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motor mount problems

37K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  eunice 
#1 ·
I have a 2002 Malibu that needs motor mounts. I started off by replacing the hydraulic mount on the front right side of the engine. Stopped the engine rocking for about 20 minutes. Then I replaced the mount on the center, next to the radiator. That was an insert (anchor 2875). Again fixed for a short time then same symptoms.
The old front mount was cracked.
Does anyone know which way the arrow (load) points on the front insert mount?
I have a feeling the old one spun.
 
#3 ·
The symptoms are a clunk when going from neutral to drive or neutral to reverse. The engine rocks back and forth. I replaced the hydraulic front right mount first. That slowed down the clunk and smoothed out the roll for a short time. Is it possible that that mount is defective and when it heats up, it looses its dampening effect?
Getting back to the front insert, I have the arrow pointing straight up, thinking the load exerts a downward force. Is this correct?
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the info on the arrow. I redid the job and pointed the arrow down. Still clunks.
I replaced the front mount, the left hydraulic mount. The rear mount looks tough to get out. I might farm that out.
Is it possible there is a trans. problem instead? The engine clunks when going from park to drive, then shifts hard, but doesn't slip when accelerating.
The engine light is on, but has been for years.(Different issue I think)
 
#9 ·
A motor mount R&R that damages the case? Sounds like inept "technicians" to me! 19 hours for a mount? I wonder if you have to pay for the vaseline as well...
 
#11 ·
The engine has to come out before they can get at the mount. They are a dealership and are familiar with this problem so I am asking for any experienced person to comment.
Do you have any experience with this problem, because you didn't list it? I saw a 5 year old reply to someone who asked about this same mount and the guy said to part out the car, so that backs up what the dealer said.
 
#12 ·
Please note: We are owners, not technicians. You may find 1 or 2 techs on here who comment. As such, any comments we make are based on experience with our cars and/or cars in general. That is why my comment showed how incredulous an estimate of 19 hours and possible damage sounds.

Since you're so confident in the dealership's diagnosis and recommendation why don't you just take it in and have them do it and pay through the nose? Or junk the car. Frankly, I don't care.

But I do care about what appears to be a snobbish attitude, and it doesn't matter whether it's from someone with only 4 posts or 4000 posts. If you want input only from technicians then go to a shop. If you'd like our input then post your questions and choose the path that seems best for you. But don't post a reply like the above and expect readers to help you.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have never changed a motor mount in one of these cars, but for someone who does that for a living to be so bad at it that they might brake the transmission is not someone I would take a car to. I can pull a motor in a few hours, so 19 hours to pull a motor change a mount and put the motor back in is ludicrous. That is a dealer that either has lousy techs or a service department that has been told to screw the customers so they buy a new car. At least that is my opinion.
 
#14 · (Edited)
To Driven Daily, no I did not make any snobbish reply. (They claimed that I would be cheated and overcharged, so I just asked them if they had experience with this issue that they were so confident about in their responses.) If you reread it as I did just now you may hopefully agree that it is a natural response to verify the person has experienced this problem.
As far as attitude goes, you can see one of those 2 guys decided to go off topic and throw in some sodomy in his response, so that is a better place for you to be concerned about bad attitude. He is an administrator too.

Speedfreak I wasn't clear enough in my post, but will straighten it out now by saying I didn't mean the dealership will break the engine - they said it was a possibility the beating it was taking from the mount being worn could crack it. I can tell you it is a huge frightening clunk.
 
#15 ·
Good reply.

I stand by my conclusion, though.

I have that problem too, but the dealer said it was a 19 hour job and sometimes it cracks the tranny or motor, I can't remember which, but I don't think they can even tell until they take the engine out. He said to junk it.
I added the bold to the quote above.

You can see that when I read your post the first "it" referred to the 19-hour job so I assumed the second "it" referred to the same since there was no clear change of thought. That is sometimes what happens when writing down thoughts so that is quite understandable. With your clarification it makes more sense but it didn't at the time.

19 hours: That detail tells me that the tech just doesn't want to do it. I would wager that in my gravel driveway, with a shade tree over it, I could yank the engine and trans, service just about every external part on it, and re-install it in that much time or less. I've done only a few FWD vehicles and they're harder than a RWD setup, but with a full garage and powered lift I can't see 19 hours to R&R any engine or trans mount. Sorry, but that's just ludicrous. As for your claim of sodomy I believe you may be referring to my comment about the vaseline. I take it you got the gist of how I felt about what they told you. If you're offended then I apologize.

The engine has to come out before they can get at the mount. They are a dealership and are familiar with this problem so I am asking for any experienced person to comment.
Do you have any experience with this problem, because you didn't list it? I saw a 5 year old reply to someone who asked about this same mount and the guy said to part out the car, so that backs up what the dealer said.
In the post above you asked a direct question and did not state that you asked that of the tech or dealer person so I assumed you were asking the readers. That question seemed snobbish to me when taken with your insistence that "they" know what's needed and you're asking for "any experienced person to comment." The replies you received were from the experience of each reader.

I'll dial back my comment about yours being snobbish now that you've clarified what you meant, but I'm sure that with my explanation you can see how I and others must have understood your comments.
 
