Force 90 Engine mounts

[QuadManiac]

As I was stowing my '91 Force 90 for transport the other day, i noticed that the entire lower assembly would rock back and forth without the engine case moving. Upon removing the power head cover, i now see that the entire assembly, lower and powerhead, is able to rock back and forth about 2" (at the prop). There appears to be 2 puck like motor mounts below and on either side of the power head. There is also some kind of mount at the top rear, that looks like it should attach to the powerhead, but does not. This is a metal angle bracket with 4 bolts on the horizontal surface into the outer case. The vertical portion of the angle bracket points down, and it looks like it may have once had a rubber puck attached to it which then surrounded a boss on the power head. (I say this because there are some ~2" diameter circular marks on the vertical flat towards the powerhead) There is nothing there now.

Is there supposed to be some physical connection between the outer case and the power head at the top rear? Is this rocking motion normal?

My manual does not have enough pictures to show me what it should look like, and since it's for every motor made (practically) the descriptions are pretty generic.

Thanks, in advance, for your help.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Force 90 Engine mounts

That rear angle is a stop to keep the engine from moving too far back under full acceleration. It does not have any rubber between the L angle and the boss on the midleg casting. Under normal circumstances it is not expecter to touch the mid-leg. The gap should be about 3/8 inch when the engine is properly mounted on its rubber shocks. The marks are probably from contact because of worn or broken rubber mounts.

The two rubber pucks are bolted in between the mid-leg casting and the front housing which holds the engine mount and swivel. There should be two bolts under the housing to hold the bottom of the pucks. If one or both of these bolts are either broken or missing, the shock mounts will be able to slide rearward in the lower slots into which they are normally bolted.the two on top are hidden under the engine and the engine block and adapter plate must be removed to access them. However, the top of the pucks are mounted in a square hole and can not move forward or backward even if no bolts were present. The engine would be able to lift vertically though if the lower mount was broken.

Down at the bottom of the swivel, there is also a lower rubber mount. This one frequently breaks. 4 Bolts hold on the cap and the front of the mount. 4 other bolts hold the rear plate of the mount to the mid-leg. All 8 of these bolts are frequently corroded and difficult to get out. Be careful!

 

[QuadManiac]

Re: Force 90 Engine mounts

Sorry, not familiar with the term 'swivel' here. Where is the lower mount relative to some other identifiable things? I assume that i've got about 2" of play because the lower is bad? I'm not supposed to have this much play, am I? the uppers look fine and are mounted tight.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Force 90 Engine mounts

Swivel is the kingpin that the engine turns left and right on. The lower mount is positioned right behind and held on with the same four bolts that hold on the kingpin cover. If you look up from the exposed shift lever, you will see the lower mount. The area you are looking in is right behind and centered between the bottom of the engine mounting clamps.

Correct: you should not have that much movement. If the uppers are tight, then most likely the lower mount is broken.

I think I read somewhere that this mount is over 100 bucks but no longer available. However, it is repairable. I wrote quite a long thread about repairing it better than new, sometime last week. Seek and yee shall find.

 

[QuadManiac]

Re: Force 90 Engine mounts

Found it! Perfect, Frank.

I remember seeing it before, but it didn't register cuz it's called a shock mount and I (being well versed in automotive and quad mechanics) was looking for motor mount issues. New language to learn here.

I will follow your guidance to the letter.

Thank you very much.

 

[QuadManiac]

Frank A - shock mount repair question

Frank A - shock mount repair question

Frank,

I'm about to do this repair, following your earlier post about fixing the lower shock mount.

Since the mount is retained by the same bolts that hold the kingpin cover, when I remove them and the cover, is there any risk of the motor coming free of the kingpin? Will it remain safely in place, or do I need to support the motor on something other than the lift piston or the travel stop?

Thanks