it, I would say like 2 cm away from the valve cover at the rear of the bar. As the bar is angled, it looked great at the front, but the rear was very close.
I test with the third washer, but then there was no threading left at the bolt to grip the nut; so turned back to 2 washers at each base and began tightening the nuts. Here the problem came, the nuts are like connical at the bottom with no threads at the beggining. This left the bolt grabbing just a few threads and when I began tightening it wasn't locking. So slowly I took the nut out and there I saw the threading was beggining to damage.
The bigger damage was on the nut, the bolt was OK with just one thread "twisted". I dismantled everything and went to a nuts and bolts shop and bought 6 normal nuts with the threads beggining at the very bottom. Went back to the bar and slowly tighten the new nuts with my torque wrench at 35 lbs-ft...voila! The Stillen bar is back in place.
As I said it's off the valve cover by a few cm, but it's enough for the engine to move when cranking. The only thing that's still touching is the wire top of spark number 3, which as you know it's almost under the bar. That's silicone rubber so I suppose it's not gonna get damaged, maybe marked, but not broken...I hope.
So the washers worked with no bending or heat treating of the bar, which could've changed it's specs. I hope this is helpful for the people that got taller than OEM engine mounts.
I actually thought about that method also, but was a little iffy to go through w/ it. I just think that the structural rigidity of the STB MAY be compromised, though I don't know to what extent. Plus the fact that the thread length is almost maxed out just by putting the STB on. So far my method of shaving the cam cover has worked for normal driving, but when I turned up the heat, there was a very little contact b/w the STB and the cam cover. There's a little spot where the paint is showing evidence of contact, so I'm going to have to paint it again.I plan on fixing this problem once I have enough time to install my coilovers, so I can find out the thread length on the coilovers.As of now, I'm planning on raising the STB w/ a piece of sheet metal. I'm going to measure how much clearance I'll need w/ some washers, and then fabricate a circular piece w/ 3 holes. I'll let you guys know how it goes, but it'll probably another couple of weeks. (may be even longer 'cause I'm planning on getting the 300z uprights for the rear, and I might wait for those...oh crap, it's gonna take for ever. lol)
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Julio Bro!
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Tue Jul 30, 2002 11:01 am
- Car: 1993 240SX SE, manual transmission, Stillen intake & strut bar, Magnaflow cat + custom cat-back, NISMO sus
Hello karay240:
I think that's a nice idea; I would say make the sheet metal thicker at the inner area while maintaining almost flat at the other bolts. I didn't measure, but it looked like the 2 washers raise the base about a half inch, you'll probably do with less since you already provided some space behind the bar.
From my experience I will recommend that you get a set of regular nuts to tighten the new setup, this way you don't even begin to strain the bolt's threads.
Good Luck.
I think that's a nice idea; I would say make the sheet metal thicker at the inner area while maintaining almost flat at the other bolts. I didn't measure, but it looked like the 2 washers raise the base about a half inch, you'll probably do with less since you already provided some space behind the bar.
From my experience I will recommend that you get a set of regular nuts to tighten the new setup, this way you don't even begin to strain the bolt's threads.
Good Luck.
barrigas14 wrote:if you knew anything...anything about VIN numbers then you would know that a certain letter in the VIN tells where your car was assembled. if you don't believe it...take it up with Nissan...they can answer all those questions for you.
and yes the 240sx motor built in Japan. kinda like how BMW and other cars are built in other countries then shipped here. its not like the 240sx was killer seller.
actually i think you should look into this. seriously. it was designed by japanese people. cause sending that many motors from japan to america just isnt cost efficient at all. you think all the bmw's and their motors were made in europe?
yes!http://greenvilleonline.com/ne...2.htm
Seafreight is cheap.
Nissan only relatively recently (last 5 years) built a billion dollar plant that makes engines on American soil.shipping is hell of a lot cheaper than a multibillion dollar manufacturing facility.
Seafreight is cheap.
Nissan only relatively recently (last 5 years) built a billion dollar plant that makes engines on American soil.shipping is hell of a lot cheaper than a multibillion dollar manufacturing facility.
http://users.pandora.be/a.j.beirens/0212.htmlscroll down to the english part
or read the cnn storyhttp://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/....html
lots of car companies ship engines, parts and whole cars.
or read the cnn storyhttp://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/....html
lots of car companies ship engines, parts and whole cars.