Motor mount or transmission? regarding a Saturn SW2 1993 wagon

hi all,

When I drive the car, it makes a clunking noise whenever
the gears shift. It's automatic. Then when the engine
warms up a little, there's also a scraping noise. None of
this is bad enough to make the car undriveable, but of
course I don't like it. It seems like when I fill the gas tank
completely, it gets a little better.

Ok, so my b/f took a look, and had me change the gears
from park to neutral to drive and etc. while he looked at the
engine, with the hood open, and he noticed that when I shift
gears, the engine itself moved. The whole friggin engine! So
he said he though the problem was the motor mount, that
maybe that needed to be checked.

So what do you think, could it be the motor mount?

 

Common problem, easy replacement. How many miles are on the car?

 

yes, but which problem is it?

I'm afraid I don't know how many miles because the odometer broke,
but it was well taken care of before I got it, and I don't put a lot
of
miles on it. I only work part time, and when I'm not working
I don't even drive it every day.

I've had it 3-4 years.

 

Ok, so my b/f took a look, and had me change the gears
from park to neutral to drive and etc. while he looked at the
engine, with the hood open, and he noticed that when I shift
gears, the engine itself moved. The whole friggin engine! So
he said he though the problem was the motor mount, that
maybe that needed to be checked.

So what do you think, could it be the motor mount?[/QUOTE]

Pretty hard for it to *not* be one (or both) of the motor mounts. The engine
isn't supposed to move around, and if the motor mounts are good, it won't.
Upper motor mount is the most likely.

 

Pretty hard for it to *not* be one (or both) of the motor mounts. The engine
isn't supposed to move around, and if the motor mounts are good, it won't.
Upper motor mount is the most likely.[/QUOTE]

Thank you!

 

Pretty hard for it to *not* be one (or both) of the motor mounts. The engine
isn't supposed to move around, and if the motor mounts are good, it won't.
Upper motor mount is the most likely.[/QUOTE]

So if the replacement is easy, it should not cost me a whole lot
at the mechanic, I hope.

 

oh very good, my b/f tells me the motor mount is a simple rubber
piece, I can
just order it online this weekend, and get it done by an inexpensive
place
we know about. Whew, thank you!

 

The rubber piece that is worn out comes attached inside something called a
Torque Axis Mount (the top motor mount). You can purchase it at the dealer.
Make sure you tell them the year and supply the VIN if they ask since some
of these use a slightly different part (that requires slightly longer bolts)
in the replacement kit.

You should be able to do a google search on this or look it up on the Saturn
Fans Forum. You can easily see how the rubber bushing has shrunk away from
the metal motor mount and which most likely leads to the clunking you are
hearing. Good luck.

Bob

 

Are there lower motor mounts that would suffer - after driving too
long with a badly worn upper motor mount ?
... and perhaps need replacement also ?
jt

 

the lower mount is actually a transmission mount on the botoom
opposite side of the upper mount. There are also 2 dog bomes, one on
each side but I woul just do the upper and transmission mount. They
are not cheap so buy them somewhere like advance auto that hve a
lifetime guarantee. You'll have about $130 in parts, but they are real
easy to replace yourself if you have a jack and piece of wood.