oil pan touches crossmember

[davidmij]

I just had all my front end bushings and ball joints replaced. When I checked it out I noticed that the oil pan was just barely toughing the cross member support. Before the repairs it was already really close. The motor mount bolts have always sat really low in the perches. My question is two fold; is it normal for the new bushings to make the clearance between the cross bar and the oil pan tighter? It makes sense because the old bushings would sag when worn out.
Also, is it OK to use some sort of shim between the motor mounts and the perches to raise it approximately a quarter inch?

thanks in advance, Dave J

[jopizz]

The cross member is a solid piece welded to the frame structure. It has nothing to do with suspension. Do you have the stock oil pan.

John

[davidmij]

Oh wow, my mistake John. I was picturing in my mind where the A frame ties into the cross member and thinking that that was where the cross member tied into the frame. Thus, the new bushing there would be a flex point. Never mind on that part.

Yes, I'm pretty sure the oil pan is correct. I had to get a new one on line because the one from the 1967 LTD 390 was deeper in the back and wouldn't fit. Here's a picture of the one I have. Mine is 5 1/2 deep, 8 wide, and the deep end of the pan is 10 inches long.

Anyway, do you think shims are OK? There's no sign of any wear on the pan where it looks like it touches. Therefore I'm thinking that there might be juuuuust barely a 32nd of an inch clearance.

thx, Dave J

[jopizz]

You can probably use shims but I can't figure out why you should need them. How far down do the motor mount bolts sit. You should be able to put a finger between the bolts and the bottom of the housing. Does your block use a three bolt motor mount. That may be the problem. Here are pictures of the stock two bolt 352 motor mount and the later three bolt 390 motor mount. You can see how much thicker the 352 mount is.

John

[simplyconnected]

When they retrofit a SBF engine to our cars, they usually use a 3/4" spacer (shim). There's nothing wrong with using a shorter shim.

Here's a '57 Fairlane with a Mustang engine, belonging to a buddy of mine:

[davidmij]

thx gents, the 390 had the 2 bolt style on it because it came out of a 1967 car. I use the thicker 2 bolt style now. However the bolts sit approximately 1/8th of an inch from the bottom of the slot in the motor perch.
I have some big 3 inch washers that are approximately 1/8 thick. I'll cut a slot in it for the bolt and see how much room it gives me as a shim. I was just worried that it will change my drive shaft angle.

stay tuned......

thx, Dave J

[davidmij]

The washers worked great. The motor mount bolts now have about a 1/4 inch between the bolt and the bottom of the perch slot.
However it raised the fan blade just enough to touch the fan shroud. I modified my shroud bracket and it's good to go.

thx, Dave J

[simplyconnected]

Good goin', Jonesy. It's a simple fix that cost nothing.
My kind of fix.