I'm considering buying a 1993 Camry that has rusted motor mounts. Dealer quotes $175 per mount (there are four) plus labor for a total of around $2,000.

Is this realistic? Any aftermarket sources for these mounts? Is it really that much money?

Thanks,

Barry

NO, don't spend that kind of money for motor mounts. I had a couple of mine replaced on my 92 Camry and they were FAR CHEAPER than what you've been quoted. I had them replaced at Discount Tire Co. so there are in fact after market sources for the mounts. I just wish I had the repair bill with me now so I could give you an exact price.

Rusted motor mounts??? The torque mount (at the top of the engine bay) should be painted over, and only cracked if its worn.

The front mount (visible when you look down at the headers) has a rubber pad that covers the whole mount top, and there is a splash guard attached to the frame right in front of it that prevents it from getting wet, so if that mount is rusted, the owner either drove the car in the rain with no hood, meaning it could be a water damaged car, or he removed the splash guard, which means that frame could be rusted as well.

$46 for the torque mount (looks like a bone), $90 for the front/hydraulic mount at your local toyota dealer. You can sometimes find the front mount on ebay for $70 Buy It now (but with shipping it ends up being the same $90, if not more, and this is coming from a guy with his own ebay store).

If you do the repair yourself, its a 2-3 hour job, but make sure you have a torque wrench that can handle more than 70 PSI because its going to be a b*tch to tighten that front mount enough to not vibrate on the highway, and you can't socket wrench it.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I am finding prices for four mounts:
Here's a link from an EBay Camry mount:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...;category=50454

Here's the dealer prices:

$159.13 ("insulator")
$74.36 ("insulator")
$177.93 ("insulator")
$48.67 ("Rod, eng. moving")

I'm not sure how to compare apples to apples...

The aftermarket sites seem to have have them for around $175 also.

Barry

The car sounds unusual...it could be a flood survivor. They get bought up and sent all over the country. Buyer beware future problems may lurk.

Carfax confirms the previous owners service records that it is a one-owner car. Just wondering about getting best prices for the mounts.

Thanks

just being real, the only place you would be able to get those mounts for cheap would be ebay. I say that because the Toyota dealers sell them on there. Anywhere else, they would be aftermarket mounts not made by Toyota suppliers, and for something like that, I would only buy aftermarket IF they were designed for racing or you had a custom job goin on (3sgte swap, for example) just because its a warranty thing...even if you install the mounts yourself, Toyota warranties the part when its bought directly from a dealer, be it dealer website, dealer parts counter, or dealer's ebay store

It sounds really silly that the top mount is rusted. Also the mechanic that quoted you "about $2000" is criminal and should be institutionalized.

unless all the paint on it is stripped and there was a hole in the hood or the car was driven with the hood off, or someone cleaned under the hood with a hose, there is no way that the top mount could rust. If they are rusted, there's probably water damage inside the engine (ie. flooding)