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How to check if motor and trans mounts are bad
- Thread starter summitlt
- Start date
twodollarbill
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- New Jersey
yup, just look at them. If they are cracked/rotted... get new ones.
joe_peters
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Grants Pass, OryGun
And grab a long pry bar and work the mounts while observing with a bright spot light.
You can have a friend load up the drivetrain while you observe the mounts to see how much movement there is. Best not to have your wife at the controls, especially if there is a life policy and you just forgot her birthday.
- Location
- Southern Maryland
if you have an auto, hold down the brakes and firmly press the gas in D and R enough for the engine to lift. if you have bad mounts you'll see and/or hear it
solomon7
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Portland OR
Well :soapbox:you could drive the Barlow road like I did till the mount block brackets snap off from the slop in the mounts torquing it over and over, drop the fan into the shroud, the dist. on the frame sill and the pan on to the diff, overheat repeatedly, break some bolts off in the block, ruin an otherwise great trip, and spend a couple hundred fixing it...OR for 25 bucks a piece and about a half hour you can not have to worry about them for quite a while. If you have the coin get the MORE mounts.
Seriously, if you even THINK they might be worn, replace them. It's a dmall issue that, given the right circumstance, can become major. It's almost as easy as an oil change. Jack motor up, pull the pin,remove mounts, replace. It'll ride much smoother too!
My way costed almost 300 in labor to get recessed bolts out of the block, 250 for bombproof block brackets, plus the 50 for the mounts lol!
BTW an APN header (160)will fix those exhaust probs. Mine's been on 3 years, no probs even after the recent "incident":cheers:.
Seriously, if you even THINK they might be worn, replace them. It's a dmall issue that, given the right circumstance, can become major. It's almost as easy as an oil change. Jack motor up, pull the pin,remove mounts, replace. It'll ride much smoother too!
My way costed almost 300 in labor to get recessed bolts out of the block, 250 for bombproof block brackets, plus the 50 for the mounts lol!
BTW an APN header (160)will fix those exhaust probs. Mine's been on 3 years, no probs even after the recent "incident":cheers:.
Last edited:
xray1971
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Champaign, IL
Where at on the engine do you place the jack to lift it?
I just did these mounts a couple weeks ago for the same reason (cracked manifold). Driver's side motor mount was pretty far gone, after taking it out the sleeve that the mount pins go through would just flop around in there. Passenger side looked alright, but replaced it anyway and saved it in case the new anchor mounts crap out. The transmission mount was pretty worn out as well.
To jack up the engine, after loosening all the motor mount bolts I put a 3x3 block of wood under the oil pan (the flat part near the drain plug) and jacked up the pan. It is trail and error as for how much to lift it; at some point the pins will slip out of the mounts...it took me more lifting than I expected b/c at first all that gets lifted is the suspension from the engine's weight being removed.
Anyways, after removing the pins you can easily take the old mounts out. Put the new ones in and get the bolts/nuts started, but don't snug them; you might need a little bit of wiggle room to get the new pins in. For me the drivers side pin went in straight away but it took me a while to get the passenger side pin in. I used a prybar between the mount and motor to get the alignment close, but it was still tight. Once I had it lined up as close as I thought I could get it, I lubed the pin with grease and tapped it in with a mallet. Ideally you can get it without the mallet though. If you have trouble with alignment, loosening the bolts on the transmission mount might help.
As for the transmission mount, if you've got a bad motor mount, or probably with just 150k miles of wear, it's going to be shot or close to it. Might as well replace it. The procedure is similar to the motor mounts, you need to jack up the transmission or transfer case using the wood cushion. There are two large bolts going up into the frame, and four smaller studs that go down into holes on the crossmember. I recommend removing the crossmember (two bolts on each frame rail) once you have supported the transmission; it is possible to do it without removing the CM but it is much easier to get the old mount out and get the new one lined up correctly if you remove the CM.
After you take off the CM just unbolt the old mount from the car, and bolt the new one in, making sure it is oriented correctly (on my '92 there is a bracket for supporting the catalytic converter that goes between the mount and the body, that makes bolting it back up a little tricky). Don't tighten the upper bolts all the way yet, some wiggle room will help you.
