Do I need a new engine? (broken engine bracket)

Jack_Stefan said:
That’s crazy! You mean like fender benders? That’s what happened to mine but everyone was okay so that’s what counts
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From what I understand most of these occur when either the bracket is not properly secured (loose or over-tightened bolts) or in front-end collisions where there is a sudden deceleration force applied to the frame, such as if you rear-emd someone.

Basically the momentum of the engine applies a very high force to the brackets, thus breaking the bracket mounting holes. The frame stops but the engine keeps going.

I imagine it could also happen off-road if you try to gun it up something that you have insufficient approach angle for and plant the front bumper into the dirt or rock. Or if you contant a stationary object like a tree or rock.

I also imagine it could happen with a lead foot in low range and 1st gear if things are already weak.
 
Sometimes, the bolt will bottom out in the engine block boss before the bracket is tight against the block itself. With engine vibration, this causes the bolt to shear over time.
 
Steel City 06 said:
From what I understand most of these occur when either the bracket is not properly secured (loose or over-tightened bolts) or in front-end collisions where there is a sudden deceleration force applied to the frame, such as if you rear-emd someone.

Basically the momentum of the engine applies a very high force to the brackets, thus breaking the bracket mounting holes. The frame stops but the engine keeps going.

I imagine it could also happen off-road if you try to gun it up something that you have insufficient approach angle for and plant the front bumper into the dirt or rock. Or if you contant a stationary object like a tree or rock.

I also imagine it could happen with a lead foot in low range and 1st gear if things are already weak.
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Low range and first would be the least likely scenario to overstress those mounts since all the leverage (gear reduction) is in favor of the engine. The most likely in a straight torque scenario would be a high RPM clutch dump on the street in 2 hi.
 
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This happened on my 300$ xj purchase from my brother who seemed to think it was an offroad race truck. last summer I noticed the fan was hitting the uni body and I am refusing to spend any money on this at all. I cleaned the block and bracket with a big 4 inch wire wheel. *disclaimer* worked for me may not for you, I've been welding for almost 16 years. Used an alloy nickel 99 rod in my stick welder, tacked it to the block in the proper position and began filling the bolt holes, once filled I wrapped it in a fiberglass blanket for 8 hours. Then externally ran beads on the edge of the bracket to block mounting points and once again wrapped it for 8 hours. I daily drive it so my tj doesnt rack up miles. No issues yet. I also have a spare engine in the garage I just dont want to put it in until the current one goes. Good luck it's a difficult thing to do but with some motivation and a few beers it can be done.
 
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For Future reference If anyone else runs into this issue.

I had something similar happen to my engine block on the left side. I used the fallowing products from M.O.R.E
They have been installed for a little over a year now with no issues.

As others have mentioned, Those Brown Dog mounts aren't ideal. They tend to be very stiff and can cause vibration issues.

Id recommend Either utilizing Savvys motor mount spacers and re using the factory motor mounts, or using the M.O.R.E Bomb Proof mounts.

The install of the Bomb Proof brackets is straight forward. Its a good idea when doing the install to get a Tap and run it through all the Boses on the block to clean the threads up. this will help to prevent any issue while installing the new bolts

https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/wrangler-tj/products/bomb-proof-block-brackets-00-06-tj-lj
https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/wrangler-tj/products/bomb-proof-motor-mount-kit-yj-tj-lj-xj
 
+1 on no brown dog. They are gnarly, used them on a customers rig and when i did mine i used savvy. only reason i welded mine in the xj is i have 0 room to extract and IMO xj's arent worth putting the effort into. If it was my tj it would be done 100% correct.
 
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