I've done it before on other cars, Wood block spread out under the oil pan or under the crankshaft damper to lift the engine up off the mounts with a floor jack so I can change them.

On these cars, any tips/advice? I am expecting to do the same thing.

 

Oh boy are you about to run into the infinite sadness .....

You see , the bolts that hold the mounts in do not go into nuts that are attached to the frame , the nuts will spin free till you get a wrench of some sort on them . Problem being , when it was being built the engine mounts went in before the lower control arms did . See where this is going ? Some have reported success without removing the lower arms but it's a REAL PIA from all accounts . When I did mine I carefully put a couple of small tack welds to hold the nuts to the frame so I could take out the bolts without having to take out or wrestle around the lower arms .

i wish you much luck here ....

 

Nah, it's easy. The hard part is getting the washers to stay on top of the nuts up in the crossmember. First set I changed, the control arms were still installed, along with the springs, brakes, etc. Like everything else it's just a matter of patience and tools.

 

just chain down the drivers side of the block, problem solved.

but if you must change them, i suggest tying a small string to your wrench just in case you drop it inside the k-member. that way you can get it back out easy enough.

 

Great tips for sure.

I thought I could remove the long horizontal bolt and lift engine up away from the mount.

 

Lifting the motor is the eeeeeeeeeeeezy part.

THEN the real fun begins.

The part of the mount that has to be changed, is the piece bolted to the K-member. Each is held on by 3 bolts w/ nuts & washers on the inside of the K. The Fun is dealing with the nuts & washers.

Lift the motor from above. The less obstructions you have down below, the better.

 

Too bad GM didn't decide to fasten the engine mounts to the frame as shown in the attachment. Might have made the job a little easier.

But would the mounts clear the studs or hit the lifted engine first?

 

That would have been great. At least the nuts wouldn't have spun. And after the the last nut was removed, the assembly could be pushed down for clearance if needed.

I am now studying factory crossmembers. I can see how removing the control arms make it way easier, plus I can get some new bushings in there.

However, I am thinking about cutting two access slots on each side on the front face of the crossmember which would allow me to get a wrench in there to access the bolts. What do you think? Red circles.

 

it's been a while, but thought there already was some small slots in the back side of the k-member? might be worth a look?

 

Unfortunately, there is nothing. I can get to the lower bolts easy. Thinking about removing horizontal and lower single bolt, lifting engine then prying clamshell open, slide rubber out, slide new rubber in. Maybe good. Not sure if there's enough room.

 

What? It doesn't work that way. The OE mounts have the clamshell welded or riveted around the rubber insert. To get them off, requires drilling and or grinding. Further, unless you remove all the bolts you're not getting the rubber out without destroying the shell.

Some people seem overly determined to come up with the most labor intensive work around possible to save a minor inconvenience. Look, it's EASY. You just need basic tools, and patience. There is plenty of room to get at the nuts through the existing A-arm openings. A 3/8" ball swivel joint makes it easy to get the top nuts. Support the car under the frame, and let the A-arms hang, plenty of room. Don't need to cut holes, or pry anything, can do it with the A-arms, springs, brakes, etc all assembled.

 

This alone has gotten me out of tough spots countless times. Keeping your temper in check helps too.

 

What Drew said. In spades.

Sure, it's Great Fun to have to do that job; but like just about everything else in life, if you just make up your mind you're going to get it done and then meet it head-on, and keep working at it until it's complete, it's not all that bad. You will spend more time and effort trying get out of doing the work you have to do, and in the end, you'll STILL have to do the work; all the rest of that will turn out to be A WASTE.

I did mine once with the control arms still in place and the engine lifted a few inches with a cherry-picker. Only took about 2 - 3 hours a side if memory serves.

Just do it.

 

This is basically what I did. Remove the horizontal bolts so you can lift the engine. You should be able to snake a wrench into the k-member and hold the nuts still. It's much easier if you have someone else to turn the bolts but doable by yourself. Make sure to tie some string on the wrench as mentioned. Saved me some headache as several times the wrench fell in the k-member.

When you get ready to put them back in you can take some tape and use it on the closed end of the wrench to keep the nut in there until you get it threaded on the bolt. Good luck to you!

There is much cussing and dirt in your eyes in your future I'm afraid but just stuck with it.

 

To second what the other guys have said the clamshell will not come apart. When you go buy a new mount it's a whole new assembly. No way around that. Just set your mind to it and you'll get it done. Just be patient.

 

The Shop Manual Makes It Sound So Easy

 

I still say that if you have any welding skills whatsoever , it took me all of 5 minutes to bend my welding rod to the right angle to fit in there , a couple of quick tack welds on each nut to hold them in place , and then about 15 minutes each to actually change out the mount . The whole job took me less than an hour from start to finish , the first time I did it (my 87 TA that the engine was installed in) so when I did it to my 89 bird (that the engine was removed for regasketing anyway) it took me even less time .

I know , the couple of small tack welds will make the purists shudder , but really , you can't see em from the street and it's not like a huge hole has been hacked in it to change out a fuelpump

 

tack welding the nuts on is a great idea.

i've cut the bolts off with a zip-wheel and stitch welded the mounts in a few times. it's almost easier to cut a few stitch welds off than fart around with those through bolts.

personally, i've always chained motors down on the drivers side, (torque side, in forward gears). no broken mounts to worry about.

 

Tack welding is a good idea. I'm envisioning some long but bendable tabs. Might even be able to work it without lowering the A-Arm. bend the tab, stick it in, line up bolt, and bam, your in.

That being said, I saw a video where the guy used an inside spring compressor and dropped the control arm at that spot. looked easy.

 

I seriously can't believe this thread is still going.





I'll say it again, it's EASY. If you cant get at the nuts through the existing ginormous holes, you probably shouldn't be working on a car.

 

Just finished both motor mounts. I ended up dropping the control arm pivot bolts. It was easy once I got the spring compressor figured out.

The first was slow going and a PITA. The second was much smoother. I thought I would try without lowering the control arm but there's just too much stuff in the way in a functioning car (sway bar, bump stops, steering rods, cooling lines, jack to lift the motor, etc).

Lowering the control arms added about 40 minutes (20 minutes off, 20 on) each side but made the job way easier.

pass-thru wrench set was again, invaluable.