I removed my side engine mount and stripped all the bolts in the process. It seems my motor was sitting too far back, and now I can't bolt the new mount up to the motor. I already had to get new bolt and tap the threads on the bracket. Right now I need to move the motor forward maybe a centimeter to align the bolts.

Attempting to include a photo:

Try here: http://min.us/lboKkphPPc8wzL

Any suggestions on how to move the motor in place?

Thanks.

 

are the rear and front in place!?
with the picture provided, it may seem as if you need to loosen the rear and front JUST a little. then have some one use their strength and pull the engine forward.

 

Holy shit that's really off. Bad accident or something?

Do you even have a rear mount anymore?

 

The front is in place. I tried replacing the rear hoping it would help realign the motor, but of course I can't get the rear to bolt up to the frame.

 

So you can't get the rear or the side to fit?

What's the problem, the frame or the engine?

 

The problem is the engine sits too far back, maybe 1 cm to 1 inch. Thus I can't bolt up the side or rear engine mounts. I need a way to move the engine forward less than one inch so I can bolt up the side mount and the rear too.

Right now I have no idea why the engine shifted back. I installed the power steering belt maybe 3 months ago where I had to remove the side bracket and I did not have a problem aligning the bolts back then. Not sure what is causing this.

 

I didn't see this thread, but posted what I did earlier in the rear mount DIY thread: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/diy-rear-engine-mount-replacement-862700/

To get the side mount reattached during changing it, I did the following:

1) Install the new mount to the appropriate mounting locations (3) and tighten the bolts to the appropriate torque specs

2) While the engine mount bracket was loose (i.e., the 2 bolts that secure the engine mount bracket to the engine were out), I aligned the bracket with the mount and secured the long screw through the bracket and mount

3) Now, tackle lining up the engine mount bracket by raising/lowering the engine accordingly to get a screwdriver into ONE of the holes on the engine mount bracket and through the hole where the bolt secures it. Once that was done, I was able to use the screwdriver to assist keeping the aligment and try to maneuver the engine to line up the holes

4) Secure the open hole with one of the bolts and tighten (ensure you do not cross thread the bolt)

5) Once that is in, pull out the screwdriver and get the second bolt attached (you may need to do some minor adjustment to the engine position for it to fall in and seat before it catches.

6) Tighten everything up to the appropriate torques specs.

** BREAK **

I'm assuming that you have other factors that throws off the alignment (e.g., missing rear motor mount) so with the rear mount off, the front mount top nut loose, and the trans mounts loosened, the engine will shift significantly. You are going to have to play with the engine height via the jack and try to sway the motor in the correct direction to catch the alignment.

You may need to people to help get this back. Use a 2x4 or long bar to try and push the engine into the right location and have a second person align the mount bracket with a screw driver. Once you catch one of the holes, it's fine adjustments after that.

 

Removing the rear mount is what caused the engine to shift back. Also, when you are working up top, you may be leaning on the engine which causes it to move toward the back of the chassis.

Another option is try to catch/tighten the front mount to bring the engine forward. Can you catch the trans mounts? If so, do that to stabilize the engine movements a bit. Then tackle the side. Hopefully, this will help you get the rear mount back on and tighten.

 

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll give it a go when I can. What do you mean by "catch the trans mounts"? They're installed but not bolted to the frame. The front mount is in, but the top bolt is loose to allow lifting. The engine bracket on the front mount allows movement front and back, unlike the rear and side mounting bracket.

 

You can install the side passenger mount without jacking up the engine. Since the engine has shifted so much, you need to kind of bolt things back in place to help you get it back in alignment. So, I'm thinking you should be able to lower the engine to at least re-catch the trans mounts that were unbolted and tighten up the top nut on the front mount. This should assist in getting the pass side mount a bit within alignment. Now, try to catch the pass side mount engine bracket to the engine.

Once that is in place and tighten, you can then pull the trans mounts and loosen the top nut on the front mount and retry to catch the rear mount.

 

If you were in the Bay, i'll come and help...

So your rear mount is off.. leave the front mount top nut loose, remove the side bracket and mount (don't worry about it yet).

