[size=99px]
Tools needed:
½ drive Ratchet
¼ drive Ratchet
3/8 drive Ratchet
Breaker Bar
Torque Wrench
17mm Socket – Try to use a 6 sided instead of 12
14mm Socket – Try to use a 6 sided instead of 12
10mm Socket
Someone to help you
If you DO NOT have a lift: (a lift will be the best way to do this)
3 Ton Jack
4 Jack Stands
a short 2x4 for engine / transmission support
Some extras you will need:
Patience
Bands aids
Strong cursing vocabulary
Time
note: I do not have torque settings to use with the torque wrench
To make this easier do yourself a favor now and prepare to be at the for a while. I ran into several unexpected things while doing this, so please prepare for the inevitable.
I did not necessarily do this in this order but I recommend you do.
Start by removing your air intake, battery and battery box. This will give you a direct view of the rear motor / transmission mount. The battery box is held in by 4, 10mm nuts; 2 are under the battery, 1 is on the drivers side of the box near the front of the engine bay, and the last is in the back of the box on the drivers side near the engine ground.
Optional: (this might make things a little easier and is necessary if you are putting the front inserts in)
Remove the radiator fan and shroud. This is done by 3 10mm bolts. 1 is on the top of fan shroud. 2 are on the drivers side of the car on the side of the shroud. Once these are out and the electrical connectors unplugged and untethered the shroud comes out by pulling straight up. You should now be able to see the front motor mount clearly.
If you have not put the car on jack stands you should do so now. I put the car up on 4 jacks to allow for plenty of room for movement underneath the car. Unfortunately 2000lbs of weight on 4 jack stands on damp ground might cause the car to sink over several hours. I suggest you do this on solid ground (i.e. pavement, concrete or a giant flat rock).
Once the car is up off the ground you can get underneath it to take off the cross members. Start at the front of the car if you are taking off the front motor mount as well. Make sure that you have the jack ready and underneath the car with you. You will need the jack to support the motor and transmission. Put the 2x4 on its side and support the engine and transmission where they meet.
At this point you should be underneath the front of the car. You should see a cross member at runs from the front towards the rear of the car. Look towards the front of that cross member and you will see 2 14mm nuts that are holding in your engine mount. Take them off.
Optional: Front Motor Mount
If you are are taking off the front motor mount do that now.
Get out from underneath the car.
Take out the radiator fan shroud if you have not done so yet.
You should now see the front motor mount. This is held in with a 17mm nut and bolt. You should be able to break them free quite easily using two 17mm sockets and ratchets. Just be careful of radiator.
Once these are free you should be able to pull the engine mount. You might have to wiggle it a little bit.
Put the inserts in. I put some supplied bushing grease on them, but you may not have gotten this depending on the bushing kit you purchased. Replace the motor mount back into position. Make sure the bottom bolts go back into the cross member. This will come in handy later on for re-aligning the cross member. Do not put the 14mm nuts back on yet.
At this point we are going to switch which cross member we are working on. There is another cross member that runs the passenger side to the drivers side of the car in between the suspension A-Arms. This is held on with 4 17mm bolts, 2 per side, and 2 aligning pins. After taking out the bolts you may need to pry down with a large screw driver to pop the cross member free.
Since your underneath the car and near the other motor mount, you can take off the 14 mm nuts holding the rear motor mount in.
Now look at the second cross member. This is held in with 2 17mm bolts (front) and two 17mm nuts (rear). The bolts in the front are going to be easy to take off. With the rear nuts be careful. I busted one off and had to engineer a way to fix it. Make sure you do not loose the rubber isolators that are part of the cross member and possible rusted on to the bolts / nuts.
Once both cross members are down you can focus on the rear motor mount.
The engine and transmission should be supported by the jack and 2x4 at the point that the engine and transmission meet. You may need to move this in order to be able to lift the engine and transmission. If you feel you have to move it do so now. Keep in mind the engine / transmission should only be supported by 2 motor mounts at the point. I moved the jack to underneath the transmission drain bolt. There are two solid pieces dropping down around the drain bolt. I supported the transmission on those.
Go back to the top of the car. You should have removed the battery and battery tray. If not do so now.
You will see the drivers side motor mount. In order to replace the rear mount / inserts quickly you will have to take this off. On the back side of the motor mount loosen the 17mm nut. On the front of the mount there is a bracket that attachs to another bracket. There are 3 17mm nuts with self aligning washers. These need to be removed. You will have to use some force to remove these.
Once the nuts and washers are removed you will need to remove the 17mm nut from the rear. There is balancing / snubber bracket that hangs off the rear of the motor mount bolt. This will come off with the 17mm nut. Do not loose this. Once that is done, lower the transmission / engine and take off the front bracket.
The transmission is now supported by 1 motor mount and the transmission. From this point on you need to be careful and watch you steps.
From underneath the car look at the rear motor mount. There is a bracket that the rear motor mount is in. This is held in with 2 14mm bolts. Follow the contour of the mount to locate the 2 bolts. The bolt heads are on the frame side of the mount (read: hardest possible place).
*NOTE: Please do not do what my father did when helping me. He spent an hour trying to get off the 14mm nuts in order to get the bracket off. These nuts are welded to the bracket and will not budge.
Loosen the 17mm nut that holds the motor mount in the bracket.
On the motor mount bracket the bottom bolt is easier to get out. Drop the transmission slightly to be able to remove the bolt from the mount and not hit the frame.
Once the bottom bolt is out, jack up the transmission to be able to remove the upper bolt. You should be able to access this from the engine bay. Take out the 14mm bolt. Lower the transmission and you should be able to remove the mount and bracket easily.
Replace the motor mount / inserts and reinstall.
You can now put your car back together. Follow the steps in reverse to get the car back together.
Note: Thanks to teamzx2’s tutorial section for the front mount instructions