I have been trying to fit the new engine mounting rubbers on my Ruby Mk2,the tubular ones that go through the 4 feet on the engine,its impossible,when the engine was out i put the rubbers in to try, even then i had to fight to get them in,and i could,nt leave them in when i drop the engine in as they wont go over the bolts as they are compressed to fit the hole it obviously makes the inside diameter smaller,I was talking to an old time Austin mechanic said to put a cut down the lenght which i did,still no good,in desperation i cut one in half to see if it would go in in 2 pieces,no good,i would think now these are reproduction ones,they were bought by the way from 7 workshop,i served my time in the construction industry so am used to awkward nuts and bolts so not a stranger to this kind of work,anyone know of a easy way,i do realise that there is,nt an easy way but thats what i am looking for,Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Hello Ted,
"Impossible to fit", yes you're right they are,
I haven't bothered with them for years!!
Doesn't seem to make any difference.
John

Location: As far east in Kent as you can get

They are indeed impossible to fit. I gave up using them years ago. Just have the rubber discs top and bottom of the 'foot'.

Location: Late summer sunny Hertfordshire

I don't want to appear to be a smart Alec, but I just smeared the rubbers in a little silicone grease and with a little jiggery pokery, they went in perfectly, but you do need a nice controllable engine crane!

Location: Near Bicester.

I use CV joint grease (is this silicone?), which "can" make it easier.

thanks for all the replies,but i did try greasing them first,but at the end of the day you cannot get a 1/2" bolt into a 1/2" hole which is what i am trying to do.the diameter of the rubbers are a bigger diameter than the hole,so there is no way they can fit i am a very patient person so do try,as i have said they can be compressed into the hole,but this reduces the inside diameter then the bolt wont go through,it seems from the above comments that there was no damage when they were left out,i might try and see if i can find a suitable tube that would go over the bolt and fit the hole.Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Don't agree that it's impossible but it is difficult, particularly with new rubbers that haven't been compressed by use. I've not needed to do this for some years as I don't have any rubber feet type engines at the moment however I always found that using silicone grease was the key. Silicone grease is available from DIY outlets and is used for assembling the joints on plastic gutters, fall pipes, drainage pipes and the like.

Steve

Location: Nr. Selby, North Yorkshire

Fit each rubber, dry, into the crankcase feet and then with a suitable sized * very sharp drill bit, and at very high speed, drill out 'til the bolts can be inserted, with Si grease, ensuring that the fit is very snug.

( * Sorry, cannot remember what the bolt diameter is at present, but preferable that the drill is slightly undersize to this diameter. )

Location: Melton Mowbray

Done some measuring,the rubbers 5/8"th diameter,hole in foot of engine,1/2" diameter,hole in centre of rubber,5/16"th bolt diameter 3/8"th and they are from 7 workshop,physics say they wont fit,even with silicone Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

3 bearing crankcases have a 5/8" dia hole,2 bearings have a 1/2" dia.hole In an attempt to keep costs to a minimum only the larger ones are supplied as it is felt that most people have enough technical expertise to overcome this minor problem.

Location: Brissle

As two members above had the expertise to solve the problem,leave them out,simple,i have since found from other Austin men thats all they do.Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Never having had a rubber mounted engine I feel free to comment - couldn't you put the rubber tubes on a bolt and just grind the OD to size?

Or even open out the mounting holes in the crankcase

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Australia.

Just open out the holes to 5/8". Simples!

Location: Derby

Location: Very edge of Europe - West

Of course thats simple and takes no figuring out,but its not supposed to be drilled out thats why you buy things that are supposed to fit,also there was no remark from the supplier that they are made in only one size,how many here knew they only come in one size apart from the one comment about it nobody i would guess, i dont expect to pay out money to have to alter something which i expect to fit.Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Ted

I would suggest you are lucky to be able to buy ANY new spares for a 75 year old car!

Maybe you would be better off with a modern, where most of the parts fit first time, if they are available.................

Stuart.

