DIY - Front Motor Mount
#1
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
DIY - Front Motor Mount
Didnt find a DIY for the fronts...so here's what I did this morning. There are different ways to do this, but this is how I did it after reading. I found that removing the two fans gave me a lot more working room. Be careful not to bend too many of the radiator fins. They're as delicate as paper.
Tools:
-Assorted 6 point socket set up to 19mm
-Optional Flex/Swivel Socket or adapter (picked up a 3/8 and 1/2 for $10 at harbor freight. worth it, imo), and magnetic parts grabber
-Various extensions for at least 1'
-torque wrench, ratcheting wrenches.
-small flathead
-needle nose pliers
-flat head screwdriver or honda clip removal tool
-Jack and jack stands, piece of wood
-catch pan
-disposable Shop towels
-sharpie
Fluids:
-Coolant
Step 1:
Remove the Coolant Reservoir bracket, and swing the res out of the way.
2. Disconnect 2P connector to passenger side fan
3. Jack up the car enough to fit stands on the front.
4. Remove all the clips holding the underside plastic and remove it:
5. Undo the 2P connector for the underside of the other fan. Unclip the wiring from the fan with either needlenose pliers or undoing the zip tie with a small flathead.:
6. Undo the 1P Connector attached to the passenger side fan from underneath, and unclip the wiring harness from the fan.:
7. Position catch pan underneath and remove upper radiator hose from the radiator and position it out of the way. A bit of fluid will come out, once it just drips stuff a shop towel in the radiator end.
8. Remove the 4 bolts on the drivers side fan and the 3 bolts on the passenger side fan. Remove passenger side first, then wiggle the drivers side fan out.
9. Jack the engine up slightly with a piece of wood on the oil pan, or enough to support it.
10. 19mm socket: Undo the bolts from the mount as well as the swivel adapter. Use the long extensions to help. Use a sharpie to mark an outline of the mount.
11. Attempt to remove the mount, if it's difficult, jack up the engine a tiny bit and try again. Repeat until you can wiggle it out. dont forget to unhook the vacuum line at the bottom. I used needle nose pliers to gently wiggle it out.
12. After transferring dust cover to the new mount, put new mount in and align it to the marks you made. I found installation to be more difficult than removing, so I jacked the engine up a bit more and was able to get it in. Align the holes, and when putting in the bolts, put the upper left in first. Swivel sockets come in handy at this point, as well as the magnetic parts grabber. I used the magnet to get the bolt into position. I didnt seem to have much trouble at all with the upper left as some other people did. All bolts went in smoothly by hand.
13. Install all the removed parts, and dont forget to top off the coolant and burp the system just in case air got in. Check that all the connectors (3) have been securely connected and the harnesses attached to their mounting points. Make sure you dont have any extra bolts.
Test drive after burping to make sure there's no air.
aaand done. Sorry if it's kind of jumbled. I'm a little tired
Tools:
-Assorted 6 point socket set up to 19mm
-Optional Flex/Swivel Socket or adapter (picked up a 3/8 and 1/2 for $10 at harbor freight. worth it, imo), and magnetic parts grabber
-Various extensions for at least 1'
-torque wrench, ratcheting wrenches.
-small flathead
-needle nose pliers
-flat head screwdriver or honda clip removal tool
-Jack and jack stands, piece of wood
-catch pan
-disposable Shop towels
-sharpie
Fluids:
-Coolant
Step 1:
Remove the Coolant Reservoir bracket, and swing the res out of the way.
2. Disconnect 2P connector to passenger side fan
3. Jack up the car enough to fit stands on the front.
4. Remove all the clips holding the underside plastic and remove it:
5. Undo the 2P connector for the underside of the other fan. Unclip the wiring from the fan with either needlenose pliers or undoing the zip tie with a small flathead.:
6. Undo the 1P Connector attached to the passenger side fan from underneath, and unclip the wiring harness from the fan.:
7. Position catch pan underneath and remove upper radiator hose from the radiator and position it out of the way. A bit of fluid will come out, once it just drips stuff a shop towel in the radiator end.
8. Remove the 4 bolts on the drivers side fan and the 3 bolts on the passenger side fan. Remove passenger side first, then wiggle the drivers side fan out.
