what exactly does this thing do, i mean, i guess its like a weak top motor mount. but when i took my ea81 engine out, i bent it a little, and havent hooked it back up. i havent noticed any wierd stuff that might be caused by not having one. just wondering, what do you guys think?

Just as you thought its functionally a "top" motor mount. It's going to eliminate the pitching of the motor/transaxle.

 

I had the same question when I was building the buggy. After posting some questions, I ended up welding one in. There are tons-o-threads on this.

 

My recomendation,...........smash it flat and hook it up!

 

Glenn,

82 Hatch, well it started out that way....

01 Forester, bent but not broken!

I always thought it kindof held the motor when you had the trans out basically.

i figure that it's basically a motor mount. if you've ever had loose motor mounts you really notice the tendency to "pitch". i don't think Fuji would've put it in there just to hold the tranny when it's out. plus, it has those rubber bushings.

 

just my spare change

yep. because of the torque on the axles generated on quick starts, without the pitching stopper there, it will cuase the motor/tranny to rock forward and back instead of transferring the power to the axles/wheels. without it, you will stress the bottom motor mounts, tranny mounts with the extra movement.

And all this time I thought it was the thing that lifted the car when your trying to remove the motor with a cherry picker:eek:

the thing you'll notice the most is the shift moving up and down with acelaration and decelaration

i thought it controlled the tilt forward and back of the engine. i did a 4wd conversion and the last thing to put in was the rear diff, but the drive shaft wouldn't go up to the front of the diff where it mounted. too tight. so i adjusted the pitching stopper all the way forward and that was enough to make the difference. when you take a tranny out, the manual tells you to adjust it back so the tranny will slip out easier.

I was running without one in my RX. I was getting 3-4 inches of movement from the shifter when i accelerated and back pedaled. When the engine goes back in... it does too!

 

However, my lifted wagon doesn't have one... and its been just fine. I spose thats cause the RX has a touch more torque.

A couple of other good uses for the pitch stopper:

 

metal "bumping" tool for tapping out dents - excellent weight distribution

 

noggin knocker - I always feel a little safer driving the mean streets with one of these handy

 

John