Rear Motor Mount question...., how do i get it back on?!? Options

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I've been working the past few days on changing my clutch and finally got most everything put back together today, only one problem - How in the hell do I get the rear engine mount back on the crossmember and put it back in??

I unbolted the two nuts and one bolt from the crossmember holding down the mount, and somehow the mount poped of when I was removing the trans. The BGB says to remove the bracket from the block, but that doesn't make any sense because if you were to take off the bracket and then reinstall the mount that way, you wouldn't be able to get to the bolts to put the bracket back on! It makes no sense to me....I've been wrestling with the damn thing for a good part of the night and its now 5:45 AM and I haven't slept yet because I feel like an idiot for not being able to figure it out. lol


Any suggestions?? I'm all out of ideas and I gotta get my car back on the road this morning.

[K-ESD]

take off all three mounts
try getting the rear mount installed first, ignore the front and side for now.
Once you got that installed it should be easy to fight with the front and side mount.

[SBMongoos]

Since someone has posted a question about a rear motor mount.

I was recently in and had new front discs put on as mine were warping when the got hot. Almost 173,000 on the orginal set. Anyway, the mechanic tells me the rear motor mount should be replaced because "it's broken". I thought at the shop they said it was partially torn. Anyway, about 400 miles or so later I'm still going without the repair. I wonder what the odds are if this happening. I've had shops try to take advantage of me before. So far this place seems legit. Is there a way I can get under the car and check it out for myself? No idea where to look. The quoted $175 for part and labor.

Also, curious how many miles can you get out of a tranny. I have the orginal tranny and this same mechanice said it was over a quart low on fluid. Mentioned there must be a very slow leak somewhere. Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks..new to this site.

[hitcachi]

the rear mount is a huge b*tch!! You have to just keep trying to work it in there. Try different combinations like putting the rear of the crossmember in first, or the front first. Or you could also try to put teh mount on first then work the crossmember up to the mount. I dont really remember the exact way that i got it back in there, i just remember alot of cussing and fighting, but it eventually popped right in. Its like a hot virgin chick, at first it doesnt want to go in, but if you keep trying, it will fit like a glove.

[hitcachi]

Since someone has posted a question about a rear motor mount.

I was recently in and had new front discs put on as mine were warping when the got hot. Almost 173,000 on the orginal set. Anyway, the mechanic tells me the rear motor mount should be replaced because "it's broken". I thought at the shop they said it was partially torn. Anyway, about 400 miles or so later I'm still going without the repair. I wonder what the odds are if this happening. I've had shops try to take advantage of me before. So far this place seems legit. Is there a way I can get under the car and check it out for myself? No idea where to look. The quoted $175 for part and labor.

Also, curious how many miles can you get out of a tranny. I have the orginal tranny and this same mechanice said it was over a quart low on fluid. Mentioned there must be a very slow leak somewhere. Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks..new to this site.

There is an extremely good chance that your rear mount is torn. They do that after alot of hard driving or just normal wear and tear of a higher mileage car. You could get under your car with a trouble light and try and look at it. Its back on the firewall side of the engine, bolted to the top of the front/rear crossmember bar. A broken mount can do alot of things like, you loss a little power and response as the engine is moving significantly more. Also on the tranny, it all matters on the history of abuse and maintaince it has seen. It sounds like it been negleced a bit so it might be on its way out.

[Elevindie]

I replaced my clutch on my st this winter, and it was also really hard to get the rear tranny mount back in. BUT it will work. I used some leverage to slip it in.

[dubk]

There is an extremely good chance that your rear mount is torn.

when you say 'torn', do you mean rubber worn down or mount coming loose from the chassis? i have a feeling mine are gone and am hoping the polyurethane inserts solve the problem.

[lagos]

there are 2 ways of doing it.

1. you have to angle the mount a cretain way so that you can put it in as your slide the crossmember in. its a little tricky but sooner or later it will go in when u find just the right angle for it.

2. unbolt the subframe of the car. just make sure you have a good jack under it so that you can lower it and raise it back up into the same location when your done. once unbolt the subframe, youll have enought room to slide the cross member and motor mount in there and secure it. then jack the subframe back up and bolt it down. make sure you torque all that stuff to spec when working on it.

tip: once u get the mount in, you might notice that it dosnt line up perfectly with the bracket thats on the trans. if this happens, then your motor shifted a little, and you need to place a jack under the tranny and slowly jack it up as you keep checking it see how well that mount is lining up.

This post has been edited by lagos: Sep 7, 2006 - 4:41 PM

[Killswitch]

First off the rear motor mount should kill itself for sucking soo hard. I had a similar problem. A big bolt was in the way of me putting it back in. I got it after punching myself in the nuts for a while. But you need it so dont neglect it. I tried to leave it not attached and I destroyed my CV joint.

