Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks


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#472374 07/26/22 03:33 PM
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Eli Offline OP
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I suspect this question has been asked before but I didn't find anything. Can the front motor mounts be replaced on a 37 Master Deluxe with the motor in place? Replacing the rear mounts was a cinch and oh bout did they need replacing, I'm sure the fronts are no better, but everything seems so cramped up there. Thanks for any advice or observations.


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Might have to pull the radiator which would necessitate pulling the hood. Not difficult but requires two people and a bit of time. With the hood & radiator out of the way a floor jack under the engine is all you'll need to raise & lower the front of the engine.


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For the 37, pulling the radiator means pulling the entire nose off. I can do it of course, but they can be replaced without all of that, I would be very interested in hearing whether it was worth it. Thanks for the input.


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You might PM Rusty37Master. He'll be up to date on specifics to the 37 model year. My 38 doesn't require pulling the core support to remove the radiator. I'd assumed the 37 was the same.


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You can remove the radiator on a ‘37 without removing the cowl.

The shop manual has the details. You have to remove the hood (much easier with 2 people), the radiator support rods, the valve cover, and the water pump.

I put a piece of cardboard on the back side of the radiator to protect the core. The fan blades can bend the fins. You remove the bolts the hold the radiator to the cowl.

You drop the radiator down so the neck clears the cowl. Then you tilt the top of the radiator to the rear and slide the radiator up and put at an angle.


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You really need to replace the front mounts if those side mounts were bad. Also the transmission mount.

The side mounts should be adjusted so they do not support any weight of the engine and transmission.


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I dont think you need to remove the radiator to replace the front engine mounts, may need to remove the coolant and radiator hoses to allow the engine to lift far enough.
Tony


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Thanks Rusty, I replaced the transmission mount too already (turned out once I removed the old one that the prior owner just squeezed some silicone caulk into the space where the rubber mount should have been). If I have to go the route you describe, I will but I think I am going to give Tony's idea a try first, I was just hoping someone else had tried it already and had some tips on the process. In that regard, if there turns out not to be enough space to jack the engine up with just the hoses removed, once the fan and water pump are out, do you think there's really a need to pull the radiator too? I've been in the cowl enough to know even simple things are difficult to there, which is why I assumed (erroneously) it would have to come off. Thanks everyone for the input.


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I sure would give it a try with the radiator in place. I did my front mounts while the radiator was at the shop being cleaned.

The really tricky part was flattening the tabs on the locking plates for the bolts. I used a very long screwdriver shank and was able to drive them flat from above.

I suggest that you will want to remove the side mount bolts. Otherwise they might restrict how much you can lift the engine. Plus you will want to recheck that clearance after the new front mounts are installed.


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Ok, I got a start on the project, there's no way to get to the top mount bolt on the right side without pulling the radiator out, might even have to be more aggressive. I don't see anything in the manual on the process for removing the hood. Other than inviting someone over to help, any advice on how to proceed would certainly be welcome. Thanks for the advice so far, I can't help but laugh (then cry) at the manual's description of removing the radiator as "a very simple operation." I am not looking forward to putting things back together, visibility and access is so limited.


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Removing the radiator is not a technically complex or precision operation. That is why they call it simple. It does require a lot of steps.

I have removed and installed the hood on my car by myself. I would not recommend it unless you are pretty strong and the front bumper has been removed. You need to be as close to the grill as possible to get enough leverage.

The real trick is to fold some towels or a furniture moving pad between the hood halves. Then use bungee cords to hold the hood in an open position. It really makes it easy to handle when the halves are rigid.

As I noted in my earlier post I found that it gives you a little more room if you remove the valve cover. You might be able to get enough angle to slide the radiator up and out with it in place. Once again I suggest that you consider having help to lift the radiator unless you are pretty strong. You have to lift it fairly high to clear the engine compartment. Remember that you are leaning over the fenders and cowl to do this work.


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A few other tips.

Check the hood fit and gaps before you remove it. If the fit is acceptable take a few minutes to mark the position of all the mounting brackets on the front cowl and above the firewall.

The most important adjustment is the position of the adjusting nuts on the support rod. That can push or pull the front cowl out of position.

Remember that the support rod can be installed reversed. The offset rod goes on the left side so it clears the air cleaner.


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Thanks Rusty, I appreciate all of the advice. I agree with you from the technical/precision perspective, but I needed 3 right hands to pull the fan and pump out of there, putting them back in is going to be even harder, it's just so cramped. I have the feeling the grill is going to have to come off, I just cannot get to that right motor mount bolt from the top. I'm not completely done yet with the disassembly process, but when I think about cleaning up the old water pump gasket and surface, it feels like the grill has to get out of the way. Thanks again everyone.


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I think I am confused. Based on my observation you cannot remove the grill from the front. You have to remove the radiator and then “unbend” all the mounting tabs from the rear.

