Motor Mounts

sheri629

While replacing a light on my Grand Am, my son saw the motor actually move when he moved my car to get to it better. When he started to just move the car forward a foot, the motor literally shifted forward & made a clunking noise.

My question is this: Where should I take this to be done? I've had problems with a repair place & would like to know approximately what it would cost (I'm on a low income-so extremely important) & who to trust. Are there specific shops that do this work?

Thank you so much for your help.

vidtech

I've had good luck with well known muffler shops that get into general suspension and engine repairs.I had one break a few years ago,the quote I got was more than I wanted to spend.With a piece of wood and a jack I replaced it myself.Some are very easy to change,mine wasn't.It took me a couple hours and fifty bucks for the motor mount.Most aren't that expensive,mine just happened to be fluid filled so it cost more.

fleetwoodsimca

I think you really need local help, in your area. You might want to find a friend who is fairly knowledgeable on cars and get another opinion or diagnosis. Hopefully, you can get a referral from someone you know concerning where to take the vehicle for repair. In my area, both dealerships and independent shops do work such as replacing motor mounts.

alcan

Good advice from fleetwoodsimca. Just to add, if it's an upper "dogbone" mount between the top front of the engine and the rad support, replacement is a DIY 5 minute job. If your son can change a bulb, he can change an upper mount.

luv_2_xlr8

Hi,

I have a 1996 Grand Am that just died on me yesterday. It looks like a problem might be with the Generator Drive Belt. I have the drive belt for the car but i just need to know how to install it or if there is a web site where i can go to, to get the info.

Please help
Thank You

alcan

The serpentine belt routing should be on a decal under the hood, usually on the rad support. Some GM models require removal of part of the right engine mount to replace the belt.

fleetwoodsimca

Just contemplating your last post. The implication for the vehicle operator is that "emergency" belt replacement on the side of the road is almost nonexistent! It strikes me that such a design is a serious flaw. What do you think?

swschrad

seriously, it's really stupid. belts break. GM has consigned these owners in virtually all cases (who's going to pull a motor mount in a snowstorm, even a top dogbone, hmmm?) to a long tow and a more costly repair. if they have to put a motor mount in on some FWD models, don't get in the way of what is still routine maintenance. somebody got their engineering degree off a matchbook cover and $20, and whoever approved the design got their common sense from under a barstool.

I hope I don't think about this, because then I'll really develop an opinion

alcan

Here's the procedure for a '96 3800 Series II Riviera, right from the manual:

Remove or Disconnect
1. Place a jack with block of wood on it under oil pan to support engine
Important: Make sure the wood block extends past the width of the oil pan to avoid damage
2. Torque axis engine mount where it connects the mount to the engine mounting bracket
3. Electrical connector from crank sensor
4. Engine mounting bracket lower stud, and lower engine to clear frame rail
5. Raise engine and reinstall bolt into torque axis mount. Lower engine to allow spacer to be removed
6. Belt

Install or Connect
1. Belt
2. Spacer. Remove bolt from torque axis bracket and lower engine
3. Electrical connector to crank sensor
4. Mounting bracket stud
5. Raise engine and install torque axis mount bolt

Some other GM's are similar. They don't get changed on the side of the road.

fleetwoodsimca

I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't read it hear!

alcan

And some people think they're being ripped off when they're charged an hour labour to replace a belt. LOL

swschrad

they had to hoist my engine and drop the oil pan to replace a factory-bad oil pressure sender on my V8 exploder, too... no clearance. where do they get these ideas that nothing ever breaks? didn't any of these guys ever split a knuckle, oilsoak a change of clothes, or twist a bolt apart? if not, they should have. should be the final part of the job interview at the engineering center... change a belt, change a plug, figure out how to get a can of cola with your last wrinkled dollar being rejected over and over by the break room machine.

0patience

swschrad,
You ever talk with one of these genious engineers who design these things? LOL!
These guys only know numbers. If the specs say that they can fit a part into a 4" area, they will build the part 3.85" big.
If something else has to be installed over it, then that isn't there concern.

fleetwoodsimca

Years ago, an engineer friend of mine was in denial over how poorly his European automobile was fairing on the roads of Kodiak Island where he and I were working. He just kept repeating, "but it's engineered so beautifully!"

joyrider147

The same problem happened to my sister's car but different make and model. IF YOU CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT REPLACING THE MOTOR MOUNTS, YOU WILL DESTROY THE TRANSMISSION!!!!! IT COST MY SISTER 1400 DOLLARS TO REPLACE THE TRANS ON A CRAPPY CAR AND IT STILL DOESN'T RUN RIGHT!!!

swschrad

in my case, mostly, it was the genius engineers who design the switches of the Internet... or whatever they hired to replace those guys.. and that was 3 sets of staff ago. they can't even support their pencils in most cases now, let alone the switches. "uhhhh, reboot it." uhhh, reboot THIS, pinhead. but I digress.....

joyrider, yeah, if the engine isn't being held in place, bad things happen. it's instructive periodically to leave the hood open and pop the accelerator, and see whether the engine wants to stay under the hood or wants to dance. you can see that much under the crack between the hood and the vent cowl from the drivers' seat. if the latter, get thee to a parts shop pronto.