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Hi everyone,
Well, I've been driving around with my engine cradle resting on my sway bar since February because the core support just rusted away under there. Seems to be a common problem with Festivas.... especially those who live in snow, rain, etc. The Pittsburgh winters got to mine! It was getting annoying driving it like this, and also wondering "is my engine going to fall out of my car" going through my head.
Anyway, I don't have access to a welder, and did not want to pay $$ to have it done. I knew that a strong bolt-in support would be fine if done right, especially since it doesn't carry the entire weight of the engine/tranny. The original bolts holding the cradle to the core support are pretty big, so I decided to try to duplicate that size or at least get close.
materials needed:
2 1/2" x 6" threaded bolts ( I think they're called hex bolts, with threads the entire length)
4 1/2" flat washers
2 1/2" lock washers
6 1/2" nuts
angle steel, 3/16", cut to fit (see pics)
drill with 1/2" metal bit
some kind of metal cutting tool (I used a Dremel with a cut-off disc)
Refreshing beverage of your choice
Here was my problem, the engine cradle resting on the sway bar:
Name this part! (haha) These are the rusty bits that are left of the original bolts that went into the core support:
The first thing to do is to determine where to drill 1/2" holes for the bolts. You will see my measuring marks in some of the pics. I used a vertical level to line up the center of the holes on the cradle and made marks that transfered that line to the top of the support.
Next is to get a piece of angle steel (or angle iron) 3/16" preferably, but probably 1/8" will do. The piece has to be cut to fit the space in front of the radiator, and I had to cut a slot to fit around the middle support that goes from the bottom support to up near the hood release cable.
Here are the holes, notice the marks I used to transfer the hole center lines. The bolts are in this pic, hanging from the cradle:
Another pic of the bolts and holes:
Now, the general idea behind this repair is this: I am using washers to "sandwich" the cradle, so that it won't move when the top nuts are installed. The bottom of the core support is gone in this area, so something has to actually support the cradle. The washers, bolted to the top and bottom of the cradle, are in effect replacing the bottom of the core support. See diagram at end for a better understanding.
What I had to do was install the 1/2" x 6" bolt from the bottom of the cradle, but at the same time have the washer and nut on the top of the cradle while I screwed it in. Sort of a tight fit, but after I got it all snug, I used a small adjustable wrench to hold the top nut in place while I tightened the bottom nut with a ratchet wrench. Tighten these nuts REALLY TIGHT.
Then I used my floor jack at the very front of the engine cradle, gently lifting it up and pushing the ends of the bolts through the holes I drilled on the top of the core support. That's why you have to be really precise about where you drill those top holes...they have to be in line with the bolts so they protrude through the top when you jack up the cradle.
I jacked it up so that the cradle was in it's original position, "flush" so to speak, with the bottom of the core support, as it was when new. When it looked good, I screwed the nuts to the top and tightened them. In the pics, there are no washers on top, but I took them off afterwards and put in lock washers.
Here is the finished product, all bolted in and looking...um, nice? Not a pretty repair, but hey, it works.
And from the bottom:
I made this cross-section drawing to better show what I did. The two dark lines right above the cradle are the washers that sandwich the cradle (the end of the bolt is at the bottom and a nut is on top of the top washer). You can see the piece of angle steel on top.
I did this repair last week, and have driven it alot. The repair is very strong, cheap (total cost less than $13), and easy to do (the hardest part was taking the front bumper off!). It is nice to be able to drive the car as usual, without having the "clunking" sound of a loose cradle and without having to feather the clutch like crazy to move out slowly so I wouldn't damage anything else. Also, just to let you know, I wondered (and other people have wondered) how long I could drive it with the cradle resting on the sway bar. I checked, and the mounting points for the sway bar on my car are not rusty, and still very strong, so I guess I could have driven it longer, but I feel better knowing it's fixed. Also, your rust could be much worse than mine, which mean you may have to modify this repair to suit your car.
Anyway, I hope you find this helpful!
