Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:20 am
James,
As Roy says, they are not supposed to be tight as such, and it is quite common for the engine bay tie bar to become disconnected from the bulkhead altogether! The bracket bolted to the bulkhead either breaks or the mounting suffers from corrosion.
The tie bar was introduced to reduce/eliminate clutch judder and the BMC manual says that the tie bar rubbers should not be 'unduly compressed' - not defined!! It is supposed to control any radial engine movement, but not to force it into position.
The steady cable adjustment process is not a lot clearer - 'the cable should be tensioned so as just to prevent any forward movement of the power unit relative to the chassis.' And then a comment about 'do not impose too great a tension .....'
The mechanical linkage on the Minor has little tolerance of unplanned engine movement, hence the tie-bar and also the steady cable (this also prevents the engine moving forward under sharp braking, and the fan touching the radiator).
As Roy says, they are not supposed to be tight as such, and it is quite common for the engine bay tie bar to become disconnected from the bulkhead altogether! The bracket bolted to the bulkhead either breaks or the mounting suffers from corrosion.
The tie bar was introduced to reduce/eliminate clutch judder and the BMC manual says that the tie bar rubbers should not be 'unduly compressed' - not defined!! It is supposed to control any radial engine movement, but not to force it into position.
The steady cable adjustment process is not a lot clearer - 'the cable should be tensioned so as just to prevent any forward movement of the power unit relative to the chassis.' And then a comment about 'do not impose too great a tension .....'
The mechanical linkage on the Minor has little tolerance of unplanned engine movement, hence the tie-bar and also the steady cable (this also prevents the engine moving forward under sharp braking, and the fan touching the radiator).