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2005: help fabricating engine mount shims!

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by tacomeeter, Jul 7, 2020.

  1. Jul 7, 2020 at 9:52 PM
    #1
    tacomeeter

    tacomeeter [OP] New Member

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    ... what's that, you say? ... We'll get there. : )

    Hi! First-time poster, somewhat-long-time lurker... Now, story time!

    Some time ago I bought a 2005 V6 MT TRD Off-road model. It's my first truck. It's a bit of rare combination in my area (the only thing I didn't care about was the color), so it was hard to be picky. The truck seemed quite sound, but it wasn't until after I had owned it for a bit and had the engine mounts replaced that I learned that my truck ONCE HAD A CRACKED FRAME. Yay! (see https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/05-motor-mounts-failed-failing.21849/)

    I bought it from a used dealer (that I do not love, but that I also give the benefit of the doubt to; they were clueless in general, so I hope also clueless as to its history). It seems that a PO had cracked the frame near the left-side engine mount. It seems that the PO had also, for very unclear reasons, chosen to repair it in a most ugly / cheap manner (sorry, I do not have photos on hand). I am not the best welder in the world, but I have played with mig & tig some... and this looks like it could have been somebody's first time welding mig or stick - super sloppy. I had the mechanics that were replacing the mount check it out; they couldn't make promises, but they said they torqued on it pretty hard and it seemed solid. There's no way to know the quality of the weld, but for now I have no real choice but to drive it. If it cracks again, I will reevaluate (and cry, and then drink, and then weld...). (I have taken it on some mild off-road trails and recovered other vehicles with it, and it has held up okay.)

    Now, the annoying part: after the new engine mounts settled in, the engine is sitting at a slight angle. It's a bit harder to get it into reverse, and the radiator fan is hitting the fan shroud, especially if the vehicle is turning on an incline. There's plenty of bolt at the mount, so my thought was to fabricate some shims to go between the frame and the mount to raise that side of the engine. This feels like a moderately crazy thing to do, but if it will allow me to continue to use my truck, it is the best thing I can do.

    I'm looking for:
    - advice on how to best solve this problem
    - a used left-side engine mount (or an engineering drawing of one!) that I can use as a template to cut shims that match the mount dimensions
    - popcorn, beer, and encouragement!

    My truck is the goodest truck. It deserves better than it has been treated for the first 150k mi. I have not put too much money into it aside from getting caught up on maintenance (brakes, mounts), but I do really want to be able to rely on this for long-distance adventures. Cheers!
     
  2. Jul 7, 2020 at 11:59 PM
    #2
    Waasheem

    Waasheem The catholic radio bear

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    Pics would help.

    depending on how much “shimming” is needed.
     
  3. Jul 8, 2020 at 7:30 AM
    #3
    Torspd

    Torspd Tor-nication

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    So that repaired frame mount isn't cracked and recessed back in again?
     
  4. Jul 8, 2020 at 10:52 AM
    #4
    tacomeeter

    tacomeeter [OP] New Member

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    As far as I can tell, no. I only began noticing the fan noises after the engine mounts were replaced, and they have only changed slightly since. Visual inspection was okay last time I looked, though it might be hard for me to see a crack. There is no strange vibration, clunking, etc in normal driving (and the only strangeness I can detect is the fan noise that varies with engine angle, which matches the visual). It appears to me that when the mount point was welded back onto the frame, it was not welded in quite the correct place; surely they were using worn motor mounts to figure out the placement.

    If I can shim half an inch that would be great. My thought was to fab 3 or 4 1/4" shims, loosen the bolts, jack the engine, and see how much I can easily slide in. I've never done this sort of work before (I'm a motorcycle guy, and those seem to be significantly easier to work on).
     
  5. Jul 8, 2020 at 12:55 PM
    #5
    Torspd

    Torspd Tor-nication

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    Easy enough to add a shim or so. Remove that mount's hardware. Slide in shims of choice. Bolt back down.

    The DMZ motor mount gussets may be worth your time to think about.
     
    Dalandser likes this.
  6. Jul 8, 2020 at 12:58 PM
    #6
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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  7. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:08 PM
    #7
    tacomeeter

    tacomeeter [OP] New Member

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    Thanks, that's the sort of encouragement I'm looking for! Now I just need a template to fab some shims. :)

    WRT the gussets - I agree, that would have been a great idea before the frame was welded! Believe me, I'm still cursing the PO for doing such a poor job at fixing it. At this point, I think you'd have to disassemble, cut out the mount, clean up the weld area, weld the mount properly, weld the gusset plates in place, and reassemble. I don't think that the gusset kit would fit as-is, with the mount out of place. It's not worth the cost to pay someone to do it, and I don't have enough faith in my abilities, even if I thought it was worth my time.

    Now, if I had a garage where I could disassemble a truck, welding gear, and the necessary skills...
     
  8. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:10 PM
    #8
    lynlan1819

    lynlan1819 Well-Known Member

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    This ^ DMZ if you want too do it right the first time,and not have anymore problems.
     
  9. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:10 PM
    #9
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    If you've got a friend / shop with a plasma I bet you could leave the engine in there.
     
  10. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:11 PM
    #10
    hoarder23

    hoarder23 Truck fell over

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    It's gonna cost you more in the long run to bandaid the issue. Depending on your location you may be able to find a friendly TW garage that can help you out
     
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  11. Jul 8, 2020 at 1:11 PM
    #11
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    I think the 6k mile trip might not be worth it...
     
  12. Jul 8, 2020 at 5:49 PM
    #12
    tacomeeter

    tacomeeter [OP] New Member

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    Whoa, I can't imagine cutting and welding in such a tight spot, but I'm not terribly experienced with that. Sadly, I do not have such a friend [that I know of], and that assumes that the resulting weld would be of better quality than what is currently there, which is hard to be sure of.

    Kindly explain? If the shim(s) place the engine at the right angle, I'm no worse off and I continue to drive it. The worst case is that the weld of unknown quality cracks at some point in the future, but I will then reevaluate and weld it. The only downside I can see is a lack of confidence in the vehicle - but honestly, it has had some miles put on it post-weld (including some off roading) without problems, so that does already inspire confidence. If you have reason to believe that the engine mount letting go will suddenly cause the engine to grenade, the truck to flip, and for all of its passengers to die in a fireball, I'd certainly like to hear of it, but the worst I can realistically imagine is a tow.
     
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  13. Jul 8, 2020 at 6:14 PM
    #13
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    I spent some time improving a rear bumper I made and while it’s not preferable, you can do some decent beads in a tight spot with a combination of torch angle, walking the cup, and some luck lol.
     

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