5StarCustmSolutns
Full Access Member
Just wanted to share some of the observations I made during my search to cure my Motor Mount blues....and which style and manufacturer I ended up settling on, and why...
About two weeks ago I finally got the nerve to make the TCC Lockup changes I shouldve made a year ago with my HP Tuners software. On the test drive I get stuck behind a Big Rig at a stoplight. In order to stop him from preventing my rapid moving up through the gears, I let him go when light turn green. There was nobody behind so I let him go a long way, and then he signaled that he was turning right onto the Interstate access road. So I floored it!
As I was approaching that access road intersection I saw an Explorer coming down off the access road and looking as if he was going to potentially turn right on red, which wouldve been particularly bad for me during my launch off the light as I was traveling straight through the intersectoin. So I drifted left into the crosshatched yellow paint just in case and kept the hammer down....and when I did I discovered: a double set of whoops(sorry former motoX guy)... I discovered two well spaced low trajectory jumps! Hitting the first at WOT while at 45-50mph basically unloaded and reloaded my Z55 suspension just in time to hit the 2nd... Which I can say gave me all 4 tire lift.. May have only been 2-3" but still lift. Truck landed smooth as silk but as Z55 bottomed out I felt a second thud... Felt it in my feet... It was heavy and had a thick metal to thick metal feel. 1st thought was trans mount... Then on remainder of 3-4min drive home I was able to replicate it fairly easily.. Conclusion: Either I broke my left motor mount during my wanna be Trophy Truck moment or it had been broken and I just hadn't noticed??
Spent the next couple days researching on here for best replacement, etc... L had kind of settled on the H3 mounts. However I couldn' get them for anything close to reasonable. Then thought of my future BIG plans for this truck and decided I should go urethane, despite all the concerns over excess vibrations at idle?
Looked and looked and looked. Only real options I saw where fab'd by desert racing shops and were $360+ ......about the same as a few of the GM parts and/or Hummer H3 mounts....Worse I was having trouble confirming that the lesser priced factory options weren't just another hydraulic crap turd that has failed too many in too short a time...
Then I stumbled across MetalTek. Small company out of Southern Michigan. Dude even gave out his personal number on his website, AND answered on the third ring.....and 9:35pm!! Very nice guy Turns out it's just he and his son that do all design and fab work. Said his son has actually become the superior welder, so he handles all the beads.
They have built several race and "spirited cruisers" on the GMT platforms, currently racing a turbo 4.8L GMT800... So at a minimum they have fine taste in sporting trucks and SUV's lol...
My order processed late on the 11th.
I asked what the expected turn around would be to fab these....Jamie says...."ehhh prob be a week". I say "sweet deal, thanks and let me know when you get them moving my way."
Fast forward to last night when we get home from Pittsburgh and there they are leaning on my garage door. He cut the pieces and had welded it all together in one day! No lie... The shipment left Mich on the 12th and arrived here on the 14th at 142pm..
They do come bare steel, however I should be just fine using my newly acquired(yeaterday) powder coating system on them!
I'll update in a couple days on how difficult/easy they were to get in?? But I have to say(pre-install) if you too are looking towards the Urethane option over OE......
Check out Jamie over at MetalTek and his family owned and operated fab shop:
About two weeks ago I finally got the nerve to make the TCC Lockup changes I shouldve made a year ago with my HP Tuners software. On the test drive I get stuck behind a Big Rig at a stoplight. In order to stop him from preventing my rapid moving up through the gears, I let him go when light turn green. There was nobody behind so I let him go a long way, and then he signaled that he was turning right onto the Interstate access road. So I floored it!
As I was approaching that access road intersection I saw an Explorer coming down off the access road and looking as if he was going to potentially turn right on red, which wouldve been particularly bad for me during my launch off the light as I was traveling straight through the intersectoin. So I drifted left into the crosshatched yellow paint just in case and kept the hammer down....and when I did I discovered: a double set of whoops(sorry former motoX guy)... I discovered two well spaced low trajectory jumps! Hitting the first at WOT while at 45-50mph basically unloaded and reloaded my Z55 suspension just in time to hit the 2nd... Which I can say gave me all 4 tire lift.. May have only been 2-3" but still lift. Truck landed smooth as silk but as Z55 bottomed out I felt a second thud... Felt it in my feet... It was heavy and had a thick metal to thick metal feel. 1st thought was trans mount... Then on remainder of 3-4min drive home I was able to replicate it fairly easily.. Conclusion: Either I broke my left motor mount during my wanna be Trophy Truck moment or it had been broken and I just hadn't noticed??
Spent the next couple days researching on here for best replacement, etc... L had kind of settled on the H3 mounts. However I couldn' get them for anything close to reasonable. Then thought of my future BIG plans for this truck and decided I should go urethane, despite all the concerns over excess vibrations at idle?
Looked and looked and looked. Only real options I saw where fab'd by desert racing shops and were $360+ ......about the same as a few of the GM parts and/or Hummer H3 mounts....Worse I was having trouble confirming that the lesser priced factory options weren't just another hydraulic crap turd that has failed too many in too short a time...
Then I stumbled across MetalTek. Small company out of Southern Michigan. Dude even gave out his personal number on his website, AND answered on the third ring.....and 9:35pm!! Very nice guy Turns out it's just he and his son that do all design and fab work. Said his son has actually become the superior welder, so he handles all the beads.
They have built several race and "spirited cruisers" on the GMT platforms, currently racing a turbo 4.8L GMT800... So at a minimum they have fine taste in sporting trucks and SUV's lol...
My order processed late on the 11th.
I asked what the expected turn around would be to fab these....Jamie says...."ehhh prob be a week". I say "sweet deal, thanks and let me know when you get them moving my way."
Fast forward to last night when we get home from Pittsburgh and there they are leaning on my garage door. He cut the pieces and had welded it all together in one day! No lie... The shipment left Mich on the 12th and arrived here on the 14th at 142pm..
They do come bare steel, however I should be just fine using my newly acquired(yeaterday) powder coating system on them!
I'll update in a couple days on how difficult/easy they were to get in?? But I have to say(pre-install) if you too are looking towards the Urethane option over OE......
Check out Jamie over at MetalTek and his family owned and operated fab shop:
Metaltek Manufacturing Homepage
We are a Family Business. Quality products and Customer Service is our Number One Job. We create and build top notch LS swap products. Our products are created with our customers in mind. Thank you, Team Metaltek Manufacturing
metaltek-manufacturing.myshopify.com
Last edited:
