Engine Mounts :-/
Discussion
Well a week or so into owernship and I find my engine mounts have given up (Driver side split and looks like exhaust side is cracking/maybe split but harder to see). other symptoms where sump dropped onto ARB and creaking exhausts. So got some mounts of ebay and thought fitting would be easy. lol
Any ways . jacked up car onto axle stands at front (under main chassis rails), removed wheels and supported engine sump on trolly jack . Tackled drivers side as it seems to have most access and was definitely fubar. The bolts /nuts where all 17mm a/f but the engine support to mount bolts had limited spanner twirl room so slow progress was made. The mount to chassis nutes are visible in the wheel well and easily undone. Once all undone the mount fell out in two bits. Getting the new one piece mount in was slightly trickier as the engine support bracket obstructed access. The method I used was to remove airbox upper and jack engine up as far as possible in the engine bar (fuel rail is the highest point once airbox lid is removed and this will eventualy touch upper bulkhead. At that point it was possible to slot the new mount in and get the bolts in the holes. Tightening up was slow due to lack of access and engine was lowered to "normal" setting before the final tweaks were applied to the nuts..
Leaving the exhaust side for the weekend as it looks like battery needs to come out as well as some heat shielding...
Any tips or pitfalls before I dive in would be appreciated. I'm considering loosing the drivers side engine mount to chassis nuts to give some movement without overstressing the new mount.
Cheers
If anyone wonders why? its quicker than waiting for a slot at dealers and it nice to know how when someone says oooo thats gonna cost through sucking teeth.
Any ways . jacked up car onto axle stands at front (under main chassis rails), removed wheels and supported engine sump on trolly jack . Tackled drivers side as it seems to have most access and was definitely fubar. The bolts /nuts where all 17mm a/f but the engine support to mount bolts had limited spanner twirl room so slow progress was made. The mount to chassis nutes are visible in the wheel well and easily undone. Once all undone the mount fell out in two bits. Getting the new one piece mount in was slightly trickier as the engine support bracket obstructed access. The method I used was to remove airbox upper and jack engine up as far as possible in the engine bar (fuel rail is the highest point once airbox lid is removed and this will eventualy touch upper bulkhead. At that point it was possible to slot the new mount in and get the bolts in the holes. Tightening up was slow due to lack of access and engine was lowered to "normal" setting before the final tweaks were applied to the nuts..
Leaving the exhaust side for the weekend as it looks like battery needs to come out as well as some heat shielding...
Any tips or pitfalls before I dive in would be appreciated. I'm considering loosing the drivers side engine mount to chassis nuts to give some movement without overstressing the new mount.
Cheers
If anyone wonders why? its quicker than waiting for a slot at dealers and it nice to know how when someone says oooo thats gonna cost through sucking teeth.
The easy way to do the mounts, and they can both be done in an hour, is to remove the drivers side completely, then work on the pass side whilst the engine can be pushed over to the drivers side. Finish off then by fitting a new mount on the drivers side.
Sorry, I guess that means you could be going over the work you've already done.
Sorry, I guess that means you could be going over the work you've already done.
brogenville said:
The easy way to do the mounts, and they can both be done in an hour, is to remove the drivers side completely, then work on the pass side whilst the engine can be pushed over to the drivers side. Finish off then by fitting a new mount on the drivers side.
Good Answer 
The passenger side is a nightmare compared to the drivers side lol,
few tips to save time ect.. oh and yes n/s wheel off and battery and the tray out
-Remove the middle undertray (small one) that will give u enough room to get the lower cat out the way, saves taking the whole system off.
- undo both sides so u can lever the engine over to the drivers side
- its sometimes easier to get in if u cut down the threads on the engine mount itself.
- make sure the engine bracket is infront of the mounts!
- persistence is the key
few tips to save time ect.. oh and yes n/s wheel off and battery and the tray out
-Remove the middle undertray (small one) that will give u enough room to get the lower cat out the way, saves taking the whole system off.
- undo both sides so u can lever the engine over to the drivers side
- its sometimes easier to get in if u cut down the threads on the engine mount itself.
- make sure the engine bracket is infront of the mounts!
- persistence is the key
Edited by -Jamie- on Friday 25th June 17:53
Well Today was the day. I'd been putting it off sorting lots of other stuff like shocks and springs.
Here are the key points to doing the exhaust/passenger side engine mount.
Battery has to come out.
Drivers side engine mount has to be removed to allow enough engine movement to get passenger side in.
Remove airbox lid to allow engine to be jacked up as high as possible (fuel rail is the limiting factor as it approachs bulkhead)
I removed bottom lambda probe to get the new mount in, cat removal may do the same job.
Shorten the molded in engine mount studs to just that required for the nuts to clamp to chassis (removing a nut depth worth of thread seemed to work for me - dont forget to recut/tidy thread as required).
When fitting the mount the longest edge of the bracket goes to the top and its probably best to set aside a day to fiddle as it is a very fiddly and at times frustrating job, worst bits is trying to get the new mount in and lined up with the chassis holes as the engine bracket gets in the way, unfortunately Mt Varley's otherwise excellent manual is a bit sparse on this subject.
