Recently I had to pull the ol' t5 and have 4th gear repaired. When I re-installed the trans I decided at 183k miles to also replace the original dried up and cracked trans mount. I first went to Oriellys (closest to me) and they only options were a rubber one made by Anchor and a Energy Suspension Poly mount. I'm a fan of rubber mounts so I asked for the Anchor. When they brought it to the counter I inspected it and was less than impressed. It was hollow (and made in Korea) vs the original which is a solid piece of rubber. I told the guy "That will NEVER hold up".

I checked several other parts stores in town and they all sold the same mount. Some sold the part under their own name but it was still the thin, hollow Anchor brand mount. So i went back to Oriellys and bought the Poly mount. The poly mount being so hard made a vibration I never had before and I couldn't stand it. So I caved and bought the $6 Anchor rubber mount, installed it, and the vibration was gone.

Today (maybe 500 miles and 1 autoX event later) I was taking the long way home due to roads closed by flooding, the sun was shining, and I decided to have a little fun. At a couple of the stop signs on them back country highways I decided to do some burnouts. Just a couple small ones through first gear, nothing to crazy and that was all it took. After the second one I noticed the shifter was REALLY moving whenever I would accelerate and I knew right then what it was.

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This happened behind a little 305tbi! Can you imagine how it would hold up under a TPI? Especially a 5.7TPI!(I understand t5 and A4's use same mount). Couldn't even survive 2 little burnouts.

[IMG][/IMG]

So I put the original old one back in. It only has to last until through the summer then this drivetrain will be pulled for an LS1/T56.

Are there any other options out there? Junk Anchor or vibrating poly is my only choices?

 

I hope to hear the answer to this as well. I stripped 3 t-5 cars, 2 had a solid mount, one cracked one good, one had a hollow and it was torn completely.

 

GM 1LE or any 350 auto mount. The GM 1LEs have a blue stud.
Something about the mount is a lil better but with any kind of power, pop they go.

 

I looked at several stores websites and I see that the 5.7 auto mount is slightly different but appears to be the hollow Anchor junk I'm trying to avoid. I also didn't see any options for a 1LE mount. Searched and everything comes up "discontinued" for the 1LE mount. I also looked up a LS tranny mount. Looks like it may fit (I'd compare side by side at the store with both mounts in hand), is a solid piece of rubber, still made by Anchor, but is $73!!!! I'll check the GM dealer on Monday but I doubt they will have any for something this old.

TTOP350, could you please post a link or two to the parts you mentioned? Thank you in advance.

 

I don't have a link 4 the 1LE/hd mount. That's just a guide to use when junkyard hoping and buying from GM old stock.

Stay away from the cheap stuff, buy the good one and be done, not sure anchor is the way to go at all. I looked on rock auto.com and the anchor is 2.50$. So you know that's a good product right there. They have 2 other brands the highest costs 3.86$ doubt those last either.
Try to find a GM mount from a 350 auto car. They last the longest and I think you are correct about the LS mount fitting.

 

Yup, I break the same mount all the time behind my little 2.8/700r4.

 

Move the torque arm mount to the crossmember. Problem solved.

 

this will stop the trans mount between the trans and crossmember from breaking?

I just can't believe my only options are
1. vibrating poly
2. junk Anchor
3. reinventing the wheel to replace my stock 22year old 183,000 mile mount which isn't broke. Yes, moving the torque arm to the crossmember is a good idea and on my to do list but we SHOULD NOT have to do this just to replace the stock trans mount.

And I can't see how finding a 22year or older mount from a 1LE or 5.7 in a junkyard is any better than the dry rotted one I have. I did mention if you read my original post that I tried to stay away from the cheap mount but that is the problem. I can't find another option. Anchor and Poly are still the only options.

I appreciate your guys help but 22 year old junkyard parts and crossmember mounted torque arms are not a reasonable repair for a trans mount. The purpose of this thread is to help myself and others in this situation find other, better options for replacing our 22+ year old trans mounts. This site has hundreds to thousands of threads encouraging people to replace the rubber mounts and bushings and what materials are best and what the ups and downs are to the different materials and what uses (drag, autoX, street) they work best in. Lets try to find a good and reasonable option for our cars cause poly and the anchor trans mounts are not it.

 

I dont even understand why no one makes a decent one. It's so freaking simple it's shocking. A piece of rubber with a bolt sticking out of it. Profit margin would be crazy high if you sold 'em for 20 bucks.

 

Look for a NOS GM one with the blue stud. I didn't really say you HAD to get it from a junkyard. However, the search could take awhile.

I have moved the tq arm off the trans on several cars and the mount still breaks..

 

Try a different store. I know the one I got from autozone was much beefier.

 

I thought the same thing. Those are the ones my v6 breaks all the time. I have been through over 20 of them. The guy that used to work there drove a black thirdgen with a 305/t5 reported the same thing, he said all he did was switch them out every month.

Besides, autozone is like the rest of the parts stores, sub-standard out of the country cheap parts.

 

I checked autozone. The only one they had was an Anchor like I bought in their own box.

 

the other GM vehicles with similar powertrains don't break mounts anything like the 82-02 F-bodies. Look at the independent variable.
you're willing to change to an LS drivetrain but moving a part to the side a bit and welding it so it doesn't create collateral damage is . . .

It's not about your decades old piece that's not broken. It's about being able to service the car with available parts
that won't then fail.

You don't have to replace an unbroken mount either.

sentences beginning as such are always true.

And you may need better coffee.

 

You could also use a nylon ratchet strap, wrap the trans tailshaft and X-member for more support.

 

jmd, I'm not sure what your getting at. Picking apart my post doesn't help anyone find a quality OE replacement trans mount.

I have looked online, stopped into the store and look myself, or called and had the employee get the part and look at it, to Orielly's, Advance, Carquest, Arnold motor supply (parts chain here in the midwest), Autozone, and rock auto. The only place i haven't looked yet is Napa. I have only found the poly mounts which for me and many others have presented vibrations, and the Anchor mount whether it comes in an Anchor box or the store's brand name box and that is what led me to start this thread. I figured after that much looking around and searching on here, starting a thread to address the issue was legit.

My original trans mount survived all the abuse thrown at it for 22 years and 183k miles. There should be a direct replacement of the same quality. Who makes that part and where do I buy it? That is the question. TTOP350 already said he's moved the TA and still has broken trans mounts. So, even though I am a believer in the crossmember mounted TA mod for other reasons, I don't believe it's the answer to this question.

TTOP350, your ratchet strap idea would be an improvement with the Anchor mount. lol. Searching for a NOS part is a good idea. I didn't think of that. It's not the answer for me since this drivetrain won't be in my car another year but a good option for others.

 

Just checked Napa. They sell the Anchor and ES poly.

 

Rock auto lists 2 for manual trans:westar and dea
Never heard of either, but the pictures do show it as solid.
For auto they list those same two, and then also the anchor.
In my experience anchor mounts have not been good on other vehicles, but I also found it difficult to find alternatives.

 

I guess I got lucky, no issues with my poly mount.


https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...ison-pics.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Auto-Tr...02f087&vxp=mtr

 

Thanks, I don't remember seeing those. I will have to look again.

I did some research AFTER I installed the poly mount to help troubleshoot the vibration and found that it is a luck of the draw thing. I did see that thread you linked but only skimmed it. Good info there.