X03

where is a good place to buy motor mounts? any particular brand/site?

GEDaggett

You can try the following but your local parts shops like pepboys, autozone etc. will have them fo a decent price when factor in shipping.

Rockauto.com
autohausaz.com

X03

is there any way to check if the engine mounts are going bad? or do I just need to change them and see if there is any difference?

GEDaggett

They are kinda hard to get a look at because all th erubber is cased and internal. If they havn't been replaced and your car is over 100grand miles then it is most likely that the passenger side mount is cooked from sitting just below the exaust manifold. usually it goes first. Best to just replace them cause if you are going to keep the car you will have to do it eventually anyway.

appatula

I remember people with bad motor mounts report a noticeable "shake" inside the vehicle from the engine rocking under idle.

X03

yeah thats pretty much what I'm experiencing.. It only happens if the car idle's in drive. In park or neutral it doesn't shake at all...

X03

this is probably a stupid question, but is there only 1 motor mount on our car or one for each side? I bought one on rockauto and they only sent 1 when I thought it would have been in a pair if our car needed 2. Do I need to order 1 more for the other side as well?

appatula

Yep, you need two. If you take a look underneath the car you will see that there are mounts on each side. Let us know how everything works out!

tazz5150

x03,

My car is running high in mileage, and i was thinking of the same question too. I have a '95 e320 and it has over 170k. It's not shaking at all, but i'm while i was changing my brake pads this last weekend, I was thinking of changing my motor mountings.

If you can, can you put into detail of how you've done it? I'd greatly appreciate it, and Good luck!

GEDaggett

Sometimes you can get away with replacing just the driverside as it goes out alot more quickly because it sits directly below the exhaust manifold (like 2-3 inches below). However, that would be like only replacing one plug wire because only one was arcing. If your under there do them both. Sounds like you got the better quality mount from Rock. They sell a set and then individual. The individually sold ones are a bit better quality and the price reflects it.

optimizer

i'd go with switching out both if you're going to do it. just seems like if you switch out just the passenger side one then the motor would still sit crooked. just my 2 cents and what i did as well!

X03

Yeah I wouldn't want to only change one side for exactly the reason you said. And I was actually going for the cheaper one! lol I just didn't notice that it was sold individually instead of as a pair. I ordered a 2nd one and will take it to a shop as soon as I get it... hopefully I'll be able to see something when they change it out, but we'll see...

GEDaggett

I'd be willing to bet a Happy Meal (all rights reserved) that you will notice a big difference. The maniflold really cooks those things and they are a hydraulic mount so the heat just kills it. My 94 actually has an vent tube that pulls air from the front of the car to cool the motor mount down.

X03

Anybody know a good mechanic either in Walnut/Diamond Bar or Ontario that can install these on the cheap?

optimizer

I just had my motor mounts replaced and my car is back to having that new feeling. Seriously, it made a world of a difference. Now a new OVP and that should be it for a while.

X03

so quick update for me too - dayumm! new motor mounts made a world of difference. when i stop the car in drive, I dont feel any kind of shaking or vibrations from the engine. its like driving a hybrid that turns off when you come to a stop, I almost thought the engine died when i first came to a stop! Then again my car was shaking pretty bad since the mounts were shot, so this was a huuuge difference

GEDaggett

Good to hear it cleared it up for you.

rivcal4life

Congrats Melvin. Ive been using rockauto since I got my car and Ive yet to find a website with cheaper prices.

How much did it cost you in labor? Im guessing less than an hour?

X03

Yeap thanks. I called a couple of different places and some were quoting me a ridiculous price of $300 in labor best place i found was $60 a side so I paid 120 + parts comes out to about 200 for parts and labor. I'd say it took about 1.5 hours or so...

rivcal4life

Hmm, thats odd that theyd charge you $60 per side instead of maybe $60 for the first side and maybe $30 or something for the second. Still though, not a bad deal. I can wait to get mind done. Ever get any lowering springs man?

X03

Yeah I did, its not slammed or anything though. I'll have to post up some pics since there have been a few changes lately. As soon as I get a good wash you'll see...