CAN YOU GIVE ME A LIFT, DAWG?

Broken parts can ruin any off-road adventure. Motor mounts take a beating, and when they fail, it is often catastrophic. When motor mounts fail, the motor can drop, causing the oil filter to crush and the engine to pump all the oil out in a matter of seconds. The engine falling can also break the fan, shroud, and ruin the radiator.

- Christian Sturtz

On the flip side, a broken motor mount can also cause the engine to torque upwards. That exact scenario happened recently while out on the trail with a CJ-7. Sometime during the trip, the driver’s side motor mount broke. This break allowed the motor to lift1-3, even under moderate load, on the driver’s side. The trails involved pretty rough terrain, which didn’t help the problem. The CJ was equipped with an electric fan setup, which relieved one of the potential problems. However, torque of the motor, due to the broken motor mount, was causing the automatic transmission to change gears under load. The torqueing of the engine also kept breaking the vacuum hose on the brake booster, causing a massive vacuum leak, which made the engine die. Due to the rough terrain, this could have put us in some compromising situations.

In this article, we will install heavy-duty motor mounts and a block bracket kit (Part # C2883-1) by Brown Dog Offroad. Brown Dog Offroad products are built in Queen Creek, AZ, and when you call you, you actually talk to the owner in person, which is a huge deal these days! Brown Dog Offroad makes motor mounts and block brackets for YJ, XJ, MJ, and TJ models. They also offer their motor mount in several heights and options; the two different mount constructions are rubber or polyurethane. Brown Dog Offroad also makes OEM height/ lifted replacement motor mounts if the bracket system is not in your budget.