solid vs hydraulic motor mounts....

Hi Guys - I haven't done a complete search of the forums yet but is there a good "how to" on the motor mount replacement? I'm waiting on shipping for the Ford shop manual & I have yet to look at how they are installed on the car but I felt a "rattle" of sorts upon acceleration onto the 4 lane while turning left the other day & the first thing that popped into my head was maybe the exhaust was tapping the frame due to the motor mounts going or being bad. I don't think my dad ever had them replaced & approaching 90K miles it likely needs them anyway. Thanks in advance!
 
My OEM liquid mounts seem to be fine at about 140,000 miles. However, I do have a solid trans mount and that seems to have added some vibration at idle.
 
My OEM liquid mounts seem to be fine at about 140,000 miles. However, I do have a solid trans mount and that seems to have added some vibration at idle.
I'd advise closely checking the clearance especially on the passenger side. My originals didn't make it past 100,000, but I drove on them for another 20,000 not knowing they were shot. :eek:
The replacements lasted longer, but like clockwork, the passenger side mount compressed to where the limiter arm was within 1/16" of the bracket. With a lifetime warranty, I swapped it out. The new mount has about 3/4" clearance. :cool:
 
"Limiter arm" ?

How much clearance should there be, between the oil pan and the crossmember?

i would atleast say long as they aint touching your good

because ether way the motor wants out the hood not the bottom so its not gonna put force down its gonna force up:rolleyes:


but i wouldnt waste my time or my money on the oil filled mounts
to me its a waste of both they dont last long if you rip on your sc they will brake
when my sc was stock my first replacement lasted like 3-4months (oem replacment)
 
"Limiter arm" ?
The bracket bolted to the top of the mount has an 3" extension that, when assembled, fits into a square shaped hole which is part of the bracket bolted to the bottom of the mount. That extension is the limiter arm and it is there to keep the engine from flying up into the hood in the event of a mount failure. From the side it looks sorta like this: [-] With a new mount, the lever will sit about 3/4" above the bottom.
How much clearance should there be, between the oil pan and the crossmember?
About an inch or so.

Read my previous posts to see what sort of life you can expect from a set of mounts. The passenger side mount is usually the first to go in a daily driver. The engine continually compresses that mount, while on the driver side, it stretches it. But, the driver side has a limiter arm bumper that keeps it from stretching to the point of tearing.
 
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......because ether way the motor wants out the hood not the bottom so its not gonna put force down its gonna force up:rolleyes:.......

The natural tendency of the motor is to rotate, not jump out, so you have one side of the motor heading up and the other side heading down.
 
The natural tendency of the motor is to rotate, not jump out, so you have one side of the motor heading up and the other side heading down.

i know i just worded it wrong:eek::rolleyes: my bad;)

and what i ment was the oil pan isnt gonna get any close its gonna come away from the cross member(is thats the right word) as in the up or out that i ment

so yea drivers side up passager down but the up of the drivers side will keep it from hitting..

get what im tryin to get at???
 
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The first set of solid motor mounts I purchased were from Advanced Auto. But I returned them since the pair didn't look like a match. When I tried to find a matched pair every one was slightly different - bad quality control. I eventually picked up a pair at Pep Boys. Although they were made in India, the quality looked good and the pair matched. I have had them installed for 3 or 4000 miles and so far so good. No noticeable increase in engine vibration. Based upon what I saw of the completely degraded hydraulic mounts when I took them out at 90,000 miles there was no way I was going to put hydraulic mounts back in.
 
The first set of solid motor mounts I purchased were from Advanced Auto. But I returned them since the pair didn't look like a match. When I tried to find a matched pair every one was slightly different - bad quality control. I eventually picked up a pair at Pep Boys. Although they were made in India, the quality looked good and the pair matched. I have had them installed for 3 or 4000 miles and so far so good. No noticeable increase in engine vibration. Based upon what I saw of the completely degraded hydraulic mounts when I took them out at 90,000 miles there was no way I was going to put hydraulic mounts back in.

If an OEM set of liquid filled mounts gave 90K miles of service life I would purchase same in a heartbeat! Mine have 89K on them now & I need to take a good look at them because they are likely shot. How many miles do you expect to get out of the replacements? Think of it this way - if you got 90K out of the first set then install the same parts you can expect to get another 90K out of them (assuming the car is driven in the same manner). By the time your done with set 2 the car will have 180K miles on it & the motor mounts will probably be just one of many issues:)
 
not the rubber

The real problem is not with the rubber mount itself. I've gone through three sets, one from MN12 performance, one set from India, and of course oem.
The problem is the little travel limiting oem rubber tab; it ultimately disintegrates and leaves behind an empty crushed metal thing on the mount bracket. The resulting increase of mount bracket travel adds stress that the rubber mount was not designed to withstand.
You need a torque strap or some other mod to mimic the oem rubber tab designed to limit travel of the mount bracket. Without which you will consume either solid or liquid mounts.

Pick up a set of Chuck's redesigned mounts as they are designed differently and should not suffer the same oem mount problems.

Bob
 
busted rubbers

Tire tread sounds like a perfect material. How did you get it to stay in place?

I tried a block of store bought rubber but all my trials of glue and bailing wire failed over time to hold it in place.

B
 
I zip tied a rubber hose with a piece of wood dowel on my 90. I'll have to see if it is still there. haven't looked since last year.
 
If an OEM set of liquid filled mounts gave 90K miles of service life I would purchase same in a heartbeat! Mine have 89K on them now & I need to take a good look at them because they are likely shot. How many miles do you expect to get out of the replacements? Think of it this way - if you got 90K out of the first set then install the same parts you can expect to get another 90K out of them (assuming the car is driven in the same manner). By the time your done with set 2 the car will have 180K miles on it & the motor mounts will probably be just one of many issues:)

The motor mounts had failed LONG before I replaced them. I noticed that the engine had dropped at least 3/4" and I could barely change the oil filter because it was rubbing on the cross member frame. When I took out the mounts in 2 pieces, they were bone dry. The fluid had leaked out years before. I would guess they failed at 50 to 60K. Go with the solid rubber and there is no worry.
 
Try this for a bumper...

Get some Radiator Heater hose and split it down the middle. Just slip that over the tab and on the top portion of the limter hole. I used hose clamps too in order to secure it to the bracket.

My problem might be because I have rubber attached on the bracket and the limiter arm. Might be contacting all of the time.
 
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