Motor Mount Replacement Experience
03-28-2010, 09:57 PM
#1
Motor Mount Replacement Experience
For anyone who is wondering about replacing your mounts, it's really not that bad.
One thing that you should get is a long 1/2 inch extension and a universal joint especially for the rear mount.
The biggest pain the ass for me was the vacuum lines. Those things were hard as hell to pull off.
Except for removing the strut bar and everything bolted to it and a ground strap from the side mount, the rest is just the bolts to the mounts.
I've never heard what people have done with the ground strap from the side mount but I just drilled and tapped the aluminum top part of my IM mount and bolted the strap to it.
I am waiting for my cables to arrive to finish my battery relocation so we'll see how much vibrations I get later this week.
One thing that you should get is a long 1/2 inch extension and a universal joint especially for the rear mount.
The biggest pain the ass for me was the vacuum lines. Those things were hard as hell to pull off.
Except for removing the strut bar and everything bolted to it and a ground strap from the side mount, the rest is just the bolts to the mounts.
I've never heard what people have done with the ground strap from the side mount but I just drilled and tapped the aluminum top part of my IM mount and bolted the strap to it.
I am waiting for my cables to arrive to finish my battery relocation so we'll see how much vibrations I get later this week.
08-27-2010, 10:22 PM
#5
Safety Car
Here are some pics from my install. Not saying that I did it the best way, but it worked for me. Took me 5 hours.
In the pic below, the LONG extension is highlighted with a red line. The extension is a 20" Craftsman 3/8" drive. Reaching the bolts were the easiest part of the job. Note the strut bar is removed.
To remove the rear and front mount, the engine needed to be raised to take the weight off of the mounts. I lifted the engine via 2x4 against some beefy bosses on the block. I am NOT a fan of apply pressure to the oil pan (weak cast metal?...I don't want to find out...I do know it would be a major screw-up if it cracked).
In the pic below, this illustrates how I wiggled the rear mount out of the car. Keep the mount upside down because it is easier to unsnag the mount when it hangs up on wires and hoses. Use a lot of pateince and take your time to wiggle the mount through the maze of wires and hoses.
I was able to remove the front mount without removing either radiator fan. I was able to remove the side mount without lifting the engine.
Regarding the ground cable.
I used this as an oppurtunity to upgrade the ground. I bought an Everstart brand cable (16" length) from Walmart. The eyelet was the perfect ID for the bolt shank.
Below is showing how the cable was routed. The photoshop'ed red line is used to highlight the routed path.
Click here for more ideas on making a ground cable.
There are possible issues with the bolts being too long for the side mount - CAUTION
Click here for more details regarding the short bolts.
Jiust some related reading below -
Innovative Mounts Review (click here)
In the pic below, the LONG extension is highlighted with a red line. The extension is a 20" Craftsman 3/8" drive. Reaching the bolts were the easiest part of the job. Note the strut bar is removed.
To remove the rear and front mount, the engine needed to be raised to take the weight off of the mounts. I lifted the engine via 2x4 against some beefy bosses on the block. I am NOT a fan of apply pressure to the oil pan (weak cast metal?...I don't want to find out...I do know it would be a major screw-up if it cracked).
In the pic below, this illustrates how I wiggled the rear mount out of the car. Keep the mount upside down because it is easier to unsnag the mount when it hangs up on wires and hoses. Use a lot of pateince and take your time to wiggle the mount through the maze of wires and hoses.
I was able to remove the front mount without removing either radiator fan. I was able to remove the side mount without lifting the engine.
Regarding the ground cable.
I used this as an oppurtunity to upgrade the ground. I bought an Everstart brand cable (16" length) from Walmart. The eyelet was the perfect ID for the bolt shank.
Below is showing how the cable was routed. The photoshop'ed red line is used to highlight the routed path.
Click here for more ideas on making a ground cable.
There are possible issues with the bolts being too long for the side mount - CAUTION
I spent the last hour invesigating this issue.
IT IS AN ISSUE !!!
In my case, I found that the bolt was barely, barely short enough. The bolt seemed to be bottoming-out at the same moment that the proper tightening torque was reached.
However, the bolt is not bottoming-out the way you think. The blind hole that the bolt threads into is actually 1/4 inch longer than needed. The bolt is bottoming-out at the shank. I placed teflon tape on the threads and torqued the bolt. When I removed the bolt, here is what I found.
to fix it, I used a thick washer for one bolt.
For the other bolt, it has a grounding cable on it to provide clearance. So, I don't think that my bracket was loose because of this grounding cable. Plus, while tighten this bolt during the install, I know it was not bottoming-out because I watched the bolt crushing the ground cable as I tightened the bolt.
IT IS AN ISSUE !!! In my case, I found that the bolt was barely, barely short enough. The bolt seemed to be bottoming-out at the same moment that the proper tightening torque was reached.
However, the bolt is not bottoming-out the way you think. The blind hole that the bolt threads into is actually 1/4 inch longer than needed. The bolt is bottoming-out at the shank. I placed teflon tape on the threads and torqued the bolt. When I removed the bolt, here is what I found.
to fix it, I used a thick washer for one bolt.
For the other bolt, it has a grounding cable on it to provide clearance. So, I don't think that my bracket was loose because of this grounding cable. Plus, while tighten this bolt during the install, I know it was not bottoming-out because I watched the bolt crushing the ground cable as I tightened the bolt.
Jiust some related reading below -
Innovative Mounts Review (click here)
Last edited by Inaccurate; 08-27-2010 at 10:28 PM.
08-28-2010, 08:14 AM
#6
HE>i
iTrader: (1)
Thanks for the pictures and ideas. When the time comes for me to replace the motor mounts i feel more comfortable using this process.
I replaced them on my 99 TL and it wasnt too bad (got caught in the rain trying to bolt everything back together
)
I replaced them on my 99 TL and it wasnt too bad (got caught in the rain trying to bolt everything back together
)
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