I was almost finished installing my new tubular crossmember when I broke a motor mount support bracket, an integral part of the k-member. Because I was also installing poly motor mounts, installation of the motor-mount through bolts was difficult. With the engine supported from above, and the driver’s side mount in, I was able to thread the passenger’s side main bolt almost all of the way through by turning it with a ratchet. But it stopped advancing with the rounded nose of the bolt peeking out of the far end of the bracket. After trying unsuccessfully to relieve the pressure on the bolt by slightly raising and lowering the engine, I decided to hit the bolt with a hammer. A tap didn’t budge the bolt. One solid smack seated the bolt fully. But when I went to put the nut on the bolt, I found that the u-shaped bracket had opened up - and it hadn’t bent, it had fractured. Mine is supposedly the mild steel version of this crossmember. Even if it were chromemoly I think this should not have happened. Am I wrong?

 

Best thing to do when you install the motor mounts to the k-member is to loosen the mounts on the block, get all the bolts through then tighten them all back up.

 

I spent several hours maneuvering the engine while trying to insert the bolt by hand. I finally decided that the reason the end of the bolt was rounded was that it sometimes needed to be driven in. I didn't hit it all that hard. The car is on jackstands and I was lying on my back with only a few inches room to swing the hammer.

 

that shouldnt have happened whether it was mild steel, moly or whether you tapped it with a hammer or smacked the s**t out of it. i think you're lucky it happened while installing it rather than driving down the road or track. who's k-member is it? if you dont want to post it could you pm it to me, im just curious as i have also had some bad luck with k-members. i would call the company and tell them what happened, they should take care of it. first of all it shouldnt have been that hard to line up and second something designed to support the weight of an engine should not break that easily. post pics if you can. i would be pissed!!!

 

ive never had a k member break on me you must have been installing it incorrectly or doing something wrong. by far the best one i have installed was the umi one that is currently on my car

 

Thanks, that's what I thought. A picture of the fracture is attached.

 

definitely contact the manufacturer. it's a shame for this to happen on such an involved install.

 

No suprise it fractured the way it did. The material has been work hardened at the bend from its manufacturing.

 

Who's K member was this. Regardless I would think the Manufacturer would replace at no charge. Good thing you caught it before you were finished installing.

 

That is obviously broke from installer error and not a manufacture issue. You can tell the bolt was pounded threw with out lining it up with the hole, it forced the tab until it broke. That piece doesn't just "bend" when a bolt is tapped against it but when continually forced with a hammer or something similar something is going to give. The bolt has forced that piece to bend 3/4" or more, it will only bend so far before it breaks.. that is a given. When hitting it with a hammer the installer needs to look and make sure the bolt is going through, instead then continuously hit the bolt until it was completely through. Simply looking to see if the bolt was lined up is all that was needed to prevent that. I am sorry to see this happen but this in no way is a manufacture issue but carelessness on the installer’s part.

The only thing to do is pull it out and weld it or send it back to use to weld the crack shut.

 

I agree.

I had issues with my Spohn unit, but nothing that I couldn't fix with a drill or a dremel.

Looks like the holes for the engine mount were probably out of alignment.

 

That would be a good assumption not knowing how we build them. EVERY k-member we build goes through a inspection and is stamped with a serial #, you can find this # inside the passenger side rear A-Arm mount and is 3 digits long. This way we don't run into issues like this with a hole being offer ect., when making a item that large and adding that many pieces using weld the item will pull under heat. A final inspection of the item confirms its correct before going for powder coat and out the door.

With the motor being left in the vehicle the motor mounts are tough to line up no matter what you do. The weight of the transmission is pulling the motor backwards making the installation tough and trying to get a 9" bolt lined up through one hole, a motor mount and a last hole is tough.

 

It is obvious that the bracket fractured at the corner and that the displaced leg is still straight. That these facts are the result of my error is certainly not obvious. Further inspection, analysis, and a better explaination are needed to settle the issue.

You can tell no such thing. I verified that the nose of the bolt was nearly aligned with the hole. Specifically, looking with a mirror, I could see most of the nose of the bolt. I admit that the bolt was not centered. I expected the hole in the bracket to guide the bolt. Obviously, it didn't.

