ob1marty

got a mk3 escort that started life of as a 1.1 ohv basic fitted 1.6cvh motor , 5 speed box xr3 front anti roll bar but now have a prob since puttin the 5 speed box in on hard acceleration or taking a right hand bend got a vibrating noise looked at ns f and the lower half of the gear box casing at the end plate is very close and fouling the roll bar now ive had two thoughts and yes it hurt one was id need to up rate the front springs but if car was lowered it would have same prob , 2nd thought was id bought a mk4 roll bar instead of a mk3 but gear box in smae place so would have same prob gear box mounts ok just a bit confused . com any ideas any one

tabetha

Are the mk3 and 4 roll bars different then ?
It's engine movement so not going to be cured by suspension springs, maybe your engine mounts are tired ?, or the wrong combo of parts.
tabetha

ob1marty

not to sure the other think i have noticed is that the end cover of the gear box is close to the chassis leg just wondering if the drivers side mount is incorrect i take it mk3 and mk4 bolt holes in the block for the engine mount are the same the engine was out of a m4 but my car is a mk3

tabetha

As yours is an early mk3, x reg, maybe there was a difference in the location for the arb, and even the chassis leg by the box may have been different, as the early ones were 4 speed only, no 5 speed even as a option.
I know this as my dad had a silver xr3 in 1980, cost Ł2900, when new price was Ł5,123, cheap due to being forces.
tabetha

JesseT

Is your ARB mounted the wrong way around (left to right)? I think it wasn't symmetrical... Mk4 ARB is very different and won't work at all.

crashtest

mk3 and mk4 arb's are very different as are the tca and front brackets so you must have a mk3 arb but as said the arb can only go one way so it could be that the bar is the wrong way round. one end of the bar has a left hand thread this goes to the drivers side on both the mk3 and the mk4