Lower motor mount replacement?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Tim Shoppa, Jul 1, 2004.

  1. Tim Shoppa

    Tim Shoppa Guest

    After the dealer got done fixing the A/C compressor and condenser in my
    wife's 92 SL1, he suggested that both motor mounts probably ought to get
    replaced soon. I won't disagree - the top one (which I replaced 6
    or 7 years ago) is visibly collapsed, and I'm willing to admit the bottom
    one is too.

    It was fairly painless to put the top one on before, and I don't see
    any problem with it. But how do I do the bottom mount? To tell you
    the truth, I'm not sure I've even seen it, even though I've replaced
    a lot of stuff under the hood. Is it under the transaxle, or in the
    middle of the car between the cradle and the engine? Is it something
    I need a real engine hoist for, or is it just another case of "jack up
    the engine"?

    If it involves the cradle, I'd like to do it at the same time I fix
    the oil pan gasket leak that I've had for the past half year or so.
    (But to do that I have to take off the exhaust manifold... I feel like
    the "swallowed a fly" song is taking over my car).

    Anyone have a suggestion for non-performance non-OEM motormounts?
    NAPA, Pep boys, JC Whitney, etc? The dealer wanted $170 for the top
    motor mount last time I asked, and that's a lot for a couple of pieces of
    steel and rubber. I swear it was like $40 7 or 8 years ago.

    Tim.
     
    Tim Shoppa, Jul 1, 2004
    #1
  2. Tim Shoppa

    BANDIT2941 Guest

    It was fairly painless to put the top one on before, and I don't see
    Its not a bad job. You probably haven't seen it since you can't really see it
    from under the car(the cradle blocks it). Get access to it by pulling the
    passenger tire and the splash shields. Once the splash shields come off its
    right there in front of you. Put a jack with a block of wood under the oil pan
    to support the engine, and take the 2 bolts out of the mount. You will have to
    wriggle it around a little bit to get it out, and it will help to jack the
    engine up a little. I just did the job last night on my car actually.

    The mount I put on the last time I did the job, I got at NAPA, and it was made
    by anchor. Looked like a piece of crap, and performed like a piece of
    crap(didn't last very long). So this time I went to AutoZone, and ended up with
    the same exact mount made by Anchor that is a piece of crap. I would suggest
    trying to get a mount that isn't made by Anchor.

    Jamie
     
    BANDIT2941, Jul 1, 2004
    #2
  3. Tim Shoppa

    Blah blah Guest

    What a name brand!
    It gets its name not because it anchors your engine, it gets its name
    because its better as a boat anchor. ;)
     
    Blah blah, Jul 2, 2004
    #3
  4. Tim Shoppa

    Tim Shoppa Guest

    Oh, OK. I remember seeing something that obviously used to be rubber
    there when I did the tensioner, but didn't connect it with the fact that
    it's a motor mount :-(.

    Seeing as how my oil pan gasket leak is right above it, and the oil can't
    be good for the mount, maybe I ought to accelerate the oil pan gasket job
    so I can then do the motor mounts.

    For some reason I always assumed the lower mount had to be on the driver's
    side of the car.

    Thanks for the comments about the crappiness of that aftermarket motor
    mount... maybe the Saturn ones aren't so bad after all.

    Tim.
     
    Tim Shoppa, Jul 2, 2004
    #4
  5. Tim Shoppa

    BANDIT2941 Guest

    Oh, OK. I remember seeing something that obviously used to be rubber
    I wouldn't be too worried about an oil leak hurting the motor mount.......

    You might check with Joey over at 6th planet, which is what I should have done
    when I just replaced this mount. He'll set you up with a good quality, can't
    even tell its been used factory piece for a good price.
     
    BANDIT2941, Jul 3, 2004
    #5
  6. Tim Shoppa

    Tim Shoppa Guest

    I bought both upper and lower motor mounts from Saturn yesterday ($90 each!
    They were like $40 last time I got one...).

    The upper mount was pretty much completely collapsed, and after taking it
    off I found that the rubber was pretty much broken off too.

    The new upper mount, where the studs from the engine go through it, was
    thicker than the previous one. And the previous one was thicker than the
    original one (so much so that I had to buy new studs when I did that one).
    So maybe they're beefing these up as time goes by.

    Because the upper mount was so collapsed, the bottom mount was pretty
    much sitting on the cradle, where the oil and associated grunge was
    accumulating. The rubber was extremely swollen and distorted, I assume
    from being saturated in oil.

    Even though I haven't fixed that leak yet, I put a new bottom one in
    because with the top mount in, the bottom mount was no longer being
    pressed down into the cradle.

    It's a world of difference after putting the new ones in. No more
    seeing everything in the rear-view mirror shake up and down, no more
    clunk when I accelerate as the motor twists around, etc. I had actually
    gotten used to that clunk! I was a little confused when I stepped down
    on the gas and the car just moved without any clunking!
    I might try that... but it'll have to be a lot of savings before I decide
    that used mounts are good enough.

    I'd really like to see a non-dealer source for good affordable motor mounts
    (meaning, say, $30 each). I'll probably go through another couple
    in the next fifteen years that we own this car :). I figure that somewhere
    around the year 2020 it'll be time to get a new car.

    Tim.
     
    Tim Shoppa, Jul 3, 2004
    #6
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