Not only did it not “just bend”, the bracket did not bend at all – it broke. It broke at the corner, where it is very brittle. And why, pray tell, should it not "just bend"?

I may have made a mistake, but it was not through carelessness. I am an experienced and careful mechanic. We can tell how sorry you are.

Wrong again. I’m going to put my GM crossmember back. That way I won’t need to worry about it breaking.

 

Wow, that sucks. It looks pretty obvious to me that it didn't bend, rather it cracked. I just did a K member install a short while ago and theres no way I could get a hammer in there and swing hard enough to break steel. You would have to pound that thing hard to do that!

 

Hello Gary Z,

I am sorry you had trouble and feel bad to see this happen... and I will do what I can to help. But I will no way take responsibility for this and what happened. You posted in your thread that it took much then tapping with a hammer to get the bolt through the motor mount, I have installed quite a few K-members under all sorts of situation and I know this task is not easy. After the bolt just started to bend the bracket why would you not stop? Why would you continue to beat on the bolt until it was fully through and then notice the bracket broke?? This is why I say "careless" on your part, after a few hits with a hammer looking to see what was stopping the bolt should have came to mind. But instead you can tell from pictures the bolt was continuously hit until it could go no further. The K-member was broke by the installer and under driven circumstances.

As for you worrying about the K-member breaking... We have over 200 units installed on all sorts of vehicles from 8 second drag cars to daily drivers and even road race cars. Not once have we had a failure. But can not guarantee a certain bracket of the K-member will handle a man with a hammer. It had to break; it had to no other option when being forced like that. Once material is bent is fatigues and becomes weak at the bend point, this is why we use the heavy thickness material we do. It is not designed to be re-bent back into its original state... this is why it broke. I don't care if it is brand A, B or C or the GM unit they were all going to break under that circumstance no matter what you might think.

If you would like to send the K-member back I will be happy to take the time to re-weld the bracket or if possible re-install a new bracket. You will not be charged and only need to pay the shipping.

 

I agree. I Love UMI products but I fail to see how they can just assume there is no way any small fracture could have slipped through QA. Now im not saying its definately there fault but I can see it happening. WHat i see in the pic is not a bet piece of metal, its a broken one that once it cracked it moved 3/4". It would also be tough to swing the size of a hammer it would take to break that thing in an area that small. Now my UMI K member will be here tuesday, I dont think ill have this probelm...well i hope not.

 

You will not have this problem if it is installed correctly. You guys are missing the point here. That bracket is NOT made to be bent, you can't bend a item that is not made to be bent and complain it broke. That bracket is made to be 90 degrees, if the bolt won't line up with the hole find out why and line it up. Again like I mentioned in my last post, that bracket would most likely break when being bent back to its original position.. any part made of mild steel in most case would crack as well, its a given. I will say it again, that bracket is not ment to be bent from 90 degrees to 45 degrees and expect to survive, even it did not crack when it was forced there is a chance it would crack when the installer tried to bend it back after doing this. Is this then our fault too?

 

Ryan:
I am not missing your point. I understand you point of view completely. I am completely neutral here. I just dont see how with just a small picture from one angle you can completely dismiss that anything could possibly slipped through QA. I would think you should at least look at the K member once sent back to assess the situation more then some tiny pic. It could have been broken by him, but knowing that I have worked on these cars before and to swing a hammer in that area at an force to break that metal it would be tough. I commend you for your offer to fix it at no charge, thats good to see...I just think that maybe you jumped the gun to point the finger especially since I cannot see where he even said the K member was yours or blamed you in the thread.

 

after messing with motor mounts a good bit with the motor in the car, there is a fine line between the engine being correct in the mount with the bolt slippin in, and the bolt not goin in at all. a few seconds and slight adjustment of motor position would have alleviated this. its possible the k member was weak there, but that is because the metal was not designed for the forces placed when he forced it.

 

Yes you are correct and I apologize. Gary Z never pointed any blame on us. I do know it is our K-member from the picture and I did jump the gun, but I saw people starting to jump the band wagon so I posted before it got out of hand. Maybe I came off harsh. Thank you

Exactly what I was trying to say, good wording. Thank you.