Engine Mount Replacement Procedure Question

[ViperTony]

I need to replace one of my engine mounts (left side) but going to do both since I'll be in there. The left side is straight forward enough, however the right side seems more complicated. According to the service manual, need to drain the coolant, disconnect lower radiator hose, disconnect oil cooler line and remove the oil filter. Curious if anyone has done this and if you have any tips? Thanks.

[Old School]

My tip is, just do the left one, since it's the only one ever to fail (unless you're doing burnouts in reverse or something).

[swexlin]

Tony, how did it fail? And, I guess when you have an engine mount replaced, you're automatically going to be doing an oil and coolant change as well, whether it needs it or not!

[Jack B]

That is probably because you are lifting the engine, therefore, the hoses limit the lift. BTW, the rear bottom corner (pass side) of the mount is an interference point with some aftermarket headers.If you radius that corner it could solve a future issue.

[ViperTony]

Tony, how did it fail? And, I guess when you have an engine mount replaced, you're automatically going to be doing an oil and coolant change as well, whether it needs it or not!

Good question. Answer: I don't know. During a track day I noticed that my serpentine belt was shredding. Replaced it and did a 20 minute session and the new belt was 50% shredded. Dumbfounded. I thought perhaps some track debris got up into the pulley grooves somehow but they were clean. So I started troubleshooting. Found that the left engine mount is separated/broken...as I was able to easily rock the engine by pushing on it. The engine was bouncing up and causing the AC condenser pulley to hit the steering rack, causing the serpentine belt to shred. The steering rack is just under 2" away from the condenser pulley....that's how much lift was happening with the broken mount on this particular track. Explains why my ass was telling me the front-end felt off that day. The right mount is intact but since I'm there and have 2 new mounts, going to replace them both.

That is probably because you are lifting the engine, therefore, the hoses limit the lift. BTW, the rear bottom corner (pass side) of the mount is an interference point with some aftermarket headers.If you radius that corner it could solve a future issue.

True but on the driver side its a minimal lift. Passenger side certainly is much more confined near that mount. No aftermarket headers, yet. Now....logic says since I have to remove the xbrace, might as well get a carbon fiber one. And since I'm most likely going to remove the exhaust manifolds for easier access to the mounts....might as well order headers....while I'm in there.

[99RT10]

Good question. Answer: I don't know. During a track day ........................................

You're going to fast. Slow down Speed Racer...................

[ViperTony]

You're going to fast. Slow down Speed Racer...................

Could not be happier with this ACR! LOL.

[SLP]

When I changed mine to calvo mounts, I did not have to drain oil/disconnect oil lines. I had coolant drained and rad hoses off for a different reason so I'm not sure if that was necessary or not. I did not have to lift the engine enough for the oil lines to matter. If I recall correctly, I only had to lift the engine a half inch or so. Once you get in there, it should be pretty straight forward what does or does not need to be done. Good luck!

[Arizona Vipers]

Since you are doing track days, might want to check out Calvo's solid mounts. They have a thin piece of hard plastic to absorb *some* vibration, but these totally changed the feel of my car

CalvoMotorMounts.jpg

[Jack B]

When I changed mine to calvo mounts, I did not have to drain oil/disconnect oil lines. I had coolant drained and rad hoses off for a different reason so I'm not sure if that was necessary or not. I did not have to lift the engine enough for the oil lines to matter. If I recall correctly, I only had to lift the engine a half inch or so. Once you get in there, it should be pretty straight forward what does or does not need to be done. Good luck!

Header type changes things.

[ViperTony]

Since you are doing track days, might want to check out Calvo's solid mounts. They have a thin piece of hard plastic to absorb *some* vibration, but these totally changed the feel of my car

Thanks AZ I considered these too. I don't do nearly the amount of track time you do but I can see how the Calvo mounts would help. If for some reason my mount goes again I may get these.

[ViperTony]

Update, so as it turns out my engine mount wasn't broken. It was the engine mount bracket. Warning: Before some of you GenV conspiracy theorists start proclaiming defective engine brackets, sorry that's not the case. I know where and when my engine bracket broke....it was at NVE in Vegas. Specifically, I drove down one of the streets near the hotel that had a horrible, horrible speed bump on it and when I went over it I thought my engine fell out...my teeth shook. I knew something snapped that night but could never ID it. Explains a lot. Many track days afterwards I could never put my finger on the 'issue'. Track alignments, suspension check and re-check, nada. It wasn't until I raised my engine that the bracket pieces fell out. Could not see it visually as the engine mount nut was keep the remaining cracked pieces from being fully visible. Interestingly it was only on the track that I noticed the front-end was little too happy....with the V10 bobbing around.

Anyway, new bracket on the way. FWIW, the driver-side engine mount can be removed from underneath, just barely enough room to get to all of the bolts/nuts. Only had to raise the engine an inch or so for clearance. The passenger side is not that easy. I ended up removing the exhaust manifold makes access to the mount much easier.

20190818_152402.jpg

[Jack B]

You are lucky it was the drivers side, if the pass side was broken the same way, the engine would have been through the hood. On the other hand it would have been noticeable immediately.