Thats right, I went full on ghetto, and am installing hockey puck engine mounts...this is for my 99 5spd Infiniti G20. So far, Ive only converted the 2 lower mounts, of the 4 total in this model. Theyre not installed yet, so I havent had a chance to feel the difference, but its probably going to be considerable.
First, what I did (sorry for so few pics - and no making fun of the carpet on the workbench, its my grandfathers bench, and he jumped out of airplanes, on purpose, and shot Germans. My grandpa could beat up your grandpa).
I started with an aftermarket ANCHOR brand mount. I replaced the tired stock units some time ago with these cheapo aftermarket joints, and of course, they failed a few months later (because Anchor brand is full on garbage on an epic scale).
I used a very sharp fillet knife to cut thru the failed rubber. I used some motor oil to lubricate the blade, and I had it out in about 10 min or so. I hear all these horror stories of guys using presses, torches, power saws and all types of other nefarious and sundry processes to get the old rubber out. The fillet knife did a great job, fast, without mess, and left a perfect platform for the puck - leaving a thin ring of rubber still attached to the mount body.
NOT PICTURED - I used the knife to liberate the steel bushing. I just clamped it in a vice and cut the rubber away. This took maybe another 15 min or so. I used a bench grinder to slightly smooth the front edge of the bushing, this will help it press into the rubber puck.
Here is the test subject - youre average vulcanized rubber standard size and weight hockey puck - $1.35 at the local skating rink pro shop - Northlands in Evendale Ohio, here is your shout out. They also have lightweight Blue pucks, I might fart around with those if these are too harsh...more to come on that topic at a later date.
I marked the center and used a 5/8" paddle drill bit to bore the hole for the bushing. The bushing is actually closer to 11/16", maybe 3/4" diameter. I heated the mount with a plumbing hand torch to help expand it. I used a hunk of lumber cut to size to press the puck into the mount housing with a bench vice. IT was a great fit, and no mods to the puck diameter were needed. Bazinga!!!
The ring of rubber the fillet knife left behind when removing the old mount material helped lock the puck into place when the mount shrank back down as it cooled. I again used a bench vice to press the bushing into the puck. Since the bushing is slightly larger than the hole it was being pressed into (thats what she said), it forced the puck to expand slightly, also helping to lock the puck into the mount housing with additional force. I drilled three 3/16" holes around the middle of the puck to help ease vibration. I also ran a thin bead of RTV on either side of the puck, just as a precaution. I might stack some fender washers on the bushing to help keep the rubber centered. We will see...
A few notes - those paying close attention will notice that the mount at the end isnt the same as the mount housing in the first pic...thats because Im a lazy ass and didnt take a lot of pictures with the first mount, I was kind of experimenting, and seeing where this would go. So you guys will have to use your imaginations and pretend (thats what she said).
I have another set of anchor mounts still in the car (Im a glutton for punishment - I was hoping my first $45 was spent on a bad set, and hoping the next $45 would get me a good pair...wrong!!!). These are failed worse than the mounts pictured above. Im pretty sure the front mount has failed completely, and the bushing is resting on the mount housing, I get the most annoying, loud buzzy noise as the bushing vibrates on the mount housing at anything but WOT, and Im probably going to set my car on fire if I cant make it stop...hence the hockey puck treatment (cuz besides being lazy, Im also a cheap ass - If I had a few extra duckets, some real urethane mounts would be top of the list). Like I said, depending on the harshness of these mounts, I may try the lightweight blue pucks (for youth league hockey). Im pretty sure theyre the same size, just less dense, so should damp vibrations more (though may be weaker, so who knows). Ive read online that the rubber in a regulation puck is in the 80a durometer range. I think some of the aftermarket urethane mounts appear to be in the 70a range, so hopefully the black rubber isnt too much worse. Like I said, perhaps I will experiment on the blue pucks if the vibes warrant it.
My upper mounts are also in bad shape, but dont do as much to support the engine as the lowers, so they will (may?) come later, the lowers are priority. I do know that my shifting isnt as crisp as I wish it could be. The trans mount will probably be on the surgical table before long (along with a urethane shifter bushing, and probably the ghetto short shifter mod, aka - bashing the plastic ball that locates the shifter lever in the mechanism up toward the shift knob a half inch...I have a spare shifter, so we will see).
...more to come, these will probably go in tomorrow evening. Hopefully I will have an update on Friday.