I expect that your access to the bolt heads from below is more limited than mine. I have a straight axle car. You have that larger formed and welded cross member for the knee action front suspension.

Glue the gasket it the back of the water pump with an adhesive gasket sealant. Let it dry completely before you try to install the water pump.

The install trick I use is that there is one of the mounting holes that is easiest to reach. I push the bolt in that hole and get itstarted in the block or head (I cannot remember which hole it is). Once you have that one bolt started then you can rotate the pump housing to line up the remaking holes.


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I ended up replacing all of the mounts and they needed it, problem with mine apart from missing pieces was they were oil soaked and all swollen. The 38 might be easier than a 37, used the scissor jack from my wife's acura to lift engine and tranny for that matter when i changed the tranny mount. I already removed my radiator which made it much easier but I already had the hood and grill off at that point. Oil reeks havoc on rubber mounts. Again not sure about 37 vs 38 but I had to loosen panel above tranny to raise tranny high enough to get tranny mount bolts out, so close but just couldn't get them out without loosening that panel above the tranny. Good luck

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A key difference it that Chevy made it much easier to remove the radiator in 1938. You can pull it up vertically through the front cowl. You still have to remove the hood but you do not need to remove the support rods, the fan and the water pump.


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Rusty, I am not thinking of removing the grill in lieu of removing the radiator, now that I nearly have the radiator out, I don't think that just removing it will be enough to allow me access with the grill in place. I have not gotten far enough to plan out removing the grill, I am anticipating it as a potential solution.

Installing the water pump is not going to be a monumental problem, I'll definitely use your suggestion, I know which bolt you are talking about. I am more concerned with the old gasket, it looks like whatever was used to adhere the gasket to the pump was also used on the block and if the work it is taking to remove it from the pump is any indication, I'm not in for a treat. But more to the problem at hand, I just can't get to that mount bolt even with the radiator out, it's tucked into a tight corner with such an awkward access that it would take a double jointed octopus to get to it. I'm going to try unbolting from the bottom and jacking everything up to see if that might open up enough space to get to it.


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It has probably been 10 years since I replaced the mounts on my ‘37. It was tricky getting to the front mounts.

If I remember correctly there were 2 tricks I used. One was using a long old screwdriver shaft to flatten the locking tabs on the locks. I was able to reach all of them from above the fenders and drive them flat.

Then I used an open end wrench to loosen the top bolts. I slid the wrench in horizontally from below the cross member to reach the bolt heads. I was below the car. I think used “linked” wrenches to get enough leverage to break them loose.


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As often happens, as long as I had things apart, I decided to do a few other repairs so it ended up taking longer than expected. No regrets on the effort, the mounts definitely needed replacing but there sure was a disproportionate amount of work involved. Thanks everyone for the observations and advice.

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I have recently discovered that my 37 Master Deluxe sedan is in need of engine motor mount replacements. I suspect, that I won't be able to hire someone to replace them for me which means it will likely be down to me. I had looked more closely at their condition recently as I am getting clutch chatter whenever reversing. Any chance that someone would have a detailed description of how you did it and any pitfalls that I should try to avoid. Any pictures would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks

Terry
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driver_IMG_8077.JPG passenger_IMG_8034.JPG driver_IMG_7992.JPG driver_IMG_8001.JPG passenger_IMG_7944.JPG passenger_IMG_7965.JPG trans_IMG_8011.JPG trans_IMG_8017.JPG
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Yes, those are in pretty bad shape. Not as bad as some have seen but not good. They could definitely be the source of your clutch chatter.

My car had a set of aftermarket anti-chatter rods on it when we bought the car. I never re-installed them after I installed new mounts. Clutch chatter was not an issue.

Make sure you have a shop manual before you start. There is key information about how to position the rear mount to allow the correct amount of fore and aft clearance.

You need to replace the front and rear mounts before replacing the side mounts. Then you will shim the side mounts as needed to control engine side-to-side rock.

Replacing the front mounts is the most difficult. I used a long rod with a flat screwdriver end to drive the lock-in tabs flat on the front mounts so I could loosen the bolts. I made a simple wood cradle and supported the front of the engine with a bottle jack.

The messiest part is figuring out which wrench/wrenches or sockets/extensions give you the leverage to loosen the front bolts. When I did mine I did not own any flex head ratcheting wrenches. That might be the right tool. You might have to double hook the wrench to get enough leverage to break the bolt loose.

Patience!


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It would appear by looking at the picture there are no locking tabs to be flattened.

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I did see lock plates in a few of the pictures but cannot tell how many if any of the tabs need to be flattened. I think the pictures I saw were for the side mounts. Those a relatively easy to access. The front ones took some finesse when I did mine.


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If the lock tabs are between 2 bolts you only need to bend 1 tab but if only on the 1 bolt you bend 1 tab up beside the bolt head and the other tab down against something.
Tony


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Thanks again everyone for your valuable advice and information !

Terry
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