energy suspension motor mounts

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chevy art
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energy suspension motor mounts

Post by chevy art »

does anyone know for sure if energy suspension motor mounts will hold up on a small block chevy(383) with 600 HP. i posted a long post over 8 months ago about everything shaking loose on both this 383 and the 377 cu in sbc i had in before. header bolts and oil pan bolts would loosen, and even the distributor turned back . last straw was the oil pump pickup broke at the weld on one of the good bolt on miledon pickups.. last week i saw an old post here on speedtalk and in it melings said DO NOT use the moroso steel motor mounts or your pump, or pickup will brak, i guess due to vibration. guess this was because of the vibrations these mounts create. i run the energy suspension tranny mount that everyone recommends so tranny case dont break. now i am 100 percent positive my long lasting problems are these moroso steel mounts on my 67 nova. would like to know is anyone has ever used these energy suspension mounts with this horsepower range of around 600 HP. i know i can also brace the engine to prevent torquing up to take some load off the mounts. all info would be appreciated. thanks art in NY
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by Schurkey »

WHICH "Energy Suspension" motor mounts? They have multiple part numbers.

The ES engine mount cushions supposedly intended to fit my '88 K1500 were ENTIRELY different from OEM; I sent 'em back because I was sure they wouldn't fit.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by midnightbluS10 »

Schurkey wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:57 pm WHICH "Energy Suspension" motor mounts? They have multiple part numbers.

The ES engine mount cushions supposedly intended to fit my '88 K1500 were ENTIRELY different from OEM; I sent 'em back because I was sure they wouldn't fit.
Only thing I've seen for those are the inserts, that replace the rubber chunk in the stock clamshell mounts. They send some big zip ties with them to secure them to the clamshell. Not sure how well that works considering most people replace their mounts when the rubber comes undone from the steel. So having busted mounts with poly in them instead of rubber doesn't seem like much of a gain.

And who knew you could just use zip ties to reattach the rubber/poly block to the clamshell? Lol
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by Kevin Johnson »

chevy art wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:22 pm does anyone know for sure if energy suspension motor mounts will hold up on a small block chevy(383) with 600 HP. i posted a long post over 8 months ago about everything shaking loose on both this 383 and the 377 cu in sbc i had in before. header bolts and oil pan bolts would loosen, and even the distributor turned back . last straw was the oil pump pickup broke at the weld on one of the good bolt on miledon pickups.. last week i saw an old post here on speedtalk and in it melings said DO NOT use the moroso steel motor mounts or your pump, or pickup will brak, i guess due to vibration. guess this was because of the vibrations these mounts create. i run the energy suspension tranny mount that everyone recommends so tranny case dont break. now i am 100 percent positive my long lasting problems are these moroso steel mounts on my 67 nova. would like to know is anyone has ever used these energy suspension mounts with this horsepower range of around 600 HP. i know i can also brace the engine to prevent torquing up to take some load off the mounts. all info would be appreciated. thanks art in NY
The mounts do not create the vibrations -- they transmit them to the chassis/frame. Rubber (elastomeric) mounts absorb and dissipate some vibration as heat -- just like a crank damper. Double check that your crank damper is in good condition and is intended for your application(s).
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by tenxal »

chevy art wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:22 pm does anyone know for sure if energy suspension motor mounts will hold up on a small block chevy(383) with 600 HP. i posted a long post over 8 months ago about everything shaking loose on both this 383 and the 377 cu in sbc i had in before. header bolts and oil pan bolts would loosen, and even the distributor turned back . last straw was the oil pump pickup broke at the weld on one of the good bolt on miledon pickups.. last week i saw an old post here on speedtalk and in it melings said DO NOT use the moroso steel motor mounts or your pump, or pickup will brak, i guess due to vibration.
If you're seeing those issues, there's something else drastically wrong other than the solid motor mounts. Thousands of racers have used them for decades without issues! I have tested the Energy Suspension motor mounts on my own drag car and wasn't impressed. I've used their other products and am happy with them, though.
A vibration issue as you describe should be pretty easy to identify, based on the symptoms you're seeing. When I see "383", I immediately think engine balance issues....dampner/flex plate/rotatiing assembly mismatch.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by chevy art »

thanks guys in both the 377 abd 383 the cranks are high end steel cranks, both motors balanced internally, 383 has real expensive steel rods and the 377 has good aluminum rods, 377 has newly rebuilt ATI balancer and the 383 has a fluidamper balancer.. i have had same flexplate in there for 25 years, since i first built the car with a good 355 sbc.. just had the loose headers problem with the 355. a few years ago i had the converter done over. ran the 377 with that converter and now the 383 with it. could the converter be my problem. this problem has me sick over it and it is time to go back out with the car in the beginning of july. any advice is appreciated. art in NY
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by DCal »

