Motor Mount

[JPerfect]

Not 10 minutes ago, I was driving home, and i made a right turn to leave a parking lot. I got on it a little, but nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden I feel this god awful Rumbling. Car is shifting fine, driving fine, but this rumbling is insane... Vibrating even. So i come to a stop and i notice my shifter is out of whack. Neutral is supposed to be straight up, but it's more like up and to the right, and i can't hit 5th gear, not that I attempted to while moving. I drove 2 blocks home, and I called my dad out. Upon closer inspection, I pop the hood and notice my engine is slightly crooked. I busted the Passenger Side Motor Mount. I'm guessing the vibrating is from the whole drivetrain being out of alignment. Any suggestions on how to fix or how much it's going to cost me?

Thanks. Jeff.

:no:

[JPerfect]

well i did some research, didn't seem difficult and i bought a motor mount... i went to put it in, and i decided to check the other mount.

the drivers side motor mount was fine, but the metal bracket holding it to the block was in two pieces.... now THAT SUCKS ASS, and i am now in the process of taking some stuff apart and i will be taking another trip over to good ol' bmw to get 2 more pieces for a hundred bucks a pop later today.

[JPerfect]

Viola! Bimmer is fixed!

It took a long time, and it was a pain in the ass.

The engine was actually just sitting on the cross member, i guess designed to hold it up if something like this ever happened... but it was crooked as hell.

I had to jack the engine up, put it on a jackstand, and jack up both sides of the engine individually to try and straighten it out. Then i spent 250 at the dealership (with bmwcca discount) for 2 engine mounts and a drivers side engine mount bracket, which broke clear in two.

After removing the alternator, some other brackets and such, I finally got the new bracket on, and bolted it all in. Then me and my father pushed, pulled, and yanked the engine until it was somewhat straight while we tried putting on the drivers side mount. That eventually all fell into place and we bolted it down. The passenger side one went on, and we had to start putting everything together.

It looked like the mount bracket broke a month or so ago, because it had score marks and it was all dented and messed up. Thank god it fell apart when I was only 3 blocks away, and not like down the shore or anything.

I suggest you all check your brackets and engine mounts. IT SUCKS WHEN YOU HAVE TO MANEUVER A LOOSE ENGINE WITH EVERYTHING ATTACHED.

Long story short...

MISSION SUCCESS

I'll post a pic of the damages and the new parts... its 2am now though, and i have work in the morn.

Cyas.

Jeff

[cali-ti]

congrats on the (unpleasant but successful) fix! guess i'll have to check/inspect mine next time i'm under there. never heard of anyone on here having broken a motor mount before.

[hotdog19d]

I'd like to see pics. I need to replace mine to.

[JPerfect]

Sorry i've been out of town, up in boston. I'll post a few pics tonight.

I'd say, it is easy to replace the motor mounts by themselves, all you really need to do is jack up the engine and wiggle the old one out and the new one in... but when the engine is sitting on the undercarriage of the engine bay... loose, it is hard to maneuver it to the right spot since it sits crooked, and there are not many places to jack it up from besides underneath the oil pan. If you jack it up, make sure you put a block of wood between the jack and the oil pan, you don't want to score, or worse yet, make a hole in the oil pan.

For anyone who has been noticing some sort of vibrations when accelerating, revving, or sharp turns... for gods sake check your mounts and the brackets they are attached to before it is too late.

It would also be easy to replace the bracket that the passenger side mount is attached to... since it stands alone. The drivers side bracket is a pain because it's attached to the intake manifold, behind the alternator, in a place where most tools and adult hands can't reach. But it's doable. I drove my Ti to boston and back, and it is riding smoother than ever.

[cali-ti]

Sorry i've been out of town, up in boston. I'll post a few pics tonight.

I'd say, it is easy to replace the motor mounts by themselves, all you really need to do is jack up the engine and wiggle the old one out and the new one in... but when the engine is sitting on the undercarriage of the engine bay... loose, it is hard to maneuver it to the right spot since it sits crooked, and there are not many places to jack it up from besides underneath the oil pan. If you jack it up, make sure you put a block of wood between the jack and the oil pan, you don't want to score, or worse yet, make a hole in the oil pan.