9. Jack the engine up slightly with a piece of wood on the oil pan, or enough to support it.
10. 19mm socket: Undo the bolts from the mount as well as the swivel adapter. Use the long extensions to help. Use a sharpie to mark an outline of the mount.
11. Attempt to remove the mount, if it's difficult, jack up the engine a tiny bit and try again. Repeat until you can wiggle it out. dont forget to unhook the vacuum line at the bottom. I used needle nose pliers to gently wiggle it out.
12. After transferring dust cover to the new mount, put new mount in and align it to the marks you made. I found installation to be more difficult than removing, so I jacked the engine up a bit more and was able to get it in. Align the holes, and when putting in the bolts, put the upper left in first. Swivel sockets come in handy at this point, as well as the magnetic parts grabber. I used the magnet to get the bolt into position. I didnt seem to have much trouble at all with the upper left as some other people did. All bolts went in smoothly by hand.
13. Install all the removed parts, and dont forget to top off the coolant and burp the system just in case air got in. Check that all the connectors (3) have been securely connected and the harnesses attached to their mounting points. Make sure you dont have any extra bolts.
Test drive after burping to make sure there's no air.
aaand done. Sorry if it's kind of jumbled. I'm a little tired
Last edited by ez12a; 04-14-2012 at 02:24 PM.
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#2
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
and picture of old mount...which actually seemed ok after 68k miles. Leaking no fluid. It only looks greasy from the coolant getting all over it.
also a pair of safety glasses never hurt, especially when working with the coolant.
also a pair of safety glasses never hurt, especially when working with the coolant.
Last edited by ez12a; 04-14-2012 at 02:35 PM.
The following users liked this post:
DeathMetal (04-15-2012)
#6
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
thank you, all!
Since my front seemed to be OK I can hopefully assume the rear is good too, but I'll make one when the time comes for sure
I was apprehensive about undoing the radiator hose since I've never worked with bleeding or burping the coolant before..but it wasn't so bad at all.
Hope the documentation of my job can help people in the future!
now...to do or not to do the 105k service myself...
Since my front seemed to be OK I can hopefully assume the rear is good too, but I'll make one when the time comes for sure
I was apprehensive about undoing the radiator hose since I've never worked with bleeding or burping the coolant before..but it wasn't so bad at all.
Hope the documentation of my job can help people in the future!
now...to do or not to do the 105k service myself...
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#13
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
as far as I could tell, yes. I couldnt wiggle out the fan otherwise. I tried removing the mount with just the passenger side fan out and it just didnt seem possible without touching the radiator unnecessarily.
You also dont want to struggle too much because you may bend more radiator fins in the process. they're really that fragile.
not a lot of air got into the system just by removing that hose. Angle the hose upwards so the coolant "falls" back into the engine and tuck it out of the way in that upright position.
edit: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/replaced-my-motor-mounts-pics-inside-772642/#post12924083
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/fixed-my-motor-mounts-today-814774/#post12853692
looks like you can do it without removing the hose or the fans for that matter in the post above. I found it personally to be very difficult, but you can try whichever method you find proper. Unfortunately neither elaborate on just how they did it. They might have pulled it from underneath.
You also dont want to struggle too much because you may bend more radiator fins in the process. they're really that fragile.
not a lot of air got into the system just by removing that hose. Angle the hose upwards so the coolant "falls" back into the engine and tuck it out of the way in that upright position.
edit: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/replaced-my-motor-mounts-pics-inside-772642/#post12924083
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/fixed-my-motor-mounts-today-814774/#post12853692
looks like you can do it without removing the hose or the fans for that matter in the post above. I found it personally to be very difficult, but you can try whichever method you find proper. Unfortunately neither elaborate on just how they did it. They might have pulled it from underneath.
Last edited by ez12a; 04-17-2012 at 12:58 PM.
#15
Safety Car
How bad are the vibrations after you installed the new mounts?