Location: Devon

Modern,i could be the only one here who doesnt own a modern car,an Austin 10 1935,Wolseley 1500 1958,Austin 7 1938 Ruby,been driving them for the past 45 years and god knows how many Austin 10,s i have had in this time,just never a 7,apart from the 7 the other 2 are on the road 365 days a year,i dont just put them in the garage,i use them,i think people have lost it with my original query regarding the rubbers,i bought some,oh,and by the way there plenty at the 7 workshop so not lucky at all to buy new parts,when they would,nt fit i thought i was missing an easy way to fit them,which i now know that they are made to big for certain 7,s just a simple query which over the years all of you will have asked similar,Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Hi Ted ,
I'm with you on this one .

Working on old cars over the years , you have to be able to "bodge" or adapt.

However , you're never too old to learn , so keep asking the questions just in case someone else has a solution .

Best of luck

Merv

Location: New Forest

Both my Austin 7's are over 83 years old - no modern rubber mounts here. But the shock absorber link rubber bushes took some rework to fit, along with the wheel hub felts - I thought that was all part of the rich texture of owning a vingage car

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Australia.

I had loads of trouble getting the engine back in on my 1935 Ruby after putting in new engine mounting rubbers. I finally solved it by taking the two front studs out. Putting the engine in place complete with rubber inserts. Then using nothing more than washing up liquid lubricated the rubber bushes and fitted the two bolts nearest the bulkhead just finger tight. I then again lubricated the two front studs and screwed them back into the chassis afer pushing them through the rubbers.. The last one was a fiddle but did it finally screw in with a struggle. Lastley tighten all the bolts and studs up. THE PROBLEM I HAD WAS GETTING THEM TO LINE UP TO THE HOLES IN THE CHASSIS ONCE THEY HAD GONE THROUGH THE RUBBERS.

Yours John Mason.

Location: Mansfield Nottinghamshire

Ted, I apologize for sounding facetious. This is a "friends" forum and not a place for cocky remarks! I understand your frustration with buying parts that don't fit and you don't need telling how to fettle, I'm sure.

Besides, I may need your help myself one day!!

Location: Derby

Location: Shropshire

Thanks for those last replies,i think we all know little tricks that we have picked over the years and as been said you might need a little help one day,thanks Ted

Location: North Yorkshire

Some unworthy posts on here in reply to a legitimate query from someone who has had a lot of experience with 'old cars'.
Dave

Location: Bonnie Galloway

I buy a lot of parts from suppliers each year.

Occasionally they don't fit, and, if this is the case, my first port of call is always the supplier, they are all very knowledgable and helpful. In this case it would have solved Ted's problem in seconds.

If I got no joy from the supplier I would then consider asking wider afield and, as a last resort name them, but only after affording them the chance to answer my query.

Happily this model has always worked for me and one I would wholeheartedly reccomend to anyone who was interested.

I am not criticising you Ted, and will continue to offer you help on the phone, e-mail and forum, I'm just sharing what has worked best for me

Looking over the first post you say you have a MK 2 Ruby and, I presume, this was relayed to the supplier, in this case the rubbers should fit and there would have been need to tell you anything. As they don't fit it is perhaps the case that you have the incorrect (earlier) engine fitted?

Having said that, the true answer to your query has enlightened many on here, not least, me!

Ted, I suspect that Ruairidh has put his finger on it. When I read your post and you said you had a Mk 2 Ruby, I automatically assumed that meant that you also had the 3 bearing Mk 2 Ruby engine, which was why I couldn't understand your difficulty fitting the rubber bushes.

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

When I fitted new engine rubbers on my Mk I Ruby earlier this year, at first they would not go, then I realised that I had fitted them incorrectly, then, when re-fitted and a little silicone grease, they fitted a treat, just had to align the engine to get the lugs to fit nicely over the front fixed studs and the rear just jiggled about, but did not have to force anything when the rubbers were arranged in the correct order. Have you checked the order of fitting them, so that the sleeve is through the lug and the larger diameter sits on top, reads as being obvious, but I got it wrong (although I think that they were on put on wrong before by a previous owner and I just followed what they did).

Good luck!

Gary

Location: Saltdean, Brighton - was a bit sunny this morning...

I gave up trying to fit the rubber sleeves on the mounting studs/bolts quite a while ago and have since used a short piece of garden hose with a slice taken out down it to reduce the diameter. Having given a scarf joint to the sleeves they can be wriggled down the annular gap. Seems to work OK

Ron

Location: Thornbury