peter clarke Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 Beware of J Type gearbox mounts sold for converting a sidescreen to a saloon box. The mount has a cutout for the solenoid on one side and the metal is too thin for the job. I just experienced a failure (cracked and broken mount) causing the back of the box to drop until the uv joint hit on the centre chassis section. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 Do you have a photo Peter? How long had it been in use? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 Have you informed the supplier of this failure, and what response did you receive? If you consider that response is inadequate, I suggest you raise a Parts Quality Initiative (PQI) report. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
qkingston Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 Peter, I would be interested in where this bracket failed (pic?), had it been in use for long? I have that bracket fitted on a J Type conversion, car still at the pre-final paint and gearbox easily accessible. I purchased an alternative version (from MEV spares) using a Spitfire/GT6 gearbox mount on a solid base, but the resultant height doesn't look right Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peter clarke Posted May 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 The bracket is formed with a very tight bend and it failed along the fold line. I was in a group touring outback Queensland when it failed at 120 kph 200 km from civilization with no mobile phone coverage. Cost me a very expensive ride on a tow truck but got it "repaired" to continue the journey with the help of a couple of fellow travellers and a small town workshop who allowed us the use of his equipment. The mount has been on the car for about 18 months but this was the first long trip over some rough roads. There is room to add some small gussets at each end of the mount to strengthen the fold. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 (edited) Interesting Peter - thank you for that. There are a number of users who have that same bracket, including me, and some of us have found it necessary to open up the hole a bit to increase clearance for the solenoid, so the bracket has even less 'meat' than yours. I hadn't heard of any failure like this before. Something else to keep an eye on. Edited May 27, 2021 by RobH typo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Tight bends are not normally a great issue, for what is, mild steel. However if it was worked on a particularly cold day, or it had rust patches on the external bend then it may start to crack. Worse still - it does not crack but the surface is seriously stressed. Bouncing about in the car causes the stressed area to start cracking. Putting a fillet in at each end would certainly help. Or even running a bead of weld along that external curve. Sadly too many of these cheap products do not have bend radii calculated. You can see that the inside curve is as sharp as you could get it 'L' 90' - not good. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 It would be interesting to know whether there have been any other similar failures though. 18 months sporadic service isn't much time for fatigue cracking to develop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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