If you race or drive your cars hard, by about 150K miles, the rear engine mount would wear out the rubber shock absorbing. The engine will shake in idle, and take off is jerky and delayed. It's annoying.
I bought both after-market front and rear mounts in eBay for $45. They work fine. OEM parts would cost about $150 for the pair.
1. Jack up the car on 4 sides and level it with car stands, about 6-10 inches high. Leave wheels under chassis for safety.
2. Remove driver side wheel and transmission bottom plastic splash guard.
3. Remove rear motor mount 17 mm through bolt with 17 mm socket, half-inch BREAKER BAR and 30 inch-long half-inch extensions, or using high-torque power tools. This bolt requires very high torque to turn, like 150 ft-lbs. Use good half-inch tools, Craftsman, Snap On etc... Chinese and Taiwanese tools will all break at this stage. Place a jack or a hard object under the extension shaft and keep the shaft straight and level to make sure all torque is delivered to the bolt head.
4. Get under the engine, use a jack with a block of wood to jack up the bottom of the engine to relieve the weight from the engine mount.
5. The front mount is held on top the long cradle with 2 x 15 mm bolts from underneath. The center of the ROUND DONUT front mount is attached to the engine block with a long harden-steel 15mm bolt. Adjust the height of the jack under the engine, remove these 3 bolts and adjust the height of the jack to ease it out. This front mount is very easy. Mine was in perfect shape after 220K miles.
6. Install the new front mount in reverse order. The front of the mount has some character codes which should face the front of the car.
7. The rear mount is more difficult to access but is logical to remove. Place a jack under the subframe to hold it up. There are 4 large bolts 23 mm x 150 mm holding the subframe onto the chassis and the tie rods. Remove them so you can wiggle the rear mount from the sub frame. When you put these 4 bolts back, remember the 2 with pointy heads use the sharp heads to wiggle and stretch the subframe to fit very tight into the chassis. The flat head bolts go into the tie rod.
8. Take out 4 nuts and 1 bolt 15 mm holding the rear mount to bottom of the sub frame.
9. The rear mount 17mm through bolt is held into engine block by a vertical U shape bracket with 3x15 mm bolts. It's very tight to get to these 3 bolts inside the vertical channel, but you have to take it out to clear the base of the rear mount to pull it up from above. Do it with a small closed end box wrench or power tools.
10. get on top pf engine bay, remove the battery and its plastic carrier, also the speedometer sensor on top of the transmission for clearance. Wiggle and pull the rear mount out from the top. If anybody can pull it out from below, I dont know how. The legs would interfere with the subframe. My rear mount was completely worn of any rubber damping inside the donut.
11. Bolt the U-shape bracket onto the engine block and tighten 3 x 15 mm bolts.
12. From top of engine bay, wiggle the new mount into place on the subframe. insert the 3 bolts on the mount's front side through their holes in the subframe, leave the 2 rear bolts loose. They wont fit into their holes without stretching the subframe a little.
13. Get under the car and wiggle the subframe to line up the 2 rear bolts into their holes. Put all nuts and bolts on the mount without tightening. Keep the mount loose for now. Make sure the rear of the mount does not sit on the 2 fuel lines along the cross member.
14. Insert the long 17 mm center shaft though the holes on top of the U bracket and the center of the mount's rubber donut. You will have to wiggle the mount, may be adjusting the height of the engine to line up the holes on the U-shape bracket with the center hole of the donut to get the bolt to go through. Tighten the 17 mm nut on the long bolt with about 150 ft-lbs torque. It needs to be secured.
15. Check and make sure everything around the mount fits properly into their mounting holes in the subframe. Secure the rear mount into the subframe by tightening its 4 nuts and 1 bolt. Check visually and by touch to make sure all mounting surfaces and fasteners are flat, level, tight, no gaps or looseness etc...
16. Tighten the 4 long 23 mm bolts to fasten the subframe onto tie rods then the chassis. When you put these 4 bolts back, remember the 2 flat head bolts go into the tie rod, the 2 with pointy heads use the sharp heads to wiggle and stretch the subframe to fit very tight into their holes in the chassis.
17. Release the 2 jacks that pushes the subframe, and the engine. Check for any looseness between engine, transmission and subframe.
18. Mount wheel and lower the car.
19. Test drive the car. If there are any new rattling or banging noise, check all bolts again for correct mounting and tightness.
20. When everything is perfect replace all plastic covers.
So far the car runs smooth, idling shaking and vibration were gone. Will see how long my Chinese rubber bushing will last in the rear mount.
