Yahoo Message Number: 75847 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/75847)
Sorry to have created some confusion about how exactly we found the problems with our engine mounts.
A mechanic was under the coach and thought the engine looked "askew." It did not seem to be seated properly. Upon further investigation he saw that the driver side engine mount was completely broken; he then checked the passenger side and found it cracked. The engine was riding about 4-5 inches lower than it should have been as a result. It was a minor miracle that the engine had not fallen out. We had NO symptoms riding down the road, and were only in the shop to have engine temperature gauges/ fan controller sensors checked.
We were very lucky.
The mounts were taken off last Wednesday. The machine shop welder, who would have been asked to make a new part, decided that he could weld them successfully. The welds are thicker than the original steel, and he is quite confident that they are stronger than the original parts. Hopefully, he is right.
Of course, the $64 question is why did the mounts break in the first place, and to that we have no answer. The best "guess" seems to be that the engine was not properly aligned when the coach was constructed. Given the QC issues CC was having in 2003-2004, that makes sense to me.
Hopefully we hit the road for SoCal Tuesday morning! It is COLD in Omaha! :>)
Scott Laidig
Magna 6354