Work on the rear, mount bolt down to frame along with the bracket to engine, leaving the top nut off like the front.. once this is done, it will line up.

Also leave trans bolt loose (both), tight this last.

 

Looks like the car moved slightly when the mounts were undone. While the car is in park, Try to push the car from the front or rear to see if you can get the motor to shift back into position.

 

I think where you make the boo boo.. is taking off the bracket on the side mount..

If you were just to remove the bolt on the side mount, pix below (not the bracket), and while jacking up the motor, it would kept it aligned, it would has up/down movement only.

 

^ This is why you only do 1 mount at a time. Each one can be done with the others attached.

 

The engine was already back before I removed the side bracket. I stripped out the threads on that big bolt and almost couldn't remove it with a 25" breaker bar. The bracket was not aligned with the mount as the rubber ear near the front was pinched tight and the rear ear had plenty of room.

Remember at this point the rear mount was still in. I couldn't get the side mount back in because the engine was misaligned, so I ended up trying to replace the rear mount hoping it would force the engine forward.

 

Ah.. so it was like that already, not gona ask reason why it like that, but now may need to modify to fit.

For the stripped bolt, since mount is out.. either re-thread or get a smaller bolt and nut at the hardware store, long enough to go thru the damage nut.

Ok.. so just bolt up the rear and get it done leaving the top nut off like the front and tranny as stated before.

Then on the side, just reinstall the bracket ONLY back on the motor, then dry fit the side mount with some force moving the motor toward the front. See how much is off at this point (the hole attach to the body) then widen the hole on the mount plate to fit.

 

Woahhh Never had this problem before!
That is some crazy shit but Like others said try to move the engine back and forth to align the bracket..

I would try to move the car while in park and push it to the rear to make the engine move forward.

 

To do the pushing while in park method do I keep the jack under the motor or do I remove it?

 

Try to jack it with the wheels in the same direction as the car so the jack will move with the car.

 

Gonna take an extra set of hands and eyes at this point. The motor will require being supported and then adjust the positioning with an assistant helping guide or move things during the process.
Try to get the easiest mount attached, but not fully torqued and then move on to the other. It will take some finesse and patience guiding the bolts. Be careful not to crossthread. A drift pin punch may help guide and support the mating surfaces while starting the bolt. Sorta like foreplay. sometimes ya get lucky !!!

 

I got the side mount in, kinda. I used a lot of force by hand to pull the motor forward and simultaneously push the side mount bracket back allowing a third hand to drop in a smaller (8mm?) bolt into one of the bolt holes in the motor. I pushed and pulled the motor and bracket again allowing the threading of the second bolt into the bracket/motor.

Here's a photo:



The new mount is in exactly like the old one--it looks really misaligned and I still don't know the cause of it. Is this how everyone else's looks?

I may have to redo the smaller bolt (on the right) in the bracket and properly re-thread the hole since the bottom of the bracket doesn't allow me to properly seat a nut down there due to how the bracket tapers.

Tomorrow I'll give the rear mount a shot.

 

Mine look like that and its a Poly Filled mount?... Check the rubber guiding's they are even aligned with the bracket.

 

I would NOT drive with the mount with just one bolt. Take the side mount out and retap the hole. You need to support the motor,get the rear mount aligned and bolted down then set the motor onto it, get it repositioned, by pulling, pushing etc.. Then the side will be easier to get aligned.

 

and I thought I had a hard time with mine.
you can read about mine here: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/justnjacks-vs-xlr8-75a-motor-mounts-897205/


hope you get it dude!!

 

Looking at the picture of the passenger mount, it looks like the engine is cock-eyed (angled) relative to the mounts, not just too far back. I would look at what's going at the other end (transmission mounts) I haven't had to mess with my transmission mounts, but I would guess if you had then in the right place and tightened the bolts down, it would pull that end of the engine/trans package into the right place, then work on getting the passenger side engine mount aligned, then tighten the bolts on top of the F&R mounts

 

Okay, I got the rear mount installed, but that's another story. Installing the rear mount didn't seem to change the engine alignment, but at least all the new mounts are installed and I can drive to work now.

Side mount alignment before bolting it in:




Alignment after bolting up:

 

 

Great job, man!