Chasing a chattery knocking rattle coming from the shifter / heater coil / passenger bulkhead area. Got a bee in my bonnet that it’s the transmission mount, mostly because I have removed or swapped out everything else. It’s the right place and the kinda noise a heavier rubber coated object would make rattling around in a metal housing.

Is the transmission mount rubber bushing supposed to look like this? Judging by photos of the mount found online, my rubber bushing has collapsed and inverted.

Top pic is of a new mount, note V shape of rubber bushing. Lower pics is my mount, note V shape is inverted. Is this just how they look when loaded with the transmission, or has mine failed or simply worn out as most likely 43 years old?

 

that's how it should look installed. the rubber won't hold its off the shelf shape.

Bad mount is usually a vibration under your elbow. Visually you should see tears in the rubber where it meets the metal parts.

 

Here's mine, looks like your existing mount.

Edit, this was installed a few years ago and has a few thousand miles on it.

 

What can also happen is the rubber detaches from the metal and you'll never know until it's removed.

 

have experienced this. mine have detached from the piece that bolts to the trans.

 

As you guys predicted…. Rubber has torn and detached from the metal plate. Replaced the mount, but did not cure the rattling noise I was hoping to kill.




But….

As I slid the jack back under the nose of the car, the jack caught on the lip of the facia under the fender and made EXACTLY the noise I had been trying to kill. Couple of zip ties later and rattle has now gone. Sooooo happy!

 

It's not just a "car"," it's an "adventure."
:-)