Motor Mount Replacement

[Skoobie]

OK so I FINALLY figured out my motor mounts are toast. Someone suggested checking the fan clearance to the bottom of the shroud. Well there was no clearance...in fact there was negitive clearance. The tips of my fan blades are gone from rubbing on the shroud, neat huh? Anyway so I have to replace them and I was wondering if someone could link me to a good step-by-step walkthrough. Pictures would be a plus but I will take what I can get. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[AnthonyR23]

Hi.. I replaced my motor mounts a little while ago with polyurethane mounts.. .I also replaced the transmission crossmember... all that is involved is loosening the nut on each side... once they are both off.. you can put a square piece of wood under the oil pan... and slowly jack the engine up enough that the bolt comes out of the slot... then you loosen the upper two bolts that hold the mounts to the engine... switch up the mounts and lower it back down... I had to pry my engine over a bit to get it back in the slots... My equal length header is rubbing the steering shaft at the one side so I am going to have to throw a couple washers under the driver side motor mount to raise the engine slightly to give me some clearance.. Was thinking of doing that this weekend... and while I'm at it I have to take the one header off because it is bent at the flange slightly... so I want to make sure it is matting up to the h pipe right off the car.... anyways I will try to get some pics for ya if you need them..

 

[fox racer]

If you have airtools, this job will take no longer than an hour, TOPS. Put the car on jacks (For room). Remove the frame/mount bolts and break loose (If hand tools) the motor/mount bolts. Jack the car up by the pan, using a peice of wood to protect the pan, remove the bolts and swap mounts. DO NOT GET PROTHANE. They raise the motor and are a complete PITA to line the motor up straight. Do yourself a favor and get the Energy Suspension ones, they damn near lined themselves up for me.

 

[HISSIN50]

Jrichker has a nice write-up that is complete. I didnt see anyone mention removing the fan blade yet, for instance.

Ancillary stuff: If you go with parts store mounts, get mounts for a 93 vert (just to be doubly sure you get the right ones). Vert mounts (87+) are captured and were such a better design that they were standard by late in the aero fox run (hence asking for mounts for a 93 vert - you should definitely get the right ones. In reality, asking for 87+ vert mounts, or mounts for any 93 would suffice).

Note that some parts store mounts will not allow you to reuse your old hardware.

Doing the trans mount and crossmember bushings is a wise idea.

Good luck.

 

[fox racer]

Ahh that damn fan. In my haste to help a fellow stang banger, I forgot that I swapped motor mounts on a fox with an electric fan. Sorry for that, and thanks for clearin it up HISSIN!

 

[89_FakeSnake]

If you have airtools, this job will take no longer than an hour, TOPS. Put the car on jacks (For room). Remove the frame/mount bolts and break loose (If hand tools) the motor/mount bolts. Jack the car up by the pan, using a peice of wood to protect the pan, remove the bolts and swap mounts. DO NOT GET PROTHANE. They raise the motor and are a complete PITA to line the motor up straight. Do yourself a favor and get the Energy Suspension ones, they damn near lined themselves up for me.

Well I read this last night before installing the new Prothane motor mounts I purchased a few weeks back. Wasn't too excited to hear what I was in for.

Ended up have to drill out the mounts to allow the mount to line up with existing bolt holes on the block...then fab some custom brackets to raise the fan shroud because my flex fan was making direct contact with the shroud. Looks like the motor was raised up a good .5" at least...other than that I'm happy with them. LOL - Just wish I would have read this BEFORE I bought my Prothanes!!!

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

My mounts are toast too....they're cracked all to hell and back. Just one more thing in the mountain list of to-do's on my car

 

[Disturbed90gt]

yea i kinda hurt mine this past weekend too. that go fast pedal plays a good number on them doesnt it..........lol

 

[6SpeedLX]

at least you guys dont have yours welded....the guy that had the car before me apparently never wanted the mounts to come out, so he welded the nut to the stud that holds the motor to the K member on both sides. not just tacked in there either, welded solid all the way around...oh yea this should be fun...looks like its time for a tubular k member and A arms

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

at least you guys dont have yours welded....the guy that had the car before me apparently never wanted the mounts to come out, so he welded the nut to the stud that holds the motor to the K member on both sides. not just tacked in there either, welded solid all the way around...oh yea this should be fun...looks like its time for a tubular k member and A arms

Wow man that's one of the dumbest things i've ever heard of. Maybe with solid mounts or something, but even still everything can break, even a solid mount. That's like welding the trany to the engine

 

[white_97_GT]

someone mentioned jacking the car up by the oil pan, not a good idea, put the car on jack stands and jack the motor up AFTER the mounts are loose...BTW, this job can be quite PITA, my mount to k member nuts refused to come off, had to soak them in liquid wrench, heat them up and use an impact for an excessive amount of time, good luck...BTW, most (moroso for sure) solid mounts raise the height of the engine about a half inch

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Either jack it up by the K member or sway bar. Simple enough. Or do like we do and get 2 jacks and jack it up at the A arm on each side at the same time and throw your jack stands underneath.

 

[HaynStang]

Will worn out motor mounts cause the engine to sit lower than it should? Because my X pipe hangs pretty low, especially in the front (it doesn't use exhaust hangers, it's just held up by the headers and exhaust). I'm wondering if my mounts are shot and if new ones would raise the motor up a bit.

I'm almost considering going with the Prothane mounts just to be sure the engine will sit higher, though they sound like a real PITA to install... plus raising the engine higher than it was originally designed to sit just doesn't seem like the best idea. Wouldn't want to cause any clearance issues should I get a different exhaust setup, taller intake, STB, etc in the future.

So, any comments? Has anyone installed new ES or OEM vert mounts and noticed the engine raised up a bit from where it was before?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Will worn out motor mounts cause the engine to sit lower than it should? Because my X pipe hangs pretty low, especially in the front (it doesn't use exhaust hangers, it's just held up by the headers and exhaust). I'm wondering if my mounts are shot and if new ones would raise the motor up a bit.

I'm almost considering going with the Prothane mounts just to be sure the engine will sit higher, though they sound like a real PITA to install... plus raising the engine higher than it was originally designed to sit just doesn't seem like the best idea. Wouldn't want to cause any clearance issues should I get a different exhaust setup, taller intake, STB, etc in the future.

So, any comments? Has anyone installed new ES or OEM vert mounts and noticed the engine raised up a bit from where it was before?

Yes....it'll set lower and if you have full lengths like me you'll start getting contact between your steering shaft and headers....which i didn't have 3 years ago when i put the headers on...over time the mounts start to let the engine sag and you'll find lots of issues. You also loose a bit of torque through drivetrain flex since a small amount of torque is wasted when the engine lifts up in the engine bay (to see what i'm talking about just crack the throttle by hand under the hood a few times and see how much your engine lifts and twists). This is why most racecars run solid motor mounts....it allows the engine to send the torque through the drivetrain more efficiently.