You might consider doing what has worked for me. I use a Moroso solid mount on the driver side and stock mounts on the trans and passenger side. I have over 18000 miles on a 565 camaro with gobs of torque. Also, on the solid mount I use a Nylox nut and keep it just shy of tightening the assembly up solid. Should work-we have the same subframe.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by BOOT »

I use solid drivers and poly passenger

I've herd/read bout solid mount issues with oil stock pumps, even wanna say I've read it on some instructions/warning tag someplace? Plus it's been said solid mounts cause center main issues, so I'd think if they can mess with the block then...
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by BigBro74 »

I am also interested in this topic that the OP has. Over the years (18 seasons) I have built/rebuilt many 2bbl circle track engines. In the last couple of years I have experienced problems with oil pump pickup tubes like the op is describing. The cars always use solid mounts. But the pickup tube problems (for me- this is not same as op) seem only to happen to 400 sbc based engines, not 350 block engines. I have welded the pickup tubes to the pump- bolted -torqued- etc. I am using the newer style bolt on mellling pump on a current build, and canton pickup tube , but in some ways it seems like an expensive bandaid for an unknown cause. These engines are all professionally balanced-. The canton tube is built like a brick chicken coupe 😁. Wondering about two things -
1- transmitting vibrations from solid mounts and
2- how that effects the thinner 400 castings.
Sorry if this hijacks - not my intention-
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by Rick! »

Stop tuning the oil pump pickup to go into resonance at your operating RPM and try a different engine balance guy. Seems your regular guy's work may not be as balanced as it should be. Also, is the flex plate zero balanced? You mentioned the convertor - has that been balanced? If the ATI is SFI certed, then they should have checked it for balance. I only have one experience with a Fluidamper and it didn't do what it was supposed to do. You can send that one back too if you have doubts. If the same parts you've used for every combo loosen bolts and break stuff on every combo, it might be more than coincidence.

You don't have to jump up and down on the engine to get the engine mount bolts in, do you?

If you can verify everything to do with the engine balance is spot on and the bolt-ons are perfect, then the solid driver's side and rubber/poly passenger side mounts can be a solution.

There are countless drag cars out there with stock mounts and a turnbuckle on the driver's side that don't break stuff with vibration.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by steve cowan »

i would also consider investigating driveshaft/pinion/crankshaft angles,most O.E.M runs a lot of negative angle meaning gearbox output shaft pointing down.A lot of people don't even look at driveshaft angles and just add negative pinion angle and pat it on the head.i would also consider only using a A.T.I dampner compared to Fluid dampner.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by chevy art »

jason it was the 4oo block that broke the oil pump, rick. i do have to jump on the engine and twist it all up to get the engune mounts onto the frame mounts and ining up the 2 big bolts is very difficult. art
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by falcongeorge »

chevy art wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 12:03 pm jason it was the 4oo block that broke the oil pump, rick. i do have to jump on the engine and twist it all up to get the engune mounts onto the frame mounts and ining up the 2 big bolts is very difficult. art
Thats a problem. Its not the solid mounts that are a problem per-se, its that the solid mounts you are using don't fit you car properly. These cars are 50-60 years old now, the chassis has been banged on, bent and twisted for 50+ years, its not necessarily even the fault of the mount manufacturer.
Then you force the mount into position and it distorts the block. Figure out why the mount doesn't fit, and fix the actual issue.
This is how internet myths get started. So the OP replaces the mount with a flexible mount, it absorbs the mis-alignment and doesn't distort the block, the problem goes away and its "See! that proves it! Solid motor mounts break oil pumps!" , when the real problem was the solid mount didn't fit properly in the first place, and was imparting a twisting force on the block.
If something doesn't fit, don't just grab a bigger hammer, stop, look, take your time, and figure out why. Not trying to bust your chops, just offering some sage advice based on fifty years of learning the hard way.
FWIW, I own a '66, the entire front end on these cars is loosey-goosey, just a guess, but I bet your shock towers have moved in and pushed the mount locations on the frame rails closer together, and thats why the motor mount bolts don't line up. Also, what brackets are you using? OEM or re-pop? If they are re-pop, are you sure they are made right? Can you compare to an OEM set? I have an OEM pair I can measure, if you want to verify that.
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Re: energy suspension motor mounts

Post by tenxal »

chevy art wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 12:03 pmI do have to jump on the engine and twist it all up to get the engune mounts onto the frame mounts and ining up the 2 big bolts is very difficult. art
Assuming you have the correct motor mounts, leave the bolts loose between the mounts and the block and let it settle in. Then tighten everything up. This is commonly done on the early Chevy II's with solid mounts.

There are two styles of mounts..make sure you have the correct ones:

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