The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Rear Trans Mount "Revulcanization" (Replacing the Rubber)

This has been mentioned in a couple other threads, but I figured that it might be easier to find with this specific title.

My truck is on a '41-46 chassis and needed a rear transmission mount. The mount I was able to locate had no rubber left between the three plates of steel. I considered going with a kit from one of the vendors, but knowing that there was a solution that other folks have used where one could cast new rubber in place sounded good. It would not be very expensive, wouldn't require grinding off the old, very heavy duty rivets that held the unit together, and might be the easier solution.

Klhansen and RBs36 have both posted about their use of Enduro Flex. I read over what they had posted and was in communication with Kevin (Klhansen) looking for hints as to what I should do.

I used the Enduro Flex product which, through their website (https://simpleresin.com/product/enduro-flex-flexible-resin/) cost $39.99 with free shipping. Kevin had some left-over black dye that he supplied to me. (The forum's Jon_G has suggested one could use Devcon Flexane 94 which has a higher Shore rating, but I have not pursued that.)

I cleaned up the parts and used a non-drying clay-type material (Sculpey Non-Dry, ~$10 at local art supply) to hold the pieces in position and to seal the edges to prevent the Enduro Flex from running out. (In the attached photos you can see that Sculpey comes in very bright colors - but the material is all the same texture so I just reached for whatever was next in the package.)

I measured out 4oz of Enduro Flex Part B and added the black dye, mixing them until the color was uniform. Then I added Part A, stirred and poured.

One thing that I intended to do was to check to ensure that the parts sitting in my vise were level. (They were close, but slightly off.)

For the transmission mount, the 8oz of total material was significantly more than enough. I probably used less than 4 oz with the excess going to waste.

There was a little leakage in a couple of spots, but they were minimal and easy to clean up.

I am very pleased with the result of this effort. I think that it was less expensive than purchasing a rebuild kit and paying for shipping and I believe that it was less work than going that route.

I am attaching a bunch of photos to show what I did.

My thanks to those who assisted and posted about their experiences which gave me the confidence to try this. It worked.

That looks great Nick! When you removed the old rubber compound, do the pieces slide along the rivets or are they pretty stationary? How did you remove the old stuff? Just pick at it?

John,

The rear transmission mount that I received had no rubber left at all, so there was nothing for me to clean out. I have read that others have used a torch to remove the old rubber, but I have no experience with that.

The top and bottom pieces are attached together with very impressive rivets which pass through oversized holes in the middle plate, so they move very easily once the rubber is gone.

By using the clay-like material, I was able to position the parts so that the rivets were centered in the holes through the middle plate and the Enduro Flex was able to flow through those spaces to fill the voids.

Nice Job, Nick. Looks like it worked out well.

John, If your mount still has rubber left in it, it can be removed pretty easily by melting it with a propane torch. Works on the Enduro Flex as well if you use it after it expires and won't set up.They say 6 months is the limit without storing with nitrogen over the material in the containers, and who can do that? Definitely melt the rubber out outside.

I think I have an old mount someplace. And after I get the bugs worked out on my truck, I might go back and make a better mount. Thanks for the info.

Pretty cool.

I've also rehabbed that type of motor mount by stacking up slices cut from the sidewall of an 18 wheeler tire.
Jerry

The problem with that is it doesn’t control side-to-side or forward to back movements. You need something that gets between the rivets and the oversized holes they go through.

That transmission torque ball mount has always puzzled me. The way that it is mounted to the torque ball is minimal at best to provide for any real support.
I wonder if it was added as a method to reduce harmonic vibration which may have popped up after production had started.
They were not used on '54-'55.1 trucks.
Does anyone know if that mount was used on the Art Deco trucks?

I believe I have the same mount on my '46, but I don't think the U part that bolts to the ball cover is slanted?