A Guide to Engine Mounts
Tom Vondrasek | 10th May 2024 | 3 minutes to read
Engine and transmission mounts are designed to hold engines and gearboxes to the body or chassis of a vehicle. Not only do they mount the engine and transmission securely to the body they are also designed to smooth out engine and transmission vibrations and stop them being transmitted into the body. Most mounts are two pieces of metal with a bonded rubber piece between them. The metal parts have the bolt holes to fix the mount to the engine and body while the rubber acts as an insulator.
They come in all shapes and sizes to suit different vehicles. Hydraulic mounts are filled with fluid to help smooth out vibrations and polyurethane is becoming popular as the insulator material. They are a consumable item and will get worn out and need to be changed.
Picking a Faulty Engine Mount
There are a couple of ways to pick a faulty engine or transmission mount. An increased harshness or vibration in the vehicle when driving can be the sign of a failed or failing mount. This will be very noticeable if you have hydraulic mounts which is a sign that the fluid has drained out of them.
A clunk when engaging or changing gears or accelerating or braking harshly. When the bonded rubber fails it lets the engine or transmission move around causing the clunk.
A visual inspection can help check to see if the rubber is cracked or if it has pieces missing. However, engine mounts can be hard to visually inspect as they are often buried under other components, covered in gunk, or simply difficult to see. Sometimes removing them is the only way to properly inspect them.
There are other methods like using a pry bar to check for excess movement or jacking up the engine or transmission, again to check for excess movement. When using these methods, you need to know what you are doing as you can cause more harm than good. It is very easy to damage other components.
Getting a Replacement
Luckily, because they are a consumable, replacements are readily available for most vehicles. Your local Repco store will be able to help you out. As an example, Kelpro make a good range of engine mounts and have a 2 year or 40,000-kilometre warranty. They are sourced from ISI 9001 and TS accredited factories, so their quality is guaranteed, making them a solid option for replacement parts.
Changing over the Engine or Transmission Mount
This is not straightforward as it will vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle. Some mounts can be accessed easily, where with others you may need to remove a number of engine or body parts to get to them. On a lot of front wheel drives you will need to take the wheels off for access.
Some mounts can be done by lifting the bonnet, most others will need the vehicle to be raised up on a hoist or axle stands to get underneath it. Engine mounts are under pressure or tension as they are holding up the engine or transmission. This needs to be relieved to remove them. Depending on where the mount is, a well-placed jack can be used to support the engine or transmission while the mount is changed over.
As always, if you are inexperience, consult a manual or qualified professional or even a car club member that has done this job before. It can save you a lot of time and heartache if you go and break something you should not have.
