'81 300D, 5-10MPH Wreck, motor mounts busted, trans mount too...

[i-osprey]

I just rear-ended a 2006 Jaguar S-Type 3.0 going between 5 and 10 mph.

Somehow, I managed to break the motor mounts on either side of the engine, the transmission mount and maybe any other mount that may be there that I didn't see. The damper type mounts are still attached but if there is another mount it is probably broken too.

As far as I know, only the rubber failed in these mounts.

My question now is what other kinds of problems did I cause?

The engine moving forward dislodged some linkages and the vacuum line and may have caused some minor damage to the radiator from the fan. The engine was revving like crazy and going nowhere. I had to pop the hood and shut down manually.

Is the transmission fried? I couldn't tell because the forward movement caused the shifter to be out of whack and since the engine was revving so high I just shut it down. It may or may not engage but the engine/trans shifted forward at least four inches. The power steering pump pulley/belt are pushed into the radiator fan shroud and the metal part of the motor mount is completely clear of where it had been previously but just barely. Basically the rear of the top metal part of the mounts is now where the front used to be.

What did I do and how do I fix it? I'm not worried about replacing the mounts but I am worried abou any damage I may have done to the tranny.

Were my mounts all that bad or was this designed to happen?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[ljsense]

Originally Posted by i-osprey

How do I fix it?

New on eBay:

1981 Mercedes 300D

If you know these cars, 500,000 miles is just getting broken in.

This one has a custom engine and transmission layout.

Gets 100,000 miles on a combination of vegetable oil and hydrogen.

Front bumper has British paint accents.






-------------

Seriously, I am sorry. I crashed my 300CD in the same way -- rear ended a pickup truck at 5-10 mph. Total heartbreaker. Truck bumper vs. my headlights, grill, hood, radiator and so on. The repairs were more than what I paid for the car. I feel for you.

[i-osprey]

I have no body damage whatsoever.

The bumper absorbed it all(along with all rubber mounts in the car).

I am really just worried about any damage that may have been done to the transmission.

Has anybody had this happen before?

[ljsense]

The repairs on the 300CD?

I don't recall them all, but it involved a bunch of stuff. The hood was crimped pretty bad, for starters. Both headlight doors were broken, as were the lights' lenses. The radiators and A/C got damaged. I guess the oil coolers must have survived.

Fenders had damage around the headlights. As for the motor mounts -- your central point -- I'm afraid I just don't know. It sounds reasonable that they'd be heavily stressed or broked in a collision.

And I'm sorry I can't offer you any insight into whether your transmission is wrecked. It doesn't seem to me, though, that just the force of this collision would ruin your transmission itself.

If you don't care about the mounts, I gather running rough is fine. As long as your cooling system isn't leaking, I guess you'll be all right. Maybe your engine is revving because your throttle linkage got screwed up. I'm not aware of a disconnected vacuum line that would make your engine rev.

[dawsonj3]

Your mounts must have been bad - in such a low speed collision they shouldn't break away like that. As far as damage to engine and tranny, have the car towed to a trustworthy mechanic, and have him evaluate the situation.

Frankly, I would replace all the mounts, check the vacuum lines, fix the throttle linkage, replace the engine fan and radiator, and anything else that looks damaged.

Once the engine and tranny are mounted properly, you should be better able to assess the function of the engine and transmission.

I wouldn't think that the engine or tranny would sustain much damage from such a low speed collision - esp. if there is no significant body damage.

[i-osprey]

I have ordered the mounts and will have them installed by this weekend.

I was just concerned that the transmission would have become dislodged from the driveshaft since it moved so far forward. I also worry about the differential and whether or not the driveshaft is still properly seated.

I don't think that the radiator has been damaged but the fan may be. I will assess it once I get everything back together.

Are there only two motor mounts, one on either side, and the dampers?

I checked online and one more central mount is shown but I don't see anything like that on mine.

Thanks for the input...

[JimmyL]

I think only 81 and previous 240's had the center mount/stabilizer. Both my 80's have one, and so did Scar, who is an '81.

[Scott98]

Unfortunately, you'll probably just have to drive it and hope for the best. I doubt you will notice all the problems (if any) right away. It might take some time for them to develop. I hope your rear end didn't get damaged when the transmission got slammed back. Carefully check for damage where the drive shaft enters the transmission and where it enters the rear diferential. Just another thing to keep an eye out for.

Scott

[i-osprey]

As far as I know, the engine and tranny only went forward. I was worried that this would cause something to pull out of either the tranny or the rear end. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of either so this may not be a concern at all. I should know more when I attempt to move everything back into place.

For some reason I'm not too worried though. I don' t know if it is knowing that I only spent $1500 on the car or that I am so confident in the design of these things. Nothing ever seems un-doable or un-fixable when you really get down to it on these cars.

Thanks for the help and I will keep you posted on my progress.

[i-osprey]

Here are some pics of the damage.

I am still pretty amazed that these three pieces of rubber are practically all that holds the engine and tranny to the car.

[junqueyardjim]

But eventually they rot away from heat and oil. It looks like they should have been replaced decades ago. But here is your chance to catch up on some neglected PM. Accidents can do some wild damage at times. But I don't think that your transmission or driveline or differential would likely suffer much damage. There is a connector joint on the driveshaft just forward of the "U" joint and the drive shaft carrier bearing. The sliding shaft is put together at that point, and then there is a "big" nut that turns tight to keep the whole driveline snug. That nut is big, about 2 and a half inch, and it takes a giant sized channel lock pliers to tighten it up. Perhaps the nut on your driveline was not real tight. On the other hand, I don't know how much inertia it was designed to hold. But if your engine/transmission slid forward, that is where the movement took place So, make sure your radiator is OK, slide the engine and transmission back, replace the mounts, and you will have to see if the shift linkage is usable and I think you might be good to go. You can't poke damage into the back of the transmission, or do any pull out damage to the differential. You should take a real good look at both front and rear flex joint also. I would doubt if they could get damaged, but if they are as od as the motor mounts, who knows. Check them out.

[Magoo]

As junqueyardjim suggested, the drive shaft flex disks may be damaged. Before the motor and trans are moved back to their original position, see if you can tell how the driveline compensated for the 4 inches of movement. If the flex disks were forced to stretch that far, they should be replaced if not already broken. Check the drive shaft center bearing and holder for damage as well.

[i-osprey]

Originally Posted by Magoo

As junqueyardjim suggested, the drive shaft flex disks may be damaged. Before the motor and trans are moved back to their original position, see if you can tell how the driveline compensated for the 4 inches of movement. If the flex disks were forced to stretch that far, they should be replaced if not already broken. Check the drive shaft center bearing and holder for damage as well.

OK, what is a flex disk and what does it look like?

Where exactly would they be located?

Thanks for the help.

[mobetta]

in your 4th pic you can see the front flex disc. there is one on each end of the driveshaft. it is a round rubber donut w/ 6 holes in it. 3 for the tranny/rear end, 3 for the driveshaft.

[i-osprey]

So, since they're rubber will any damage be very visible?

Should I look for tears or cracks or what? Will the damage most likely be around the bolt holes?

Thanks again