Engine mounts

I picked up a set of mounts a while back since the ones in the car looked a little iffy. Once I got the motor lifted and out of the way, I can see they're a bit worn but not damaged.

Since I have new ones on hand I was going to change them, and the service manual seems to imply this is a simple job. Any first-hand insight on how you get the two upper bolts out? It's probably really easy if you take the lower control arm off- otherwise it seems to me you're working upside down, blind, and backwards to try and get those bolts in and out through the cutout in the frame.

You have to make a special tool (or 2 or 3) to get to them, or take the arm off. I bought a set of engine mounts about a year and a half ago, and they are still sitting on the shelf. If I ever decide to replace the bushings in the lower arms, I will swap out the engine mounts. My only trusted mechanic told me that he would do it for $100 for both sides.

I was told that my mounts were broken, and it turned out to be the person who replaced my core support didn't put the nuts on the bolts to the chassis.

Come to think about it, I may be changing them this year when I install the 454 I am planning.

Thanks Fred, I feel a little better. I went under there earlier and gave it a try, and I was utterly baffled (not too hard, admittedly). Odd that the FSM and Hanyes book make no mention of any trick/tools to get in there. The implication in both manuals is that it's simple.

How about this theoretical approach- if I were to take off the shock (is there a special tool for that top mount?) compress the spring and then unbolt the lower arm, would it swing enough out of the way to get in there and change the mount? I might consider going that far- I need to get a spring compressor anyway to do the suspension work in the next few months.

-Mike

You could conceivably put a jack under the spring (while on jackstands) and lower the arm with the bushings unbolted, and gain access that way, but the arm will still be partially in the way. If you keep the bottom of the shock attached (you do not have to remove the top mount), it would act as a safety factor for the spring. Remove the wheels so you have more light to work with. The sway bar will limit your travel of the swing arm, so you may have to remove the sway bar link (good time to replace them anyway with new bushings. You will probably have to pry the arm bushings out, because the bolts tighten the frame pieces around the inner sleeve of the bushing, and it is difficult to get them out (and back in...use BFH). If you block the engine up with some 2X4s you can get the mounts out from under the engine while it is on the jackstands. Remember to put the weight on the suspension before tightening the bushing bolts.

Fred, I liked this theory so much I had to try it, since it would cost nothing but time. It ended up not working. Dropping the arm definitely opens it up a lot more, and I could get a socket on an extension on the bolt, but it was still too tricky to try and hold the nut with a wrench while hitting the bolt with the impact wrench. Presumably if you're more patient and have a handy helper it's probably possible.

The other issue is getting the bolts on the control arm to line back up again. I managed to get a couple of smaller bolts fed through to hold it in place. I'm going to pick up a spring compressor and shock removal tool and start disassembling the suspension anyway. Getting a real up close look at everything there really underscores the need to change those bushings and ball joints anyway.

Getting the sway bar off the arm was actually surprisingly difficult. It's very rubbery and springy and just not cooperative. Those bushings look pretty tired too.

I wanted to update the thread here and let you guys know that changing the engine mounts with the entire front suspension removed is relatively painless. Tricky, sure- some of the bolts are still at odd angles, but with just a regular swivel socket you can get to them and get the job done.

I got the new mounts in tonight, and in comparing the old ones to the new ones, I'm glad I did it. They're both skewed from center, one of them pretty badly. I doubt changing them will have any impact other than moving the motor half an inch back upward where it was originally, but I got it done.

Anyone who's done this without taking the suspension off, well, you're a much better mechanic than me. Yeah, I should stick to fixing computers!

Did you change the lower arm bushings while you had the arms off? That would have been a simple job at that point, and good preventive maintenance.

Remember to tighten the bushing bolts with the weight on the suspension.

Fred - yes I do have new bushings. They came installed in the new Moog control arms I bought!

To get the suspension back together, I'm thinking of installing the upper first, then attaching that to the steering knuckle, then installing the lower with the bolts loose and installing the compressed spring, then using a floor jack to raise the lower into position and attach it to the knuckle. I think that way may reduce the amount of compressing I need to do.

Also I wanted to add to my comment about the control arm sway bar links- they were impossible to get out because the sleeve is fused to the bolt. I left them stuck that way since I have new arms and new links, but they might have needed to be cut off otherwise.

Old mount vs. new mount:

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