#16 ·
I'm not a mechanic but it seems I have to figure the problem out before taking it to someone to fix, so that is why I am here to at least cut out some of the variables in my theory. Dealer will charge $150 just to diagnose it, so I am trying to get around it by doing some diagnostic work on my own.
Here is a summary:
1. When I hit brakes going forward there is a light clunk but not when going backward. That seems consistent with rear trany mount.
2. Over very small bumps or uneven alley at slow speeds there is a lot of loud clunking - that also seems consistent with trany mount if the engine was bouncing up and down against the metal stop and onto the rubber respectively.
3. When I turn hard left into a cul de sac corner there is one quick light clunk, which could be trany mount if the engine flops even slightly to one side.
4. 2 shops told me the front end is tight except very small wear on lower control arms, but well within tolerance, so they thought it was a waste of time to replace them if I was just trying to get rid of noise. They probably forgot to check the clunk that I told them about when the car goes into drive.
5. Putting in drive makes loud clunk 90% of the time, but into reverse does not, so does that sound like the rear trany mount? I know the engine rocks quite a bit when going into drive but can't remember if it is moving forward or back and I am not near it now to check.
Does all that seem probable to be trany mount?
 
#18 ·
Except for the clunk when putting it in D it sounds very similar to the bump-stop on the strut being loose, or the top strut bearing being worn. But that clunk into D suggests one or more mounts.

As above, year and engine as well as location of as many mounts as you can discover. Also whether you have hydraulic or electric power steering. A long time ago there used to be a "dog bone" on the top of the engine that mounted to the top of the radiator support that allowed for a certain amount of engine movement. Modern cars use viscous couplers and/or mini shocks to dampen the movement.

It's also possible that you have more than one issue happening at the same time, such as a CV joint making noise when turning, but that is usually a repeating click that changes frequency with wheel speed.
 
#19 ·
DrunkenE it is a 98 V6.
I am going with DD's comment that clunk into drive means mount, and even if there are other issues they don't seem serious for now, since the shop I took it to said the front end looks very good.
I got wheels last night anyway - My stolen Acura (whose loss was what got me into this mess of buying a 99.9% mint shape car with what is looking like a fatal problem) turned up last night unharmed, so I don't have to hurry for a Malibu fix now. I will check around for a backyard mechanic with a cheaper fixed rate for the job, than the dealer has to fix the Malibu.
 
#20 ·
Wow, that's great news that you got your car back, especially with no harm done!

It's also good that now you have the luxury of time so you don't have to hurry a repair and maybe regret your decision.
 
#21 ·
I called service twice to get info from another dealer last week, but after 2 promises that a tech then his foreman would call back but no call occurred, I gave up. A tranny shop has it on their hoist now. After 1 hour they had the old one out but then they found that the parts store had sent the wrong mount, so it sits there until the right one arrives next week. I assume the new one will go in as fast as the old came out. His 3.5 hour quote plus parts was $580 in Cdn funny money which would be around $450 US.

I need a 215 60R15 tire to replace one of the dry rotted ones on this Malibu. My Malibu is in mint condition with just 50,000 miles. My friend has a pair of 215 65R15 which he says can go on the rear. What do you think of doing this oddly matched front and rear tire setup, or should I just head to the junkyard for one that is 215 60R15?
 
#22 ·
Not a big difference between them, and since you're putting a pair on the same axle I'd do it in a heartbeat.
 
#23 ·
I would not put the 215/65R15 all around, but to get you by until you can put new tires I would put them on the rear only if it was a pair of them. There is a 3.2% difference in height between the 2 tires and that will cause a speedo problem if put on the drive wheels.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
The tranny shop replaced the rear then called that the front was gone so it cost me $700 including the expensive parts. I saw the rear one when it came out and it was badly cracked, but the other was out when I went back to pick it up, so I took a pic with the SN and verified it came from a 98 Malibu to try to make sure he wasn't padding the bill (although he may have a warehouse of broken mounts to scam people like me). The engine doesn't rock anymore or clunk into drive, but it did nothing to stop all the noise problems I mentioned earlier. I know the passenger side mount is ok because we took it out for the belt replacement, and the driver side one is solid rubber so it seems unlikely to go too, but in case it is worn, do you think it could cause the clunking?
To refresh you, this is a 98 Malibu with a 3.1 V6. I htink the key is item

Here is a summary:
1. When I hit brakes hard going forward, even creeping up to a light, there is a light clunk but not when going backward. I wonder if I should have my mechanic check the brakes for something loose.
2. Over very small bumps or on an uneven alley at slow speeds there is a lot of loud clunking - that also seems consistent with trany/motor mount if the engine was bouncing up and down against the metal stop and onto the rubber respectively.
3. When I slowly turn hard left into a cul de sac corner there is one quick light clunk, which could be trany mount if the engine flops even slightly to one side.
4. 2 shops told me the front end is tight except very small wear on lower control arms, but well within tolerance, so they thought it was a waste of time to replace them if I was just trying to get rid of noise.

I meant I think the key will be found in item 1 since it doesn't make the sound when going backwards.
 
#25 ·
Here is an easier question, I hope. I have no idea of the mechanics of installing the mounts, but is there any way they could have done an imperfect job? My friend said a pin locks into place to make it foolproof, so you can't be half pregnant on this one - it is either all in or not going to go together.
i'm grateful to the forum for telling me the dealer was nuts which kept me looking to get someone to do this job instead of junking the car, but before I confront the dealer to explain why I will never be able to go inside their shop, I want to make sure the tranny shop actually did their job.
 
#26 ·
The mounts were rechecked and in fine shape. The problem is the front brakes worn out makes the clunking. Possibly the lower rod as well although they said it could be transferred noise from the brakes. Cdn Tire has Wagner brakes and rotors on sale until Thursday so I am thinking of buying what CTire calls their premium Wagner's which are the same price as OEM this week. Anyone know if that is a good brand?
 
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