Well, I've been driving around with my engine cradle resting on my sway bar since February because the core support just rusted away under there. Seems to be a common problem with Festivas.... especially those who live in snow, rain, etc. The Pittsburgh winters got to mine! It was getting annoying driving it like this, and also wondering "is my engine going to fall out of my car" going through my head.
Anyway, I don't have access to a welder, and did not want to pay $$ to have it done. I knew that a strong bolt-in support would be fine if done right, especially since it doesn't carry the entire weight of the engine/tranny. The original bolts holding the cradle to the core support are pretty big, so I decided to try to duplicate that size or at least get close.
materials needed:
2 1/2" x 6" threaded bolts ( I think they're called hex bolts, with threads the entire length)
4 1/2" flat washers
2 1/2" lock washers
6 1/2" nuts
angle steel, 3/16", cut to fit (see pics)
drill with 1/2" metal bit
some kind of metal cutting tool (I used a Dremel with a cut-off disc)
Refreshing beverage of your choice
Here was my problem, the engine cradle resting on the sway bar:
Name this part! (haha) These are the rusty bits that are left of the original bolts that went into the core support:
The first thing to do is to determine where to drill 1/2" holes for the bolts. You will see my measuring marks in some of the pics. I used a vertical level to line up the center of the holes on the cradle and made marks that transfered that line to the top of the support.
Next is to get a piece of angle steel (or angle iron) 3/16" preferably, but probably 1/8" will do. The piece has to be cut to fit the space in front of the radiator, and I had to cut a slot to fit around the middle support that goes from the bottom support to up near the hood release cable.
Here are the holes, notice the marks I used to transfer the hole center lines. The bolts are in this pic, hanging from the cradle:
Another pic of the bolts and holes:
Now, the general idea behind this repair is this: I am using washers to "sandwich" the cradle, so that it won't move when the top nuts are installed. The bottom of the core support is gone in this area, so something has to actually support the cradle. The washers, bolted to the top and bottom of the cradle, are in effect replacing the bottom of the core support. See diagram at end for a better understanding.
What I had to do was install the 1/2" x 6" bolt from the bottom of the cradle, but at the same time have the washer and nut on the top of the cradle while I screwed it in. Sort of a tight fit, but after I got it all snug, I used a small adjustable wrench to hold the top nut in place while I tightened the bottom nut with a ratchet wrench. Tighten these nuts REALLY TIGHT.
Then I used my floor jack at the very front of the engine cradle, gently lifting it up and pushing the ends of the bolts through the holes I drilled on the top of the core support. That's why you have to be really precise about where you drill those top holes...they have to be in line with the bolts so they protrude through the top when you jack up the cradle.
I jacked it up so that the cradle was in it's original position, "flush" so to speak, with the bottom of the core support, as it was when new. When it looked good, I screwed the nuts to the top and tightened them. In the pics, there are no washers on top, but I took them off afterwards and put in lock washers.
Here is the finished product, all bolted in and looking...um, nice? Not a pretty repair, but hey, it works.
And from the bottom:
I made this cross-section drawing to better show what I did. The two dark lines right above the cradle are the washers that sandwich the cradle (the end of the bolt is at the bottom and a nut is on top of the top washer). You can see the piece of angle steel on top.
I did this repair last week, and have driven it alot. The repair is very strong, cheap (total cost less than $13), and easy to do (the hardest part was taking the front bumper off!). It is nice to be able to drive the car as usual, without having the "clunking" sound of a loose cradle and without having to feather the clutch like crazy to move out slowly so I wouldn't damage anything else. Also, just to let you know, I wondered (and other people have wondered) how long I could drive it with the cradle resting on the sway bar. I checked, and the mounting points for the sway bar on my car are not rusty, and still very strong, so I guess I could have driven it longer, but I feel better knowing it's fixed. Also, your rust could be much worse than mine, which mean you may have to modify this repair to suit your car.
Anyway, I hope you find this helpful!
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