[VirginJeeper]

So i failed VA safety inspection today. Apparently the motor mount on the drivers side is bad. I am planning to replace it myself as they want $500 to do it! So i did a search and found great info and went down to the jeep to take a look to size things up. Can somebody chime in for advice on getting these out?
The passenger side looks as though the bolt will git the alternator and the drivers side looks like a bear as for all the things in the way I will have to move. I'm feeling pretty confident in my ability to tackle this but I'm worried that I'll run into an "uh-oh" and get stuck with a motor sitting on a floor jack and block of wood. Thanks as always for any advice.

 

[moonshinefuel]

500 dollars! Geezus..
Support the engine from underneath, two bolts, one topside, one under, and the long bolt through the mount. That one went out on me twice. Just good solid support underneath, that's your main concern, and hammer that biotch in. (with wrenches), and sockets

 

[VirginJeeper]

How do you guys get that long bolt out on the passenger side? If you push it forward it will hit the alternator and wont come out. Did you remove the entire bracket from the engine block?
I think the shop (you have to go to an inspector at a mechanics shop in VA) is a friggin rip off and over charge you because they know you HAVE to get it done to pass. You should of seen his face when I told him to get stuffed I'll do it myself!

 

[moonshinefuel]

If it were me, and there is no problem with the passengers side mount, leave it in there. That side has never given me a problem. And don't take both mounts out at once, do one side at a time, and if you need to get that bolt out of the passengers side mount, then remove whatever you have to that's in your way.

 

[VirginJeeper]

Yeah to get it inspected I could do that but I'm the type to just donut all the same time. I'm looking at quadratec's engine and trans mount kit. Any input? Stock 95 no lift no intention to lift.

 

[sprngrider]

I ordered that kit when my trans mount shredded. It is a good replacement for the stock parts. Btw, my drivers side mount failed, but the passenger side never has and looks perfect.

 

[jode]

I just replaced both of mine this past week. They were both bad. The driver's side rubber had let go and on the passenger side, the outside bolt had stripped out of the frame and so the upper part of the motor mount was able to lift up to the point that the metal plate on the bottom part of the motor mount cracked in half.
For me, the driver's side was super easy because all this work happened to coincide with me replacing my head gasket so I had the PS pump, intake, exhaust, etc all disassembled. Access was no problem.
It was, nevertheless, a biotch of a job. The bolts were on there SUPER tight. I had to use a breaker bar to get them loose and even with the breaker bar I really had to put my back into it. In your case, without removing all the parts I did, maneuvering a breaker bar around in there is going to be tough.
My advice would be to get some PB Blaster on all three bolts on both mounts as soon as possible. Then, as mentioned above, do only one side at a time. I have no lift, so I was able to use the stock jack in combination with a block of 2X4 wood (to cushion the oil pan) to support the engine and to adjust the height of the engine to get everything to line up to get all the bolts back in.
To take care of the stripped out passenger side bolt hole, I just bought a nut for the back side of the bolt. It was quite difficult to get the bolt started way up inside the frame like that, but we eventually got it started and I was able to slide a wrench in to hold the nut while my buddy tightened the bolt from the topside.
For me, there was no need to move the alternator at all to access the passenger side mount - it was no problem. However, if moving the alternator is the worst of your problems, I'd say you are in pretty good shape - that's a pretty easy job.

 

[VirginJeeper]

Wow thanks guys. It seems there has been a chain of events occurring in my jeep, a strange rattle from the rear, random trouble getting the shifter in gear, and an exhaust leak the inspector said could be anywhere in the system. Could it be that a failed engine mount could start this chain reaction? I'll be replacing it this weekend so I'll take some pictures and report in. Thanks for the advice and reassurance.

 

[TA-YJ]

It could be. Depending on how bad your motor/trans mounts are it could have been thrashing around in there. When I replaced mine the rubber was completely torn on one and tearing on the other. The trans mount was pretty trashed too. Its not hard to replace. An afternoon with a couple of sockets and a jack and youre good to go.

 

[89WhyJ]

$500??? Stinking Northern Virginia (I'm in Stafford by the way).

I replaced both of mine about two years ago. It was actually the first repair I made to my Jeep after I got it. All I needed was a set of sockets, cheater bar, wobble for the sockets, a floor jack, and pry bar...oh and a lot of PB Blaster. The passenger side is pretty easy. Like it was stated before, just do one side at a time and don't jack the engine up too high, just enough to take the pressure off the mounts. The wobble for the socket extension was necessary for the driver side mount. I found that the hardest part was getting the holes to line up for the cross bolt. I've got a set of pry bars, and one of them is round and tapers to a point. I jammed that in the cross bolt hole and was able to move everything around to line up the holes. That made things so much easier.

 

[TA-YJ]

Oh I forgot to mention, if you do this DONT FORGET TO LOOSEN YOUR TRANS MOUNT. If you dont it will not only make it a ***** to move the engine, but it will also probably destroy your mount.

 

[VirginJeeper]

My plan is to replace all the mounts at the same time as it seems like a good idea. There is a kit from quadratec that has both engine and trans mounts and a torq bolt. What is the significance of this bolt? Should I plan on reaching the existing bolts on all the mounts as well? Also what are you guys torquing the bolts to?

 

[89WhyJ]

Here's all you need to know about replacing the trans mount:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/transmission-mount-replacement-903109/

 

[VirginJeeper]

Thanks. I'm looking for the torque for these bolts and didn't see that info. Any ideas in torque spec for engine mounts and trans mounts? Is this something a fsm would have?

 

[89WhyJ]

I think that info is in the Haynes manual. I'll look when I get home.

 

[jmmorgan82]

I have always torqued to "guddentight" specifications with motor/tranny mounts and have never had any issues.

 

[89WhyJ]

Haynes manual says to "secure them tightly". So, just snug 'em real good and maybe use some thread lock. All I did when I replaced mine was get 'em good and tight.

 

[VirginJeeper]

I love it. Something that is made of rubber has no specific torque spec. Thanks again its my holiday project.

 

[VirginJeeper]

So that was a real treat!!!! Driver side mount was shot, passenger ok, when I went to put in the driver mount it wouldn't fit between the engine bracket. I also broke those bloody skid plate bolts and had the jeep on stands for two days while I searched the forum for help. Nutserts are crap and should never have been used what are you guys doing to fix these? Cutting and re welding the frame? I saw a good write up on re-doing the nutserts but couldn't find them in the right size. Thoughts?