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I forgot to add that on both mounts, one of the motor mount bolts (the long one) was only finger tight. I'm surprised there was no oil leak there.
Looks like RatedR1 nailed it. I found the section in the shop manual that discusses aligning the ppf. Looks like I'll need to loosen everything, align it all, and tighten it all back down.
I reinstalled my mounts tonight. Man, what a bitch! Is it supposed to be that hard? I fully tightened the 3 bolts holding the passenger side mount to the engine. I lowered the engine enough to get the the mount's through the subframe and then I put the nut on about 2 turns only.
I jacked it back up and to get the driver's side to go in, I ended up bolting it to the subframe first. Then I lowered the engine down and got the bolts into the engine.
I don't know how you're supposed to get a torque wrench in there. Real f'in tight will have to do for now.
The angle of the camera isn't the same, but so far, I've gained a lot of up-down clearance. I think the shifter is rubbing because it is off to the right some but also because it is sitting too high.
I oxy torched my motor mount bolts to get all of the old sealer off. The wire wheel wasn't doing anything for me.
At this point, I'm not sure if I should loosen the subframe or not. It looks like I still need more clearance on the right side, no?
I ended up yanking the mounts back off tonight to reapply the sealant. This time, in addition to putting a little more on the bolts, I also put it on the mounts' mating surfaces. They were previously installed this way and I wanted to preserve the fact that the engine did not leak oil.
This is how my clearance looks now. It may change some after I reattach the PPF, but it looks a lot better than before. I was able to move the tranny a little by wedging a 2x4 between it and the tunnel while the mounts were loose.
I can't believe no one mentioned that is not the stock shifter housing, it looks a little thicker than stock. Other than that like you've already figured out there is a lot of adjustment with the stock PPF and motor mounts.
I haven't finished putting this thing back together yet, so I don't know if this did the trick. I'm pretty sure that it will help.
While I'm under the car, I think I'm gonna remove the DP and extend it. It's a little too short (older Bonez DP) and I'm itching to lay down some TIG beads.
I've had this car for 28 days. I've driven it for 4 days and it's been on jackstands for 24 days. Ah, the joys of FD3 ownership. It's all good though...I'd have gone over any car completely regardless of where it came from.
Jeff: I ordered a stock shifter assembly. I've never been a huge fan of short shift kits, so if worse comes worse, this one will come out. As you said, the short shifter kit adds a lot of bulk and reduces clearance.
clayne: I don't have a MIG welder any more. There are definitely times (exhaust stuff) when I miss it. I primarily use my TIG welder for most stuff (manifolds and collectors). I also have a gas welder (oxyacetylene torch) that I use for stuff that requires me to lay down or stand up. It's also wonderful for heating up rusty old bolts. I'm in the Brentwood/Antioch area.
Sorry to resurrect this from the dead, but was just replacing my shifter with a B&M short shifter from Banzai and had this same issue. Transmission turret was extremely off-center (pic attached). For anyone reading now, the steps for the powerplant frame (PPF) alignment are on J95 in the FSM but the steps are:
1. Loosen the 6 subframe bolts and retighten from the driver side to the passenger side. Idk how much this helped, but my thought process it would pull the subframe slightly to the driver's side.
2. Loosen the 2 motor mount bolts and 6 PPF bolts (2 on the tranny, 4 on the diff). Once again, I'm not sure if the loosening them on the diff matters too much, since once I loosened the motor mount bolts and two PPF bolts on the tranny, I could move the transmission and engine pretty easily. But I loosened them all just to be safe.
3. Get a long 2x4 and shove it between the transmission and transmission tunnel on the passenger side and push the transmission towards the driver's side until you have the transmission turret in the position you want. I was by myself so I just guessed.
4. MOST IMPORTANT, while you still have the transmission in the place you want, tighten the bolts in the following order: Drivers Side Motor Mount -> Passenger Side Motor Mount -> Front Most Transmission PPF bolt -> Second Transmission PPF Bolt. This will make sure the drivetrain can't move back towards the passenger side Even if you accidentally let some pressure off while your tightening everything. I kept my hip on the 2x4 to keep anything from moving an used an air ratchet to snug things up in that order. Went back and torqued everything afterwards.
5. You can release the pressure on the 2x4 now and tighten the PPF bolts on the diff.
6. Transmission turret should now be centered! I went from the pic below to dead center so there is A LOT of play in the alignment. Stay safe everyone!
Last edited by kelldog44; May 16, 2020 at 08:29 AM.
I fully tightened the 3 bolts holding the passenger side mount to the engine. I lowered the engine enough to get the the mount's through the subframe and then I put the nut on about 2 turns only.
