Exactly right. The lower crossbar bolts in place with a single bolt at
each end and touches nothing else. It does not support the oil pan in
any way.

Mark

Mike wrote:
>  I haven't personally seen the crossbar that you're talking about, but it
> would appear that it's there to add a structural tie-together of two side
> mounts.  I really doubt that the oil pan contacts it at all.   It can't,
> really, or the engine mounts would have no flex to dampen vibrations away
> from the frame, plus it'd chafe where it does contact and eventually wear a
> hole thru the pan.  This cross-brace would also serve to protect the torque
> rotation of the engine (and off-road bouncing of the chassis) from
> straining
> the mounts' bolts.  This is what appeared to have happened to your rig, and
> would have been prevented by the installation od such a cross-brace.  The
> looseness that you describe may have been flexing of the long mount and/
> otr
> it's mounting hardware, due to a lack of this part.  My guess is that when
> you finally get it properly repaired and add this cross-brace, that
> looseness will be gone.
>
> HTH,
>
> Mike B.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "dhanson@gorge.net" <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 3:49 PM
> Subject: Dropped my motor...almost..
>
>
>>  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
>