Access to the bolts on the exhaust side engine bracket to mount is very restricted and the heat shield gets in the way.... make sure you have a got set of 17mm AF spanners and sockets to help with the fiddling.
PS removing the main engine chassis stiffener plate is a must too incase anyone thought it would be easier to leave in place. As mentioned when you are ready to throw the towel in stay calm it is possible ... but I had to do it again... hmmmm i'd get a price to replace 1st ..
Here are the key points to doing the exhaust/passenger side engine mount.
Battery has to come out.
Drivers side engine mount has to be removed to allow enough engine movement to get passenger side in.
Remove airbox lid to allow engine to be jacked up as high as possible (fuel rail is the limiting factor as it approachs bulkhead)
I removed bottom lambda probe to get the new mount in, cat removal may do the same job.
Shorten the molded in engine mount studs to just that required for the nuts to clamp to chassis (removing a nut depth worth of thread seemed to work for me - dont forget to recut/tidy thread as required).
When fitting the mount the longest edge of the bracket goes to the top and its probably best to set aside a day to fiddle as it is a very fiddly and at times frustrating job, worst bits is trying to get the new mount in and lined up with the chassis holes as the engine bracket gets in the way, unfortunately Mt Varley's otherwise excellent manual is a bit sparse on this subject.
Access to the bolts on the exhaust side engine bracket to mount is very restricted and the heat shield gets in the way.... make sure you have a got set of 17mm AF spanners and sockets to help with the fiddling.
PS removing the main engine chassis stiffener plate is a must too incase anyone thought it would be easier to leave in place. As mentioned when you are ready to throw the towel in stay calm it is possible ... but I had to do it again... hmmmm i'd get a price to replace 1st ..
Don't forget to protect the left side engine mounting agaist the exhaust heat by using heat protection strips or an additional heat shield. I will upgrade my heat shield around the mounting when changing the mountings next time.
However, using an upgraded version of the engine mounting I had to find out that this was burned as well. I will use again the standard mounting the next time.
However, using an upgraded version of the engine mounting I had to find out that this was burned as well. I will use again the standard mounting the next time.
I usually get my hands VERY dirty on the cars I own but didn't fancy the mount job on my Tam so had The Garage in Guildford do it (nice guys). I'm due a 24k service soon and would take it to them even though I can service most cars with my eyes closed, checking valve clearances is a new one for me.
I'm going to decat the car soon (after the MOT) and will do the job myself. While I'm at it I'm going to X-wrap the whole system including the manifold (if I can get it off). This should reduce heatsoak and mount killing massively. It'll also do what it's meant to do and speed up gas flow from the system which is always good
I'm going to decat the car soon (after the MOT) and will do the job myself. While I'm at it I'm going to X-wrap the whole system including the manifold (if I can get it off). This should reduce heatsoak and mount killing massively. It'll also do what it's meant to do and speed up gas flow from the system which is always good
Just trying to get the new engine mount in on the exhaust side and already scratching my head!! The old mount fell out in two pieces so not too sure from which direction you would attempt to put the new one in.
Could go from underneath - might need to remove the Cat and Lambda sensor to do so, the top looks very tight or remove the lambda sensor and go through the chassis from the battery enclosure?
Any advise welcome!
Could go from underneath - might need to remove the Cat and Lambda sensor to do so, the top looks very tight or remove the lambda sensor and go through the chassis from the battery enclosure?
Any advise welcome!
Just trying to get the new engine mount in on the exhaust side and already scratching my head!! The old mount fell out in two pieces so not too sure from which direction you would attempt to put the new one in.
Could go from underneath - might need to remove the Cat and Lambda sensor to do so, the top looks very tight or remove the lambda sensor and go through the chassis from the battery enclosure?
Any advise welcome!
Could go from underneath - might need to remove the Cat and Lambda sensor to do so, the top looks very tight or remove the lambda sensor and go through the chassis from the battery enclosure?
Any advise welcome!
IainMac said:
I could be wrong but I think its engine out to get the exhaust manifolds off due to access issues.
I was talking to Jason, str8six today about this, and it is possible to do this with the engine in place, fiddly, but quicker than removing the engine,...................not tried it myself yet, something to do in the winter.Underneath with the cats out, put new mount inbeween the two collectors that the cats bolt to
Will also need to jack the engine towards the drivers side to get the mount back in its little mounting cubby hole (helps to remove one O/S bolt and loosen the other and use as a levering point/hinge)
Will also need to jack the engine towards the drivers side to get the mount back in its little mounting cubby hole (helps to remove one O/S bolt and loosen the other and use as a levering point/hinge)
clive f said:
I was talking to Jason, str8six today about this, and it is possible to do this with the engine in place, fiddly, but quicker than removing the engine,...................not tried it myself yet, something to do in the winter.
Think Jason has just done this to ours, havent been billed for an engine out? (thankfully!) 
BCA said:
Think Jason has just done this to ours, havent been billed for an engine out? (thankfully!)
Str8Six has replaced my passenger engine mount, wasn't too expensive considering the hassle for an amateur mechanic..IMO pay someone who know how to do it, to do it. Some things are worth paying for!Gassing Station | Tamora, T350 & Sagaris | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff