The lower trans mount on my car has been giving me issues for a while now. I had an issue where if I would slow down or speed up, the car seemed to have excessive torque steer. My car has 140,000 miles on it, and when I took a peek at my trans mount, it looked all weather checked and cracked up. Here is a short writeup on how to get the old lower trans mount out and the new one in. I didn't have a camera at the time so I was not able to get pictures as I went, you will have to visualize.
1) Jack up the vehicle, (I usually use the front crossemember on the subframe), then place jackstands at the pinch welds towards the front of the car, and chock the rear wheels to keep them from rolling. Then lower the jack and let the car rest on the jackstands.
2) Remove the drivers side wheel. (although probably not 100% necessicary, it makes it easier to get your hands in there.
3) Use a phillips screwdriver, or pliers, or flathead screwdriver, or whatever you need to use to get those two push on clips that secure the plastic guard to the inner fender. Remove the guard and this will expose the trans mount.
4) Here you can remove the nuts that secure the trans to the trans mount and the trans mount to the subframe. The nuts (if I remember right) were 15mm. I was able to get a 3/8 ratchet with shallow 15mm socket in there for a couple of them (I think it was the bottom two). The other ones I broke loose with a 15mm box end wrench and finished removing them with a ratcheting wrench (gearwrench ones from Sears I got for Christmas
). Take all the nuts completly out.
5) Next you will want to undo the upper dog bone mounts, both of them. Take the bolts out.
6) This is where you need to be carefull not to damage your oil pan. They are easy to dent. Mine was already a little messed up from hitting a chunk of Ice last winter so I was a little worried that doing this might continue to dent it in, but I was ok. What you will want to do is take your floor jack, place a short chunk of 2x4 or 4x4 whatever you have on it, and slowly jack upwards on your oil pan. If done right, your motor mount will hold the motor on the passenger side, and you will lift the driverside upwards in order to get the trans mount out. Don't overdo it, if it is not going up with light pressure. Stop and see what is wrong, reposition the jack and wood.
7) Once your motor is lifted high enough, slip the trans mount out. Pay attention to which direction is up. Then slip your new one in.
8) Assemble in reverse order and you are all done.
I did mine while my oil was draining for an oil change after work one night. So far so good. Handeling seems better, and I havn't felt a clunk I had been trying to figure out since I replaced my trans mount.
I went with a solid rubber trans mount I got at Napa for around $40.00 after tax. Napa Part Number 622-1242.
Here are the links to ZZP poly and solid rubber mounts.
ZZP Solid Poly Trans Mount $89.99
ZZP Solid Rubber Trans Mount $49.99
Here is what my old hydraulic mount looked like when it came out. All cracked and weather checked. Even seems the rod that runs through the center may have been coming apart.
Good Luck!!!!
Anyone want to give the ZZP Upper Motor mount stiffening free mod along with this mod a try and let us know how they go?
ZZP Upper Motor Mount Stiffening Free Mod