Cheap Engine Damper/Brace

[jrcook320]

Who needs to pay E21parts.net $65 when you can buy it at your local autozone for about $11? The guys at my autozone let me rifle through their end links, I tried this one out and it fit with no modification.

[Bimmerknut]

Sweeeeeet!! Excellent timing! I'm getting close to dropping the rebuild in. I'll have to see if they've got the same kit here locally.

Their website lists the SL93 as a Duralast Sway Bar Repair Kit for $8.49

Thanks Bud!!

[fullswing]

Awesome! Thanks^nth

[blitzed310]

Nice! Looks likes there is some grease on your rack bushing

[jrcook320]

yeah, either the input shaft seal on my metric mechanic tranny with only 10k miles is leaking, or my rear main seal with 20k miles has a slow leak.

I was under the car with a scrub brush and simple green in 40 degree weather just yesterday, things should be more presentable now.

[typhoon320i]

Who needs to pay E21parts.net $65 when you can buy it at your local autozone for about $11? The guys at my autozone let me rifle through there end links, I tried this one out and it fit with no modification.

Brilliant! I'm sold.

[Bimmerknut]

Just went and picked one up this morning for under $9. For an extra $11 they had a six pack of polyurethane bushings that you could use. They were just a hair shorter than the bushings with the kit but an extra washer or maybe 2 would make up for that just fine.

Nice find JR!

[Bimmerknut]

Got it installed tonight....as you can see I opted not to go with the red polyurethane bushings but this should make a nice difference.

[blitzed310]

Why dont the 79's have this? I need to look at mine to see if I have room for it. If I do does anyone have an extra bracket laying around I could use?

[jrcook320]

man, that pic is from a messed up angle. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on. What bracket did you use?

CJ, I think I do, I'll have to go out and look at my other motor.

Check E21parts.net for pics of their setup on a 2.0L.

[jrcook320]

Here you go man, I'll only charge $5 per bolt I have to remove plus shipping. Just kiddin, it's yours for cost of shipping whenever you want it.

[blitzed310]

Sweet. Whenever you have time send it my way. No rush at all. I'll PM you my addy.

[Bimmerknut]

man, that pic is from a messed up angle. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on. What bracket did you use?

CJ, I think I do, I'll have to go out and look at my other motor.

Check E21parts.net for pics of their setup on a 2.0L.

Actually that pic is dead on looking at it from the passenger side of the engine bay. That's exactly how the existing one was in there. I had never needed to remove it until now. It has a plate that bolts to the engine mount pictured there.

Here's a pic of the engine suspended over the engine bay and you can see the same thing. Keep in mind this is for a 2.0.

[typhoon320i]

So how does that feel?

Can anybody feel a difference? More vibration throught the chassis. Tighter feel cornering? Anything?

[jrcook320]

My quarter mile time went from 14.2 to 13.60. just kiddin'

There is more vibration at idle but you don't notice it while driving. It helps keep the motor from rocking over which I need because I don't want all my boost pipes to move around and hit frame rails (they're sandwiched in pretty tight). It's supposed to help make the shifter more precise under power, help with wheel hop since it doesn't allow the drivetrain to twist as much, and make throttle response more crisp. Not sure if I notice all those benifits but for $9 why not try it?

[waferman]

Jr, you really stumbled on to something here..that piece is a dead ringer for the part sold by E21parts.com. It is the same piece...Im thankfull that mine was given to me by a good friend that had his E21 stolen and crashed! I think I would feel a little cheated if I spent all that dough on the other then saw this piece..

OT: Have you done a compression test on your engine lately? I'm curious as to what others have with fresh engines..
John

[jchristians]

josh- man! how did you remove the old damper? took off nuts from both ends, it is loose but stuck in bt/n the two "mounts". did you have to melt the inside rubber bushing to make more room? drove me nuts last night!!!

[jrcook320]

I unbolted the drivers side engine mount, put a block of wood under the oilpan and slowly jacked that side of the motor up to get a few inches clearance.

[jchristians]

thanks! -Josh

[todor]

Excuse my ignorance, but what are you bracing against what? It looks like you're attaching one side of your custom brace to the front crossmember/subframe and the other side to the body of the car? I can't really tell from these pictures...

[kdanielson]

On the drivers side of the engine there is a hydraulic cylinder that mounts from the side of the engine just ahead of the starter and goes down to the crossmember. This dampener is supposed to smooth the engine vibrations out some and reduce the tendency for the engine to rock with torque as you accelerate and decelerate. These cylinders are usually blown out by now and totally ineffective. I fabricated a replacement from aluminum stock and urethane bushings. The cheap way is to use a generic steel bolt/sleeve/urethane bushing type sway bar end link.

here's a couple pics of what I did, click on them for larger version.





ken

[todor]

This is in addition to the regular engine mounts (one on each side of the engine), right?

[kdanielson]

Yes, it's not a mount, just an additional part to stabilize the engine movement.

ken

[waferman]

I have the original 'E21 Parts' dampener on mine right now. I get a vibration at 2500rpm that causes the trunk springs to buzz, and at 3000rpm it is horrible! It's like a rivet gun in a cylinder with out hearing protection Well, not exactly that bad but you get the drift of my bitch here...so if i could squeeze in some hard rubber washers where the E21parts black plastic pieces mount, I wonder if that could alleviate the vibration/buzzing from the trunk springs? The stiff engine dampener is the only thing I could think of that could cause this at certain rpms...been doing this since I put the new engine in.

Thanks,
John

[Nu2E21s]

Ever think of taking the engine damper off to see if that elevates the vibration?

I’ve got the E12parts damper and the only thing that vibrates every now and then is the parking brake button. Now when I had a urethane rear trans mount installed the whole car was noisy as hell. Put the rubber rear mount back on and things are much more like normal.

Larry