Dealer wanted $650 to replace both mounts. Shops will want about $200 for labor plus parts.
I bought both after-market front and rear mounts in eBay for $45. They work fine. OEM parts would cost about $150 for the pair.
1. Jack up the car on 4 sides and level it with car stands, about 6-10 inches high. Leave wheels under chassis for safety.
2. Remove driver side wheel and transmission bottom plastic splash guard.
3. Remove rear motor mount 17 mm through bolt with 17 mm socket, half-inch BREAKER BAR and 30 inch-long half-inch extensions, or using high-torque power tools. This bolt requires very high torque to turn, like 150 ft-lbs. Use good half-inch tools, Craftsman, Snap On etc... Chinese and Taiwanese tools will all break at this stage. Place a jack or a hard object under the extension shaft and keep the shaft straight and level to make sure all torque is delivered to the bolt head.
4. Get under the engine, use a jack with a block of wood to jack up the bottom of the engine to relieve the weight from the engine mount.
5. The front mount is held on top the long cradle with 2 x 15 mm bolts from underneath. The center of the ROUND DONUT front mount is attached to the engine block with a long harden-steel 15mm bolt. Adjust the height of the jack under the engine, remove these 3 bolts and adjust the height of the jack to ease it out. This front mount is very easy. Mine was in perfect shape after 220K miles.
6. Install the new front mount in reverse order. The front of the mount has some character codes which should face the front of the car.
7. The rear mount is more difficult to access but is logical to remove. Place a jack under the subframe to hold it up. There are 4 large bolts 23 mm x 150 mm holding the subframe onto the chassis and the tie rods. Remove them so you can wiggle the rear mount from the sub frame. When you put these 4 bolts back, remember the 2 with pointy heads use the sharp heads to wiggle and stretch the subframe to fit very tight into the chassis. The flat head bolts go into the tie rod.
8. Take out 4 nuts and 1 bolt 15 mm holding the rear mount to bottom of the sub frame.
9. The rear mount 17mm through bolt is held into engine block by a vertical U shape bracket with 3x15 mm bolts. It's very tight to get to these 3 bolts inside the vertical channel, but you have to take it out to clear the base of the rear mount to pull it up from above. Do it with a small closed end box wrench or power tools.
10. get on top pf engine bay, remove the battery and its plastic carrier, also the speedometer sensor on top of the transmission for clearance. Wiggle and pull the rear mount out from the top. If anybody can pull it out from below, I dont know how. The legs would interfere with the subframe. My rear mount was completely worn of any rubber damping inside the donut.
11. Bolt the U-shape bracket onto the engine block and tighten 3 x 15 mm bolts.
12. From top of engine bay, wiggle the new mount into place on the subframe. insert the 3 bolts on the mount's front side through their holes in the subframe, leave the 2 rear bolts loose. They wont fit into their holes without stretching the subframe a little.
13. Get under the car and wiggle the subframe to line up the 2 rear bolts into their holes. Put all nuts and bolts on the mount without tightening. Keep the mount loose for now. Make sure the rear of the mount does not sit on the 2 fuel lines along the cross member.
14. Insert the long 17 mm center shaft though the holes on top of the U bracket and the center of the mount's rubber donut. You will have to wiggle the mount, may be adjusting the height of the engine to line up the holes on the U-shape bracket with the center hole of the donut to get the bolt to go through. Tighten the 17 mm nut on the long bolt with about 150 ft-lbs torque. It needs to be secured.
15. Check and make sure everything around the mount fits properly into their mounting holes in the subframe. Secure the rear mount into the subframe by tightening its 4 nuts and 1 bolt. Check visually and by touch to make sure all mounting surfaces and fasteners are flat, level, tight, no gaps or looseness etc...
16. Tighten the 4 long 23 mm bolts to fasten the subframe onto tie rods then the chassis. When you put these 4 bolts back, remember the 2 flat head bolts go into the tie rod, the 2 with pointy heads use the sharp heads to wiggle and stretch the subframe to fit very tight into their holes in the chassis.
17. Release the 2 jacks that pushes the subframe, and the engine. Check for any looseness between engine, transmission and subframe.
18. Mount wheel and lower the car.
19. Test drive the car. If there are any new rattling or banging noise, check all bolts again for correct mounting and tightness.
20. When everything is perfect replace all plastic covers.
So far the car runs smooth, idling shaking and vibration were gone. Will see how long my Chinese rubber bushing will last in the rear mount.
Dealer wanted $650 to replace both mounts. Shops will want about $200 for labor plus parts.
