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I have read Welsh was doing a redesign of their upper front shock mounts. My mounts are little more than red powder at this point and need replaced but I understand OEM parts are unavailable. Do the parts linked below look like the correct part?
The passenger-side Welsh front upper shock mount that Wayne and I installed in my wife's 2006 XK8 in early January 2016 (we did both sides that day) failed yesterday morning while I had the car out for its regular exercise. A mile or so into my drive I heard some metallic rattling that sounded as if it was coming from behind the dashboard so when I returned home I popped the hood and sure enough, the passenger-side center shock bolt was somewhat off-center towards the outboard side of the fender. My Welsh components have just under 25,000 miles on them so I am disappointed but not surprised given all the failures reported with the Welsh shock mounts during the past year....
When we get a relatively cool early morning in the next week or so (which is always a challenge during central North Carolina summers), I will make the 125-mile drive to Wayne's home shop in Spencer so we can replace these failing Welsh components with a set of his now-famous custom-designed shock mounts. Anyone in the area who wants to drop in and watch / learn / assist is welcome to join us. Once we pick a date based upon the weather forecast, I will try to provide at least a couple days' notice here on the forum....
Wayne and I have not had the opportunity to work on our vehicles together since mid-September 2020 so I am really looking forward to seeing him again. He continues to fight his way back from a very difficult medical challenge during the second half of 2021 and I know he would truly appreciate any forum member who happens to be in the area stopping in to wish him well while we are together that day. As is our usual custom, we plan to hit up one of the local BBQ joints for a celebratory lunch once the job is done so if you can join us, be sure to come hungry....
My Wayne's mounts will be here next week. Not sure how soon my friend who is doing the work for me will be able to get to it, but I'll try to be there and document the install with some photos. He's a crew chief for a local dirt track racing team and has a bit of experience with suspension setup so his observations will be interesting.
Wayne and I are targeting Tuesday morning around 7:30 am to start the shock mounts job. Temps should not rise above 80 degrees that day. Rain is forecast across central North Carolina on Monday and possibly into Tuesday so we will make a final decision on Monday evening once we have the latest weather forecast for Tuesday, so anyone thinking of joining us should stay tuned. PM either Wayne or me for driving directions....
Got the Wayne's shock mounts installed over the weekend. A friend did 90% of the work in my garage, all it cost me was some BBQ pulled pork. We had some trouble with the spring compressors he had but managed to get both sides done. The front of the car was raised almost an inch and a half, the god-awful squeak that sounded like it was coming from the dash is gone, and the car drives like it should! I can't praise Wayne enough for being extremely helpful and an absolute pleasure to deal with! Photos showing before and after on both sides, as well as the condition of the original mounts that we removed.
Yes indeed, Wayne's custom-designed front shock mounts are the best available anywhere. And I hear you loud and clear regarding the spring compressors -- Wayne and I endured our own battle with them last Tuesday. Eventually we prevailed by placing them as close to the larger end of the springs as possible and then finishing the assembly on his 20-ton press....
The welsh mounts have been taking a bit of flak of late, this prompted me to remove one of my own welsh mounts which were fitted back in 2018. I was having no problem with them and there was no reason other than curiosity and the wish to measure up and compare steel work to the OEM for bushing manufacture purposes.
As can be seen from the pics the poly is in perfect condition although there had been a slight movement from centre. The only thing keeping these and all other commercially available bushes centred is nothing more than a slight Ridge in the top retainer plate, l don't think it is enough.
It is thought welsh made a change in material/supplier in some way in the last year or two and this may confirm that.
l haven't had the chance to try my own bushes until now so swapped them out on refitting mount. Welsh donuts good shape Welsh still good in this plane too. Fill the cavity. Can't move. Welsh slightly off centre even with bushes in very good condition
And that folks is the way it's done.
Baxtor has been a main contributor in getting these out to all the members that have asked for them.
Thank you again for taking it to the next level Steve.
All should know that his molds are what I used when available but when I make some up out of Energy Suspension parts, they have so far held up to some very tough test. All are the same design. just takes much longer to cut them to fit.
Thanks to the guys that did research and fab on the upper shock mounts. Baxtor's findings on the center parts of the Clamshell held true for my situation also. Wayne provided the updated Clamshell and We replaced the large poly doughnut with his unit also. Later discoverd I used one of Wayne's and one of the left over Welsh/ Both unit look identical and show no wear or difference in thickness. Probably close in hardness or durometer. Tire wear on front end is even after 5K miles. Anticipate no further problems with mounts.
Those squeaks and rattles fool the majority of owners who are not familiar with the front upper shock mount collapse / disintegration problem. The noises indeed sound as if they are directly behind the dash....
Welsh Front Shock Mount
