Nailhead Motor Mounts (Anchor?)

[XframeFX]

Lots of topics touching on Motor Mounts (Link to one below).

Starting a new post because I'm about to order difficult parts for another project from Rockauto.com and thought I'd add a pair of Anchor Brand for the Nailhead only to find still no stock.

 

Weststar motor mounts are available. No mention of rubber type they they use to vulcanize.

However, taking another look at the motor mounts I installed around 1990, they don't appear as hard as I thought. Probably no different from a new pair. Only visible anomaly from the front side are stress cracks/rips in the rubber. OKAY?

I can't inspect the rear side without raising the Riviera.

 

Yes, these motor mounts are 34 years old but they have seen only 600 miles plus lots of in-place idling. Stored inside.

Condemn the pair or ignore and focus on other Riviera issues?

Driver's Top / Passenger side Bottom

 

[gungeey]

How much worse will they get before they are proclaimed NFG?

[RivNut]

https://bestoffercounts.com/product/401-425-buick-nailhead-engine-motor-mount-pair-1961-1962-1963-1964-1965-1966/

 

James at Bestoffercounts has them.  Tell James “Ed referred me.”

[EmTee]

Well, it does appear that the rubber has degraded.

 

 

I know you have been focused on idle smoothness and based on the picture can't help but think these mounts are likely not as compliant as they once were.  How difficult would it be to remove one of them so that you can inspect condition on your bench?  Clamp one side in your vice and use a crescent wrench or vice-grips to see what happens to the rubber when you apply some torque to the mount...

[60FlatTop]

Pry up on each exhaust manifold to see if either has become delaminated.

 

There are two thing you want to avoid:

 

1. Power braking that can cause the throttle linkage to pull to wide open, and not release until all the torque is released down the street or by a sudden stop.

 

2. Doing a sudden hard stop that could launch your engine and transmission forward placing the rotating fan into the radiator. Usually the lump of iron will return to the correct position and just leave a circular mark on the radiator fins.

 

My friend, John, said "Once I had to make a panic stop and this God awful sound came out of the car but I haven't heard it since".

 

I have a short pry bar that I check them with once a year with the routine service. Any doubt, I'd change them out. I have some control over point 1.

 

Edit: I just checked the link. For $42 I could see changing them every 10-15 years.

Edited May 8 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

Time, more than mileage, causes the noted "aging".  I know that mounts can be tuned by their rubber compounds, but can these changes really be felt without seeing the numbers on measuring gauges for Noise/Vibration/Harshness measurements?  By the time the vehicle gets old enough for new mounts, the specific memories of how it was when new have long vanished, so the replacement mounts could be a bit stiffer and more durable, sometimes.

 

Those mounts can be like a tire that has cracks in the sidewalls and/or tread ribs, but as long as it holds air, "it's good" . . .  until you have to do some unusual maneuver and things come apart.  Which can relate to Bernie's comments.

 

All rubber dries out with age, as the various oils in the compound evaporate-out.  Which can cause shrinkage, delamination, AND cracks.  Even IF it's still in the original box, 30 years later, uninstalled.

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[XframeFX]

4 hours ago, EmTee said:

Well, it does appear that the rubber has degraded.

Too late. I just placed my rockauto order before checking on responses here.

 

At least the important Driver's side appears less deteriorated than the passenger side. Rest assured, there will be no peak torque pulses on the engine mounts with the Dynaflow!

 

My thoughts were rubber gone HARD and CRACKS. Actually, rubber is not so hard after all.

 

Weststar should be no better or worse than Anchor brand. Also, even If I had engine mounts at hand, too many things on-the-go, will have to store them for later anyway.

 

Yes Bernie, thanks. No delamination/separation

 

Yes Willis, theoretically 15 years for rubber should be max. But I recall a recent Youtube Clip on an original family owned 1966 Wildcat that spent its life in Alaska. They were cruising around Mesa AZ on original Bias Ply Tires. I was thinking single circuit brakes and those three flex hoses while they were negotiating traffic with uninterested kids in the back seat , both glued to their cellphones!

 

Too bad these engine mounts are no longer available locally. No one selling Weststar here. I doubt if there ever will be any stock on Anchor Brand ever again.

 

 

 

Edited May 8 by XframeFX (see edit history)

[EmTee]

I think the cracking is indicative of the rubber outgassing as it ages and losing some of its elasticity.  It will be interesting to compare the new rubber to the old.  How's the transmission mount?  If it looks anything like the engine mounts it would make sense to renew all of the mounts...

[XframeFX]

48 minutes ago, EmTee said:

How's the transmission mount?

No way to do a visual without removing the X-Member. However, the rubber feels smooth on both sides with my finger through the hole. It was replaced the same time as both motor mounts.

I can nudge the transmission tail upwards slightly with a long crowbar. But, isn't that what its supposed to do? Still resilient.

 

As for the motor mounts, images below are of the backside. I think they are fine. Superficial cracks on the surface. A piece of wire barely penetrates the few cracks I sampled. No separation and still somewhat resilient. The only reason to purchase a new pair is that I think they are becoming obsolete. Only Weststar is the last remaining manufacturer. Mega-dollar re-vulcanization service at Steele Rubber in the not too distant future!

Thanks all who chimed-in on this one!

 

[mobileparts]

For those who would prefer to have *** N.O.S. *** U.S.A. made *** Motor Mounts for the 1963 - 1966 Buick Rivieras and fellow Full Size,

I still have half a dozen remaining.......

Craig.......