one step closer to a "sophisticated" s50e30 (proper tranny mounts torquening)

[static]

today i've tried the "settling-in the tranny mounts" trick that i read about on bf.c
The smoothness as revs climb 4-5-6.. that resulted from it was pretty unbelievable! all the vibrations are pretty much gone

I'm running stock mounts for now but will try this trick on the UUC ones i have too. (so it was vibrating even with stockers)
So here it is:
1. loosen up all 4 mount nuts and the 2 bolts that hold the brace, to the point that you can easily rotate them with your fingers then tighten them with your fingers only (until the point where you can't tighten anymore, but don't strain yourself), if you have locking nuts, you can't really spin them with fingers, so use the wrench but stop tightening just at the point when it get's a bit tighter (i.e the nut meets the surface)
2. drive around, on a road with as least traffic as possible (just in case), slowly first and punch it couple of times after - you will probably hear clunks but don't be alarmed.
3. jack the car up again and tighten all 4 nuts and 2 bolts to 16lb/ft (with an index-finger-tight with a regular 13mm wrench leverage which is about half a foot)
4. enjoy the smooth, vibration free ride

[FredK]

hm, interesting. I'll have to try this with my UUC mounts.

[dougsic]

Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a try this week.

What do you suppose is causing the vibration prior to this procedure?

Could you see that the mounts were in a different location after the drive?

[static]

well, my and several other peoples' (including Rob from UUC) conclusion is that tranny mounts are extremely sensitive to overtorquing and all kinds of preload (from any direction)

so the idea is to let the tranny "decide" where the best spot is that the mounts should precisely be, then just tighten them up so they stay in this place.

prior to me doing this i had the stock mounts NOT overtorqued, but i had the brace torqued pretty tight. I understand now the reason for the slots where the brace meets the body.

no wonder people with UUC mounts complain about vibration, it's tricky to get it right on the first time.

[matt]

I just did this and it made it worse.

Thoughts?

[PiercedE30]

lolz

[static]

hmmm..

try again? it took some people on bf.c 2-3 times to get it right

[Mr.SWISS]

Never had this prob, just and odd clunking after I switched the diff out.