#16
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
it honestly didnt change..it must be normal or something else that i think i "feel".
sometimes when i crank the starter, when the engine catches and starts it feels like the engine is twisting. Sometimes it catches and starts smoothly, other times it feels like it catches on the wrong "stroke" or somehow it's off balance and i want to say i hear a thud when it does. I've looked at the engine while it starts and it barely moves if at all. It might just be in my head lol. My dad's E46 with its longitudinal mounted inline 6 you can feel the car rotate slightly from the starting.
i guess the fact that i had to jack the engine up higher to put the new one in indicates the old one was sagging a little. At least i know i'll be good for another 70k at least. I dont get how people have cracked and leaking mounts well before I did in terms of mileage. My side mount was cracked though.
sometimes when i crank the starter, when the engine catches and starts it feels like the engine is twisting. Sometimes it catches and starts smoothly, other times it feels like it catches on the wrong "stroke" or somehow it's off balance and i want to say i hear a thud when it does. I've looked at the engine while it starts and it barely moves if at all. It might just be in my head lol. My dad's E46 with its longitudinal mounted inline 6 you can feel the car rotate slightly from the starting.
i guess the fact that i had to jack the engine up higher to put the new one in indicates the old one was sagging a little. At least i know i'll be good for another 70k at least. I dont get how people have cracked and leaking mounts well before I did in terms of mileage. My side mount was cracked though.
Last edited by ez12a; 04-19-2012 at 06:09 PM.
#17
#18
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
There's like no real information about it for the 3G other than some anecdotes!
#19
I am trying to diagnose a vibration so i might reinstall my front mount if so I will take a picture and put it up. I do believe when I originally did it there was a guide, as I know I couldn't have done it without one.
#20
I believe I did it the first time without removing the battery, but if I was going to do it again I would remove the battery, it took me about 20 seconds to wiggle it out.
Also, I did not remove the splash guard there is a hole that you can reach your hand through to connect the vac line.
To thread in the rear left bolt it is fairly easy to access from under the car.
#23
the overexplainer
Thread Starter
nice job! I didnt remove the rad either, just the upper hose and the fans.
Hopefully this thread will help others get an idea of how to tackle the job. Obviously there are several ways of going about it, but at least we have a dedicated thread.
Hopefully this thread will help others get an idea of how to tackle the job. Obviously there are several ways of going about it, but at least we have a dedicated thread.
#24
I just finished front and side.
for front,
1. only passenger side fan has to be removed but still undo the driver side fan bolts but leave the connectors alone, so you can wiggle it as needed while maneuvering the mount out and in.
(therefore no need to remove the upper hose)
2. put a thin cardboard against radiator to prevent damage
3. my fav tech at local honda dealership told me, the wiggling can be done if engine is raised a little high. undo the side mount bolt, and raise the engine till the hole in the bracket is almost all the way visible. you should have enough room to wiggle the mount out and in
now to do rear tomorrow .. :/
for front,
1. only passenger side fan has to be removed but still undo the driver side fan bolts but leave the connectors alone, so you can wiggle it as needed while maneuvering the mount out and in.
(therefore no need to remove the upper hose)
2. put a thin cardboard against radiator to prevent damage
3. my fav tech at local honda dealership told me, the wiggling can be done if engine is raised a little high. undo the side mount bolt, and raise the engine till the hole in the bracket is almost all the way visible. you should have enough room to wiggle the mount out and in
now to do rear tomorrow .. :/
#25
Thank you. This was very useful. I changed my front and passenger side mount today. Not sure i want to tackle the rear as it seems to require a lift so I can take it out from below.
#27
The worst part about doing both mounts yesterday was the heat. It was 100 degrees from 10 am to 6pm. I was sweating bullets, but you know what? I saved a lot of money. The dealer quoted me 750$, another repair shop a bit less but with OE parts, in total, it cost me 120$ for the mounts...no question it's worth it.
#28
Head a da Family
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: New Friggin Jerzy
Age: 69
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The worst part about doing both mounts yesterday was the heat. It was 100 degrees from 10 am to 6pm. I was sweating bullets, but you know what? I saved a lot of money. The dealer quoted me 750$, another repair shop a bit less but with OE parts, in total, it cost me 120$ for the mounts...no question it's worth it.
#29
#30
Racer
i need to change mine as well (Front and side). I remember seeing a sponsor post regarding a new set designed for us that would last longer.
Anyone tested them? are they worth it?
Anyone tested them? are they worth it?
#31
Registered Bunny
https://acurazine.com/forums/perform...08-all-764063/
There's different levels of polyurethane inserts and you want to understand which one applies to you. Some people spring for hard ones and regret it after as it transfers a lot of the vibrations to the cabin in exchange of little engine movement.
Aftermarket mounts are not needed per se, usually replacing completely broken mounts even by OEM ones will make your car feel much nicer than before.
Also hi!
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