Previously posted in the Scarab forum:

I noticed that my port side engine mount is loose. I tried to tighten the bolts but both seem to be stripped. The bolts that hold the mount appear to be going into the stringer. What is a good way to fix this without pulling the engine? Can it be sleeved with something?

Thanks
SAR

ugh,

What's stripped? The big bolts that adjust the motor up and down or the bolts that hold the mount down?

You probably won't need to pull the motor but you might need to apply enough upward lift to fix it.

I've had more trouble with Merc mounts than I care to list.

The lag screws on the port mount are stripped out. The mounts themselves appear to be good. I was hoping to fill the holes with someting and then re-drill, and put the lag screws back in. Any ideas of what to use or a different approach is appreciated.

Thanks

sounds like the stringer may be starting to rot.....but lets hope not.

Maybe the next size up lag bolt ?

Lag bolts seem like a VERY poor way of securing motor mounts. I have a piece of angle iron that is through bolted through the stringer. The mounts are then BOLTED to the angle iron. Maybe you can change your setup a little? Most of the parts houses sell the angle mounts. Good Luck!

If you are talking about the lag bolts into the stringer, then the best set up is through bolt with a backing plate (if you can get to the back side of the stringer). You won't have to fix it again. Check your alignment - a loose lag bolt can cause the motor to shift enough to throw off the alignment with your drive and ruin the coupler (the good news if that happened is you would have to pull the motor to fix the coupler then you could fix the motor mount easily).

Pull the lag out and look at it,i would try to go to a larger diameter lag bolt that is also much longer if you have the room for the length.If the holes are rotted out you could drill them out with an angle drill and try epoxieng a large dowel bak into the hole.Depends if your going for a quick no engine pull fix to get you thru the summer or a engine out repair it right repair.

I think the mount setup he has goes into a solid block ,and there is no way to get to the back of it.What model scarab do you have?

Had this same problem, wood was rotten. Take it to someone that does this daily. It will be cheaper to get it fixed right the first time.