Now the first time, I tried jacking the transmission up high, bolting the CM on the body and then lowering the mount onto the CM, but could never get the lower studs on the mount to go in the CM holes; it was always an 1/8" off or so. What finally worked was to start with the CM unattached, then lower the transmission some and then benchpress the CM up to the mount so the studs go into the holes (you need to have the tran low enough that the studs will poke through the holes before the CM hits the frame rails), and then thread the nuts onto the studs with a socket and long extension. Once all the nuts are started the CM will be loosely attached to the tran mount but not the frame. Now raise the tran until you can get the CM-to-frame bolts in. You might have to fight with the CM to get those bolts in but you have way more leverage on the ends of the CM than on the mount, and it went pretty easily for me. Tighten those CM bolts and then lower the transmission slowly until all its weight is on the new mount. Tighten the four nuts on bottom and two bolts on top. Good to go.
Hope this helps- Rob
To jack up the engine, after loosening all the motor mount bolts I put a 3x3 block of wood under the oil pan (the flat part near the drain plug) and jacked up the pan. It is trail and error as for how much to lift it; at some point the pins will slip out of the mounts...it took me more lifting than I expected b/c at first all that gets lifted is the suspension from the engine's weight being removed.
Anyways, after removing the pins you can easily take the old mounts out. Put the new ones in and get the bolts/nuts started, but don't snug them; you might need a little bit of wiggle room to get the new pins in. For me the drivers side pin went in straight away but it took me a while to get the passenger side pin in. I used a prybar between the mount and motor to get the alignment close, but it was still tight. Once I had it lined up as close as I thought I could get it, I lubed the pin with grease and tapped it in with a mallet. Ideally you can get it without the mallet though. If you have trouble with alignment, loosening the bolts on the transmission mount might help.
As for the transmission mount, if you've got a bad motor mount, or probably with just 150k miles of wear, it's going to be shot or close to it. Might as well replace it. The procedure is similar to the motor mounts, you need to jack up the transmission or transfer case using the wood cushion. There are two large bolts going up into the frame, and four smaller studs that go down into holes on the crossmember. I recommend removing the crossmember (two bolts on each frame rail) once you have supported the transmission; it is possible to do it without removing the CM but it is much easier to get the old mount out and get the new one lined up correctly if you remove the CM.
After you take off the CM just unbolt the old mount from the car, and bolt the new one in, making sure it is oriented correctly (on my '92 there is a bracket for supporting the catalytic converter that goes between the mount and the body, that makes bolting it back up a little tricky). Don't tighten the upper bolts all the way yet, some wiggle room will help you.
Now the first time, I tried jacking the transmission up high, bolting the CM on the body and then lowering the mount onto the CM, but could never get the lower studs on the mount to go in the CM holes; it was always an 1/8" off or so. What finally worked was to start with the CM unattached, then lower the transmission some and then benchpress the CM up to the mount so the studs go into the holes (you need to have the tran low enough that the studs will poke through the holes before the CM hits the frame rails), and then thread the nuts onto the studs with a socket and long extension. Once all the nuts are started the CM will be loosely attached to the tran mount but not the frame. Now raise the tran until you can get the CM-to-frame bolts in. You might have to fight with the CM to get those bolts in but you have way more leverage on the ends of the CM than on the mount, and it went pretty easily for me. Tighten those CM bolts and then lower the transmission slowly until all its weight is on the new mount. Tighten the four nuts on bottom and two bolts on top. Good to go.
Hope this helps- Rob
trippled
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- colorado springs, co
also depending what year you have, you may have to remove the oil filter to get the passenger side mount bolt out. might be a good time for an oil change...
xray1971
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Champaign, IL
98 XJ 2" BB lift and 1" TC drop installed. Passenger side engine mount in question.
Drivers side is fine. However, pass side looks like the rubber is pulled out a bit. Guessing from the TC drop I installed. Do you think the mount is ok? It seems pretty solid after doing the few tests advised here. However my confidence level is not the greatest with it being like that.
I am looking at putting in a new trans mount this weekend.
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount3.jpg
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount2.jpg
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount.jpg
Drivers side is fine. However, pass side looks like the rubber is pulled out a bit. Guessing from the TC drop I installed. Do you think the mount is ok? It seems pretty solid after doing the few tests advised here. However my confidence level is not the greatest with it being like that.
I am looking at putting in a new trans mount this weekend.
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount3.jpg
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount2.jpg
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy90/xray1971/passsidemount.jpg
scott00tj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Medina, OH
Thanks for the tips. I'm going to need to check mine here too.
