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Quote:
Originally Posted by marc silva
Can someone explain to me how when you have 2 bolts at the flywheel housing on each side and a bouncy spring mount in the front that you can not expect it to crack the flywheel housing after a period of time...however long that is. Seems to me that a single bolt on each side of the housing wold allow (flex or movement) and not stress the housing to the point of causing a crack. I have thought about either loosening the bolts or removing one all together. Any opinions? Thanks, Marc
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marc silva
I have thought about that but my car has all original components. The float a motors seem to me that it will allow the motor to flop around a bit plus it is not what it came with. It’s just that the geometry / design would tell you that you can’t hard mount at the rear with a moveable up and down at the front and expect it to move up and down some without stressing the rear. Yes it’s rubber mounted but iti is a pivotal movement on the rear mount that causes cracking. To me if you removed the front spring mount and bolted it in solid it woud stop the cracking. In my opinion the spring in the front doesn’t make that much of a difference with regards to vibration.
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Marc, some thoughts based on my experiences. The main reasons why flywheel housings crack is because the rear motor mounts have broken which allowed the engine to flex or move in the frame. IMO, you would not want to loosen the rear support bolts that would cause the housing to prematurely crack or break.
Next, most people do not stop to think about the role the flywheel housing plays. Initially, it is an integral frame component as it makes up 25% of the frame's crossmembers. Arguably, the frame is the weakest component on a Model-A, and compromising one of those strengthening members either with loose fasteners or even F-a-M mounts is foolish IMHO.
The 3rd thing to think about is the rear motor supports and the flywheel housing is the main component that pushes the vehicle. The traction of the rear tires actually transfers motion through the rear axle up the torque tube into the back of the transmission. This energy is transferred thru the transmission case, the clutch housing, and into the flywheel housing which is connected to the frame. The flywheel housing endure a tremendous amount of stress as the vehicle is being driven. One thing that most people do not think about is cast iron flexes some during the driving however those stresses also change the shape of the cast iron over time. That is why you see warped housings.
On a side note, most engine rebuilders (-or even restorers) do not restore the flywheel housing, -and this creates vibration and transmission issues that get blamed elsewhere. When I am re-machining a flywheel housing, it is not uncommon to find one warped over 0.010" - 0.015". We all talk about how a flywheel housing needs to be indicated in when assembling an engine, however have you ever thought about why the factory did not need to indicate these in? It is because they were freshly machined to a tolerance that was parallel from both sides. Re-machine the flywheel housing and you don't need to indicate the housing. Just insert shims that are the same thickness as the compressed gasket and tighten the fasteners. I guess this is a long way around to say it is my opinion that you do not want to remove any fasteners in the frame supports or the housing itself.