Mechanic says I need to change motor mounts... Options

[Rider]

1994 GT, Manual, 192k miles

One mechanic told me in April that my transmission mount was cracked. Recently, I've been hearing bumping/knocking noises when accelerating in a straight line that get worse when turning right and disappear when turning left. Also, those "bumps" get louder under harder acceleration (duh).

Went to the mechanic today, and he said to change all of them because changing just one would eventually damage the other two. He also said it'd cost me $480 plus tax - $280 for parts, $200 for labor. Two questions:
1. Is $200 a fair price for labor?
2. The mounts are listed as part numbers 8852, 8869, and 8871, but I've read that I also need to get other parts in order to replace the mounts. I can get those three mounts (Anchor brand) from RockAuto for $133 shipped, but what other parts should I get?

This post has been edited by Rider: Sep 12, 2011 - 10:19 PM

[czwalga]

Personally I'd just replace the one, but thats me and i'd be doing the work if another one went bad. Not fixing the one will have a greater chance of ruining the others, not the other way around.

[Rider]

Personally I'd just replace the one, but thats me and i'd be doing the work if another one went bad. Not fixing the one will have a greater chance of ruining the others, not the other way around.

How hard would it be to change the transmission mount myself? And the question was not whether changing one would damage the others more than not changing it, but whether changing one would damage the other 2 too much... sorry for not making it clearer. The car has 192k on it, so I'm not expecting on keeping it more than another year or so... Do you think the others would last under the increased stress?

Also, what should I buy? Just the mount, or are there other parts?

[stephen_lee]

just the mount. if its the rear... have fun.

others are considerably easier

[Redmann813]

^^^ wat he said. lol

[Bitter]

If the other mounts are worn and going to break soon then they'll have excess movement which can and does wear the new mount prematurely.

[Rider]

I guess I'll get an oil change tomorrow (I'm almost due for one anyway) and ask them to check all the mounts... if they can see them all.

[trdproven]

the hardest one to change would be probably the rear mount.

[rave2n]

As others have stated man does the rear mount blow - When I had to work on it last, I ended up kneeling both knees on the intake manifold to get the engine low enough to get 1 bolt in....never again. 200 is a fair price for all of them.

Edit:

I probs did it wrong, but it seems it still sucks either way =P

This post has been edited by rave2n: Sep 14, 2011 - 8:31 PM

[richee3]

I would personally want to replace them all at once if the budget allows it. Just the same as when headlight bulbs burn out or tires get worn out, when one goes bad, you know the others are close to the end of their useful life. They were made in the same place at around the same time from the same materials. But if funds are short, replacing just the one will work just fine. I'm not sure what your mechanic is trying to pull by saying that putting a new mount in the car will cause the others to break... Sounds like he's just trying to get some extra cash in his pocket and get you to replace all the mounts at once. Like I said, that's how I would do it anyway, but if that's how my mechanic was going to act, he wouldn't get a single penny of my money.

By the way, you should be expecting to keep your car more than another year. 192k is nothing compared to some of the cars we've got on here. Some of them are approaching 400k and they aren't exactly being pampered. Miles are just numbers on Toyotas, nothing more.

This post has been edited by richee3: Sep 14, 2011 - 9:46 PM

[cheela]

Miles are just numbers on Toyotas, nothing more.

best quote ever. sooo true

[czwalga]

As others have stated man does the rear mount blow - When I had to work on it last, I ended up kneeling both knees on the intake manifold to get the engine low enough to get 1 bolt in....never again. 200 is a fair price for all of them.

Edit:

I probs did it wrong, but it seems it still sucks either way =P

From underneath its pretty damn easy. Head behind the subframe, you have easy access from there.

[trdproven]

As others have stated man does the rear mount blow - When I had to work on it last, I ended up kneeling both knees on the intake manifold to get the engine low enough to get 1 bolt in....never again. 200 is a fair price for all of them.

Edit:

I probs did it wrong, but it seems it still sucks either way =P

u can get it from under but u have to play with maneuvering it in and jacking up the motor several ways

[matts94celica]

I'm literally in the process of changing my rear mount in my 7a and its been a pain in my ass. Literally worked on it for 4 hours straight and I can't get it back together. I've jacked the engine up lowered it wedge it done everything I possible can. Do I have to take the bracket off the transmission and then bolt the mount to it and the manuever it all back together? Or what? I'm in need of help on this!