Engine Shifting into radiator and also clucth broke

Stuffie0912 · 12-01-2001, 05:19 AM

On My 66 mustang 1 barrel straight six, we installed a 3 row radiator as opposed to the two row that was in there. There was much less room in between the fan blades and the radiator, but we have had no prolems for months. Now al of the sudden, we heard a clunk and immediately the radiator started spewing fluid onto the engine. Upon inspection we saw that the engine had shifted slightly enough to push the fan into the radiator. But when we stopped it was NOT STILL in the radiator. My belief is that something (cradle, engine mounts, trans mount, bushings) has malfunctioned to cause the engine to move? The night before we had replaced the distributor cap (again) and rotor which the rotor had badly chipped the plastic around the contacts. The engine had died earlier that evening. The new cap and rotor seemed to solve the problem. Seems unlikey it is related to the engine shifting problem. It also appears to me, that I remember that the block usually id level horizontal? Now it seems to have a downward slope toward the back of the engine. Which also follows the movement that the engine would have made to cut ONLY into the bottom of the radiator. Tonight the clucth broke right out of the engine, leaving the bolt still in the engine (broken bolt).

All this together seems to indicate some problem with the engine or driveshaft support? It is a manual, and the transmission mount and engine mounts "seem" to be intact. We had a friend tell us that back when the mustangs were manufactured, there were problems with the cradles under theengine mounts breaking and that the acrs were optional recalled back to the factory to be welded. Have you heard of anything that may support my fear of engine or drive shaft problems like this.

In Desperate need of help!
Stephanie

Gearhead999 · 12-01-2001, 08:53 AM

Sounds like the motor mounts broke.

On the Dist. make sure that the small spring clip is under the rotor.

jwboner · 12-03-2001, 03:26 AM

I'm not sure about 6cyl mounts but over the years the rubber insulators in them are probably shot. I break the rubber in my trans mount about once a year and the back tires start to hop on take off. My brother's car engine fan hit the radiator (or the other way around) when someone backed into the front of his car, it didn't bend the bumper or hurt anything else major, but temporarily pushed the radiator back into the fan. One solution would be to use a shorter fan spacer, but definitly replace mounts. The clutch on a v8 pivots between frame and block letting the engine go through its motions and only change the clutch geometry slightly. You might have something binding and keeping it from moving freely, check clearances and other pivot points. I am basing this advise on a v8 though, I've never really looked at a 6cyl from a mechnical point of view.

12-01-2001, 05:19 AM	#1
Stuffie0912 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chesterfield VA Posts: 1	Engine Shifting into radiator and also clucth broke On My 66 mustang 1 barrel straight six, we installed a 3 row radiator as opposed to the two row that was in there. There was much less room in between the fan blades and the radiator, but we have had no prolems for months. Now al of the sudden, we heard a clunk and immediately the radiator started spewing fluid onto the engine. Upon inspection we saw that the engine had shifted slightly enough to push the fan into the radiator. But when we stopped it was NOT STILL in the radiator. My belief is that something (cradle, engine mounts, trans mount, bushings) has malfunctioned to cause the engine to move? The night before we had replaced the distributor cap (again) and rotor which the rotor had badly chipped the plastic around the contacts. The engine had died earlier that evening. The new cap and rotor seemed to solve the problem. Seems unlikey it is related to the engine shifting problem. It also appears to me, that I remember that the block usually id level horizontal? Now it seems to have a downward slope toward the back of the engine. Which also follows the movement that the engine would have made to cut ONLY into the bottom of the radiator. Tonight the clucth broke right out of the engine, leaving the bolt still in the engine (broken bolt). All this together seems to indicate some problem with the engine or driveshaft support? It is a manual, and the transmission mount and engine mounts "seem" to be intact. We had a friend tell us that back when the mustangs were manufactured, there were problems with the cradles under theengine mounts breaking and that the acrs were optional recalled back to the factory to be welded. Have you heard of anything that may support my fear of engine or drive shaft problems like this. In Desperate need of help! Stephanie

12-01-2001, 08:53 AM	#2
Gearhead999 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 1998 Location: Oviedo, FL Posts: 992	Sounds like the motor mounts broke. On the Dist. make sure that the small spring clip is under the rotor. __________________ "Support our Troops" Dave 1968 Cougar 2004 Thunderbird 2007 F150 Harley-Davidson, SuperCrew 1986 LTD 1997 Ranger 1992 Honda Civic

12-03-2001, 03:26 AM	#3
jwboner Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Under the hood Posts: 164	I'm not sure about 6cyl mounts but over the years the rubber insulators in them are probably shot. I break the rubber in my trans mount about once a year and the back tires start to hop on take off. My brother's car engine fan hit the radiator (or the other way around) when someone backed into the front of his car, it didn't bend the bumper or hurt anything else major, but temporarily pushed the radiator back into the fan. One solution would be to use a shorter fan spacer, but definitly replace mounts. The clutch on a v8 pivots between frame and block letting the engine go through its motions and only change the clutch geometry slightly. You might have something binding and keeping it from moving freely, check clearances and other pivot points. I am basing this advise on a v8 though, I've never really looked at a 6cyl from a mechnical point of view. __________________ 65 fastback 347 DFI injected w/vic jr, TFS heads, MSD, cable clutch TKO, 3.70 9", tc subframe conns, custom traction bars, griffen alum radiator, armored fuel cell, and torq thrust D's Retrofitted Prelude seats. Vintage Air underdash kit. Fiberglass here and there too More on the way all the time.