2004 Nissan Altima Corroded Upper Engine Mount

[chrittykitty]

I just had my 2004 Nissan Altima serviced and the service manager told me that I needed to have my Upper Engine Mount replaced ASAP due to corrosion. He quoted me $320. Is he trying to rip me off or should I really have it replaced soon? He said the corrosion can lead to other surrounding problems in the future.

thanks!

[methodmix]

Originally Posted by chrittykitty

I just had my 2004 Nissan Altima serviced and the service manager told me that I needed to have my Upper Engine Mount replaced ASAP due to corrosion. He quoted me $320. Is he trying to rip me off or should I really have it replaced soon? He said the corrosion can lead to other surrounding problems in the future.

thanks!

Yeah that definitely sounds like a lot of $$. Upper engine mounts are typically pretty easy to get to and so the labor should be maybe 30-45 min at most. The biggest expense you are looking at is probably the part itself. To give you some perspective, I had all 3 of my mounts replaced on my 2000 Altima (4 cylinder) for about $600 out-the-door, which sounds like a lot of money, but this included the upper mount, side-lower mount, and rear-lower mount (the hardest to get to).

Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $150-200 for them to change out the upper mount; again this is highly dependent on the cost of the mount itself. I'm curious as to why corrosion occurred on the mount to begin with, because this is not supposed to happen. Try pouring some coke over the corroded portion and take an old tooth brush and scrub that stuff off. See how it looks afterward, but the bottom line is if you have no abnormal engine vibration at idle speed (when in gear), don't worry about it!

[chrittykitty]

Cool, thanks for the input. I'll try the old coke trick and let ya know how it goes. My car is not very old and didn't expect the parts to get rusty so quickly. My wheels are totally brown and rusty too. Think I'll look into buying a Honda next time...hehe

-christi

[methodmix]

No prob! Do you have any idea why there is so much rust and corrosion on the vehicle? Sounds like it was driven on the beach a lot or something.

[chrittykitty]

Not sure, I figured it was a defect on the wheels. I have only driven 42,000 miles since Dec 2003 when I bought the car. I don't live too close the beach.

[methodmix]

Are you sure the brown color on your wheels isn't just brake dust? The only other phenomenon that I know of that could cause corrosion to your vehicle would be driving on salted roads (in preparation for a snow storm) or if your car sits outside a lot and is potentially exposed to acid rain. But that doesn't explain the corrosion on your motor mount; this sounds like a manufacturer defect unless somehow battery acid or some other acidic substance was in direct contact with your motor mount, and even this is pretty unlikely.

Some more perspective: my Altima lasted more than 8 years and 100K miles in sunny, humid FL weather before needing to get new motor mounts, and there was no rust or corrosion to be found on these mounts. Typically, the first thing to wear out on a mount is the little rubber piece on the inside that is used to flex and absorb all of the shock and vibration caused by the engine. Once this starts to fail, you need to replace the mount ASAP because the excess vibration will cause the remaining mounts to wear out also.

[chrittykitty]

I think it is probably a defect. But what do I know about cars? hehe. I haven't opened the hood to actually see the corroded engine mount yet. I think the guy at the dealership was trying to make an extra buck off of me. He recommended I also pay another $75 to have the in-cabin microfilter changed. I bought one for $15 at Pep Boys and just figured out how to change it on my own. It took me a good half hour instead of 5 minutes but now I can do it without any problems.

I just spent almost $600 dollars for an oil and filter change, inspection and for the mechanic to supposedly fix the electrical problem which caused the service engine soon light to go on. I had to leave my car in the shop for 4 days. Believe me, I won't be going back to that idiot again.

Are you a mechanic or just learned a lot about cars over the years?

[methodmix]

LOL!

That would be a good idea.

Those guys definitely sound like professional idiots who know more about getting money from unsuspecting innocent people like yourself than actually being honest and fixing the problem correctly. That really ticks me off!

But props to you for replacing that in cabin filter! I don't think I've even done that yet.

I'm not actually a mechanic, but I did start out kind of like you did, sort of figuring things out on my own and getting pissed at mechanics who didn't know what the *%#$ they were talking about. Now that you've seen the light, hopefully you can find a more reliable mechanic or even take care of some of the more simple maintenance tasks. Speaking of oil changes, I taught my little sister how to do that a few months back, and she actually enjoyed the experience, which was her first time actually getting her hands dirty on her own car. It's amazing how little do-it-yourself things can not only become fun and rewarding to do on your own, but also saving lots of $$ in the long run!

[chrittykitty]

I think the guys that are the true idiots are the service advisors at the dealerships. They are the true con men...Well especially with girls. They are the guys that make the commission off of you. Who knows what percent.

Being a mechanic would probably pay well. You should consider changing careers.

That's cool that you taught your sister how to change the oil in her car.

I should've taken auto shop in high school...

[methodmix]

Hah, no thanks!

I didn't do 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of grad school to be a mechanic. LOL!

Then again, after all that schooling, I feel even dumber!

No but in all seriousness, I tend to get highly motivated to learn new things out of necessity, not necessarily because it's something I enjoy doing. So as long as I've got two good working hands and a half way decent brain, I'll utilize those God-given assets before going to any mechanic. And that usually pays off in that I typically don't get ripped off because I've already got a good idea how much labor and parts are involved in getting the job done.

Oh by the way, I found a really reliable and honest mechanic through Yelp.com; you should check that out to read customer reviews on all sorts of stuff, including repair shops. Take care!

[chrittykitty]

What a brilliant idea to read reviews about auto shops on yelp.com. I really only thought they had reviews about restaurants! haha. I've used the site to find good sushi bars in Orange County.

I found a place right by my house that got several good reviews. thanks!

[methodmix]

Funny, yeah that's what I originally thought too.

Maybe Yelp should do a better marketing job so people know it's more than just restaurants.

But hey, I'm glad you found a place close by, and hopefully everything goes well. If possible, try to ask the mechanic why he thinks corrosion could have happened in the first place. He probably won't have a straight answer for you, but chances are that it's just surface rust, and if that's the case then it won't likely harm the integrity of the motor mount itself.

By the way, do you notice any strange or abnormal vibration coming from the steering wheel when you are just sitting still at a light? Or any noise or vibration when you accelerate from a dead stop?

[chrittykitty]

hey, no, I haven't noticed any abnormal vibrations or noises yet...My car runs smoothly and quietly. I just got new rear brakes and oil and filter change.

one question I forgot to ask you...what is the difference if any between a front and and upper engine mount?

I will try to take a picture of the rust on the engine mount (if I can locate it...haha) and my wheels to show ya later. thx.

[methodmix]

Based on that, I would safely guess that your motor mounts are structurally sound, but the bigger question is whether the rust on that upper mount is just on the surface or if it has penetrated deeper. A picture would surely help.

I assume you have the 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder engine, right? If this is the case, you have 3 mounts: rear, front center, and front right (passenger) side (source: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/). The rear mount will be the hardest to get to (it's sandwiched between your engine and firewall). The front center mount should be just in front of your radiator (go here for a picture: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/im...616238OES.JPG). On my car (2000 Altima), the front right side mount is my "upper" mount, but it could be different in your car. The picture should be similar for both front mounts. The important thing to visualize is the circular rubber piece in the center of the steel housing of the mount.

[chrittykitty]

Yes, I do have a 2.5 Liter, 4 cylinder engine. Thanks for the info about the engine mount. I'll let ya know if I can find it under my hood if it's visible without my car being worked on.