For anyone who has been noticing some sort of vibrations when accelerating, revving, or sharp turns... for gods sake check your mounts and the brackets they are attached to before it is too late.

It would also be easy to replace the bracket that the passenger side mount is attached to... since it stands alone. The drivers side bracket is a pain because it's attached to the intake manifold, behind the alternator, in a place where most tools and adult hands can't reach. But it's doable. I drove my Ti to boston and back, and it is riding smoother than ever.
can you post any pics? i may need to do this soon (before they break).

so you jacked it up via the oil pan? i'm not sure i want to do that, but i also am not sure how else to do it. do you remove the control arms or anything before removing the mounts to gain access to the lower attaching nut? did you replace both the brackets and the mounts? did you use stock parts to replace?

[JPerfect]

Wow i totally forgot to post pics! I have them, I just have to find them.

Unless you have an engine hoist, you'll more than likely need to jack up the engine by the oilpan. A jack or jackstand alone will do damage to it, metal on metal, but I cushioned the oilpan with a couple of 2x4's and everything worked out fine. Removal and installation of the motor mounts is a real pain in the ass, and you will need to discover your contortionist abilities while taking on the task. You will also need at least 2 1/2 feet of extensions for your socket wrench, and someone to hold it while you wrestle with the underside of the vehicle. To jack up the vehicle itself I just used ramps.

I did not remove control arms or anything, though I think it would have made things a bit easier if I did. The only things I had to remove were the alternator and a mounting bracket. I had to remove the alternator because the mounting bracket underneath it was severed. I think I explained that in the above.

How do you know your engine mounts are going to break? (that's just out of curiosity)

I'll try and put up the pics tonight or tomorrow, though they are mostly of the parts and not the actual process. The process itself looks exactly how it sounds. I'll do an official writeup when I grab the pics.

Jeff

[andy]

I broke mine as well, autocrossing at bumpy 3com park in SF. I actually finished most of a track day with them just barely held in. I just replaced them with M3 units, figured that'd hold an engine that's 80 lbs lighter.

Also, if you've torqued the engine all around with broken mounts, check the transmission mounts, they're the next thing up the chain that can break. I initially replaced my tranny mounts with 2 1977 320i transmission mounts; they held fine for a lot of racing. And they're like $7 each from the dealer.

[AlaskaBlue]

So then the 6 cylinder solid motor and tranny mounts they sell from TMS would work then? If so that rocks!

[cali-ti]

I broke mine as well, autocrossing at bumpy 3com park in SF. I actually finished most of a track day with them just barely held in. I just replaced them with M3 units, figured that'd hold an engine that's 80 lbs lighter.

Also, if you've torqued the engine all around with broken mounts, check the transmission mounts, they're the next thing up the chain that can break. I initially replaced my tranny mounts with 2 1977 320i transmission mounts; they held fine for a lot of racing. And they're like $7 each from the dealer.
did you jack yours up by the oil pan as well to replace the motor mounts? if not, what did you do?

the UUC reds with TMEs and IE poly bushings have arrived so those will be what i install. we'll see how much vibration and such i get :)

JPerfect, any pics yet? i don't know my engine mounts are going to break, but i figured i might as well replace them before they do (i'm in there anyway and my car has 212k on it).

[cali-ti]

in the end, i got UUC's red poly motor mounts (due to them being more stock like in their design). i finally have my car operational again with these installed and here's my recommendation ...

DO NOT INSTALL POLY (OR METAL) MOTOR MOUNTS UNLESS IT'S A TRACK-ONLY CAR!

these things are obnoxious ... the whole cabin reverberates and things that have never buzzed or rattled before DO NOW! i'll be ordering some stock motor mounts (perhaps M3 ones) and possibly even UUC black trans mounts. i'll save the UUC red motor and trans mounts for the track car i don't even have yet, lol

[stormos]

let the wife drive the car, i'm sure she'll love it.....

[cali-ti]

the whole things shudders badly at low revs under load ... the first time, she was like "whoah" ... after a few drinks (and me revving higher when engaging the clutch in first gear), she was like, "it's not too bad, you don't have to change them [the motor mounts] out." LOL

they're getting changed ... because I don't like 'em! they'll be fine in the track car though (should be fun trips to the track in that with a stripped interior, poly or solid metal mounts everywhere, lol