Yesterday I was running through the desert in my 84 Gas/diesel inline four conversion and enjoying
the dips, then I came to a stop sign and noticed my exhaust note had changed..The gear shifting was
not right, either, so I pulled over and crawled under to find the passenger side of the motor was
hanging low...Hmmm!..So I tossed out all the stuff in the back hatch area, after inspecting all the
motor mounts underneath..
  Now, this motor has always seemed a bit "loose" in the van, ever since I bought the already-done
conversion about 30k thousand miles ago.  I've repeatedly checked the motor mounts, bought new ones
and stached em after I found the current ones to be just fine...I simply assumed that it was normal
for the inline four to be able to rock around back there...Not great, but perhaps just a poor design.
  I found the right side rear cast aluminum motor mount had sheered the mounting bolts right at the
block..leaving the right side of the motor hanging.....As I began trying to see how to fix that, I
happened to find, in the Bently, a short 2 page write up on the diesel motor install/remove...and
Whoa!..right there in the book it shows a thing they call the Engine Support mount...Mine NEVER had
one...And I, for one, have never encountered any installation that uses the oil pan as a stressed
mounting member..a weight-bearing part of the engine mounting set up...It is kind of a transverse
strap, from rail to rail that the flat bottom of the diesel motor oil pan just sits on...takes up
some of the weight, I guess and keeps it from rocking?  We shall see...
  So anyhow, I limped back to my campsite and using some construction wood I had around and some
extra motorcycle tiedown straps...I have now a fine looking '2x4 engine support mount'...Gotta love
the vans...
  If I were home with all my tools, I could have done a permanent fix with ease...but since I am
camping, I will have to depend on the local mechanics to try to "easy-out" the broken mount bolts
out of the block, and to fabricate a strap to sit the pan onto rather than my 'special' 2x4 racing
mount...

  Happy new year everyone,
  Don Hanson