Transmisson dog-bone rubberized mount

Has anyone ever tried using the 1.8T dog-bone trans. mount? It is supposed to be stiffer than the TDI mount and bolt right in. I really wonder if more vibration is felt in the car, since it's stiffer?

I use the poly one.. believe its from Concept one. And yes it does shake in the cab a bit, but it does the job and prevents wheel hop.

I've just fitted one of these. Built to my car's spec by a UK supplier, for a group buy on a forum I'm a member of. It is STIFF! I sometimes wonder whether there's actually any rubber in there at all, but it should bed in soon. [beach boys] She's giving me good vibrations!

wow that is pretty cool..
bigger advantage over just the upgraded poly ?

Monkey1 said:

wow that is pretty cool..
bigger advantage over just the upgraded poly ?

Click to expand...

Having not seen the upgraded poly, perhaps the only advantage might be the mount I have is about as stiff as it comes, or at least I don't see how you can get any stiffer without welding in some box section between gearbox and chassis.

dont think that would fit a mk4 anyway.

vwdsmguy said:

Has anyone ever tried using the 1.8T dog-bone trans. mount? It is supposed to be stiffer than the TDI mount and bolt right in. I really wonder if more vibration is felt in the car, since it's stiffer?

Click to expand...

Save yourself the expense and stiffen your own up. Its easy to do. Simply remove it from the car, separate the end that has the 2 rubber inserts. Then shim them up with some 1/8" material. I like to use industrial floor tile. You can buy one at Home depot for under a buck. Cut it to the shape of the "bowl" that the rubber sits in. You can add as many pieces as you need to make it as stiff as you want. If its too stiff, simply remove one shim. What it does is cause the rubber pieces to compress more, thus making them stiffer. It takes less than 1 hour and is 100% reversable, unlike other methods that require cutting the dogbone mount to compress the rubber pieces.

The manuals says to replace the mounting bolts every time the dog bone is reinstalled. Does anyone have the part # handy?

vwlogue said:

The manuals says to replace the mounting bolts every time the dog bone is reinstalled. Does anyone have the part # handy?

Click to expand...

Nah, balls to that! Sometimes VW (and others) just say to renew bolts to save their own backsides. The only bolts I replace each time are hubnuts.

Here are some pics I took of how I made mine:

Start by putting the dogbone in the vice:



Then, remove the long bolt that holds it all together. You need a 16mm or 5/8" socket. Once its apart, here is what all the components look like:

Now you need to make a spacer. I had a sheet of plastic that I cut a piece from:



Here is a shot of how thick this material is. Anything between 1/8" - 1/4" should be fine.



Using whatever tools you have available, shape it into something that looks like this:



I used a hack saw, a sharp knife, pliers & various files. You need to make a hole in the middle for the center shaft of the mount. I used the biggest drill bit I could fit in my drill:



Then I used some files to make the hole bigger:



Now it should fit inside the housing of the mount like this:



Now you can put it all back together. Here is the layout of how it goes:



By adding the spacer, it allows the parts of the mount to squeeze the rubber pieces a little tighter. This stiffens up the mount. the stiffer you want it, the more spacers you add. Or use thicker material.

The great thing about this mod is that it is 100% reversable (unlike the method of cutting the center rod to compress the rubber). It is also 100% adjustable by simply adding or removing spacers to suit your needs.

Wingnut said:

And engine support bolts.

Click to expand...

Well, thankfully I've never tweaked those. However, I have removed my passenger seat numerous times and the original bolts always go back in well and tight. Same with suspension strut bolts (strut brace attaches to 2 out the 3) and no doubt many other bolts.

Someone asked me for this how to today, so I thought I would bump it up.
Its an old thread, but a good, inexpensive way to stiffen your dogbone mount.

good idea!
i was going to spend £55 on an uprated one from THS but i will save my money and try this first!

I am so doing this, good idea!

I installed a 1.8T mount in my car that I got from a work buddy that put in a poly mount. It's not stiffer, probably the same as the one I took out.

I will be able to report back in a week or so, but I'm going to try the 034 Motorsports mounts. I went with the Street Density Motor mounts and decided to get the Track Density Dogbone, so I'll find out how this combo works in a week when I get my car back.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3567029

The dogbone transmits the most vibrations to the chassis of the 3, so I think you will find it very rough with the track density dogbone. But I am interested to hear how they are once installed.

3L3M3NT said:

I will be able to report back in a week or so, but I'm going to try the 034 Motorsports mounts. I went with the Street Density Motor mounts and decided to get the Track Density Dogbone, so I'll find out how this combo works in a week when I get my car back.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3567029

Click to expand...

I am very interested also, my dogbone is starting to go out, but I was going to fail conservatively and get the Street Density Dogbone.

I had the ECS ultimate dogbone mount in my car for a bit over a month. I couldn't stand the violent vibrations anymore on the car (daily driven) so I went back to stock. I do not recommend it for TDIs.

Hey

What is the current consensus regarding stiffness vs ride quality

im no hero x said:

I had the ECS ultimate dogbone mount in my car for a bit over a month. I couldn't stand the violent vibrations anymore on the car (daily driven) so I went back to stock. I do not recommend it for TDIs.

Click to expand...

What Durometer is the mount and what material are they using? They don't really provide you with any details about the Ultimate Dogbone mount on their site

I just put in the ECS 70 durometer mount kit with bolts. I used the 2 thick mounts & left the stock round one. I've put all of 4 miles on it. It has already softened up a little. I can't notice much when driving except the on/off throttle transition is much smoother. The interior vibrates a bit at idle. I might pull it and back a round off of the compression bolt.

I put an uprated mount into mine (tdi) and took it out again about 2 hours later - i thought it was gonna shake my teeth out!! LOL

Might be a good idea on a petrol but defo not on a TDi (especially with a SMF!!)

Thats why you stiffen it in stages. Add spacers till you find a happy medium between firmness & comfort.

Ive done this to my dogbone mount and had it for about a year or so. It has stiffened up the engine, gear changes more positive, but I still get wheel hop. So I think the other end of the mount is getting soft: its been soaked in oil a gear othet crud for 125k miles, so I think I'm going to get one of those THS dogbone mounts.

What's the torque spec on the center dogbone mount? Is there one? I looked in Bentley, but didn't find it.

Has anyone tried the Black Forest stage one dogbone insert? Its supposed to be not much harder than stock. The Yellow BFI's are 65 Durometer. The stage two are 85, but I am not looking at them.

I should be able to report back on Monday how the 034 Motormounts and Dogbone are compared to stock.

My ECS mounts were 70 durometer. I left the stock round bushing. I get more vibration on accel and idle, but at speed I can't tell. I'm glad the wheel hop isn't as bad. I actually like feeling and hearing the grunt a bit more.

gearhead, i just ordered the same thing you got a few days ago.. hate that wheel hop and hope this helps.