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll try a few of those things when I go home on Saturday. I tried a few of the methods, but i think I just lost patience with it after a while.....sometimes its just best to stop once its 5 AM and you're frustrated.

Should have everything back in sometime early in the week and I'll be in great shape with a car that drives like new.

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

Update, FWIW-

I got the mount in no problem and quite easily by settling in with a new plan of attack....all I did was with all the other motor mounts removed other than the passenger side, I used my engine hoist to lift on the hook on the motor and lifted the motor up on the drivers side until the rear mount bracket was right against the steering rack. At that point all you need to do is insert the mount into and above the bracket slightly and then slide the crossmember into place while you coax the mount studs into the holes that it needs to go into on the crossmember.

If you lift the engine up until it stops, it gives you the perfect ammount of room to get the mount in place and use leverage to get it in smoothly and once you pry it into place and you're good to go. That approach worked very smoothly for me and I reccomend that others in my situation try to do the same.....you could use a block of wood on a sturdy floor jack under the motor to achieve a similar effect too.

[SBMongoos]

Good info.

However, since I live in a townhouse with an HOA and don't have the right tools, I cannot work on my car here. I was curious myself about the rear motor mount. I'm not exactly sure what it means when they say torn. The only other bit of info I got was it was torn on one side (??). This place has done work for me on this car before and they seem legit. It's just that others have tried to scam me a few times over the years. Not just this car. Good thing is I busted two of them and a couple others I just walked away from and didn't let them do the work. This car has almost 173k for miles. I've done a great job of taking care of it. I'm curious if it will start "nickel and diming" me and if I should unload it or hold onto it. It's been paid off a whlie so. New vehicles are pricey. This car gets great mileage.

As for the rear motor mount the place I've been using says the total cost to replace is $175. The tell me they only use OEM parts. This seem like a fair price? I don't remember the guy telling me about his when I took it in for brake work. Otherwise I likely would have had him just do it. So, I've been driving another 450 miles or so with this "torn rear motor mount". I'm a novice here so should I get on this right away?

[hitcachi]

The material inside the motor mount can become torn or cracked when it starts to get old and general wear and tear happens, or a lot of stress is applied, i.e. constant hard driving. You dont HAVE to replace it right away but definitly keep it up there on the priority list so you do it soon.

[SBMongoos]

Thanks hitcachi.

It certainly hasn't been driven hard but I assume 173k for miles is considered high. Been trying to determine if I should hold onto the car as some of these things that have come up are just normal maintenance or the sign of an aging car having problems.

[hitcachi]

at that mileage? Normal maintiance. You still have another 173 to put on that car before you start having aging problems. Thats assuming that you keep up with general maintaince.

[zipstrips]

Good info.

However, since I live in a townhouse with an HOA and don't have the right tools, I cannot work on my car here. I was curious myself about the rear motor mount. I'm not exactly sure what it means when they say torn. The only other bit of info I got was it was torn on one side (??). This place has done work for me on this car before and they seem legit. It's just that others have tried to scam me a few times over the years. Not just this car. Good thing is I busted two of them and a couple others I just walked away from and didn't let them do the work. This car has almost 173k for miles. I've done a great job of taking care of it. I'm curious if it will start "nickel and diming" me and if I should unload it or hold onto it. It's been paid off a whlie so. New vehicles are pricey. This car gets great mileage.

As for the rear motor mount the place I've been using says the total cost to replace is $175. The tell me they only use OEM parts. This seem like a fair price? I don't remember the guy telling me about his when I took it in for brake work. Otherwise I likely would have had him just do it. So, I've been driving another 450 miles or so with this "torn rear motor mount". I'm a novice here so should I get on this right away?

i cracked my tranny due to a mount failure. find a local 6gc to help change it! i dont think 175 is too far off for a shop price. more than id be willing to pay thou

The material inside the motor mount can become torn or cracked when it starts to get old and general wear and tear happens, or a lot of stress is applied, i.e. constant hard driving. You dont HAVE to replace it right away but definitly keep it up there on the priority list so you do it soon.

depending on driving habbits it should be address very soon. again i cracked a trans case due to a failed rear mount! althought it lead me to my 3s swap

This post has been edited by zipstrips: Sep 12, 2006 - 4:29 PM

[SBMongoos]

at that mileage? Normal maintiance. You still have another 173 to put on that car before you start having aging problems. Thats assuming that you keep up with general maintaince.

What's qualifies as general maintenance? Oil changes, etc, or are you reffering to the maintenace the Toyota dealerships often at 30k, 60k mileage and so on. So it's clear. Thanks!

This post has been edited by SBMongoos: Sep 13, 2006 - 9:54 AM