how to safely replace the lower motor mount and tranny mount

[cutlass1991]

I want to replace the lower engine mount and transmission mount on the 3.1L

 

I searched, but just want to be clear on a few things so the engine doesn't fall out on me or anything...

 

 

1. Should I unbolt the upper torque struts and put the car in neutral?

 

2. I don't have an engine hoist, so I will be using the "jack on the oil pan" method. How high should I raise it, and will this work to do the transmission mount also?

 

3. Is there any special order to which bolts I should take out first. I'm assuming I need to take out all the ones I put an arrow next to.

 

[3.1LUMITIC]

Well when i did mine i unbolted the 2 bolts under the car your bottom pic then jacked the motor up. then unbolt it off the motor you may have to jack it up pretty far to get the new one in. Its better to have a freind with you when you drop the motor back down to help guide the bottom bolts into place.

it took me 2 days to get the bottom bolts in by my self.

[cutlass1991]

well, so far I learned that the belt and the belt tensioner have to be removed to get the the one mounting bolt.

 

I didn't take them all the way out because:

1. When I start to jack up on the oil pan, all it does is lift the whole car, not just the engine.

2. i am going to party with some girls and wait for some more replies.. so far I'm not looking forward to lining up bolt holes for 2 days :?

[3.1LUMITIC]

a wrench will get that bolt off and yea you gonna want a friend there to help i beleave i un did my dog bones to that why it can move freely up and down...

[cutlass1991]

stupid question... I can do this using ramps right>? instead of supporting the car on jack stands.

[digitaloutsider]

No. You need the weight off the wheels. Remove the two bolts on top of the mount (on top of the U-shaped bracket) and the two on the bottom. You'll need to remove the passenger side wheel. You'll most likely have to loosen the subframe bolts on the right side.

 

It isn't that easy..

[GP1138]

:? That's the reason we're paying a garage to do those mounts on the LE. On my old LE, I made the mistake of undoing the pass. side mount bolts, and jacking it up so the studs came out of the holes, and by then it was too late and I found that I couldn't do it on my own, and I couldn't get the studs back down into the holes. I just drove it like that with the mount sitting on the cradle there. :lol: :oops:

[cutlass1991]

oh man i am screwed I think. i really don't want to jack up the engine any more, and there just isn't enough play to get the old engine mount off. Anyone in the pittsburgh area want to make some money and finish this?

[cutlass1991]

Well, the transmission mount went in without a problem. I guess I will be taking this one to the mehanics soon to get the engine mount put in.

[White93z34]

i live right outside pittsburgh. drop me a line.

[GnatGoSplat]

I changed that mount on my Cutlass without help. It was cake, took less than 1/2hr if I remember right. Not sure if it even took that long?

 

Not really sure why it's so difficult for you, but I definitely remember that I did NOT remove those bolts that your arrows point to. I didn't touch that bracket. I used a box end wrench and removed the nuts on top of the mount if I remember correctly. Move that harness and you should see them. Then removed the ones on the bottom. Jacked it up just high enough for the mount to squeeze out, then shoved the new one in and slowly lowered the engine back down on it. Wasn't a problem. I don't even remember removing the wheel, but I might have.

[Calvin]

just got done doing the 282 mount and the engine mount. Was on track to take about three hours till I walked down to autozone (gasp) and bought offset box end wrenches that fit right down in the mount/bracket. Then jacked up motor, put in mount, let down carefully, pried into place, went around to drivers side unbolted trans mount, jacked up replaced, done.

 

Then put on the new STB I got from a 3.1 CS Vert at the JY (WOOHOO)

 

Moral of the story is get the offset box ends , don't fight the whole mount bracket out, especially if you have a manual trans car like mine and therefore also have to deal with the smog pump mounting bracket tensioner thing, which also mounts using the same holes as the bracket.