All -

I've seen several threads about replacing the stock motor mount rubber with hockey pucks, so I decided to try it. As far as I can tell, the results are satisfactory...but I just completed it yesterday, so time will tell how well it holds up.

For those interested, here's what you'll need:

- 2 hex bolts: 3" X 3/8"
- 2 nuts: 3/8"
- 4 washers: 3/8"
- 3 hockey pucks

- Floor jack & jackstands
- Socket wrench(es)
- Drill press with a 1/2" metal bit, 1" boring bit, clamps
- Hack saw & vice
- Grinder, crow bar, chisel
- Thread lock
- Case of beer, breakfast tacos

Here's the procedure:
1. Jack up the car with jackstands (you could probably just use 2 for the front, but we jacked up the whole car with 4)
2. Remove the plastic debris shield that is underneath the car - just remove the several hex screws that hold it in place. Also, take out the screws for the fan shroud in the engine bay...you'll need some play in this as you lift the motor so as not to damage the fan/shroud.

3. DRIVER'S SIDE: If you have an engine lift (we did), you can use it for the driver's side - there is a lift hook on the front of the motor on that side.
4. Loosen the hex nuts from underneath the car. There is one underneath the mount and 1 above (this one is a bitch to loosen because there is hardly any room to get a socket in there). A 14mm should fit.
5. Once loose, lift the engine a couple of inches until you can pull out the motor mount. It's a little tricky to get out, as there is not a lot of room down there.
6. Now the fun begins: once it's out, you'll see that the motor mount assembly is actually 3 pieces: a big metal bowl and a second smaller bowl with the rubber sandwiched in between. You can take the smaller bowl out, but then you'll have to pry out the worn rubber with a small crow bar or chisel.
7. Drill out the bolt that is attached to the big bowl (because you're going to run your new bolt all the way through).
8. Scrape out any remaining old rubber with the chisel. You may need to use a grinder, too, to even things up.
9. Take 1 hockey puck and put it in the vice. Use the hack saw to cut it in half. (The height you need is 1 1/2 pucks).
10. Clamp 1 1/2 pucks together on the drill press and drill a hole through them.
11. You may want to take a boring bit and bore out the center of the 1/2 puck (not completely through - just about 1/4") to make it fit more flush inside the bowl, as there is about a 1/2" metal bump in the middle of the motor mount.
12. Put your motor mount sandwich back together, substituting the 1 1/2 pucks for your original rubber.
13. Fit your new mount in place and thread your new hex bolt in from the top (through the mounting bracket on the motor into and through the sandwich).
14. Lower the engine an inch or so until the bottom of the bolt fits through the lower mounting bracket enough so you can thread the new nut onto it. (Optionally, use some thread lock on the nut).
15. Lower the engine completely and tighten the nut all the way.

16. PASSENGER SIDE: this was pretty much the same, except that there is not an engine lift hook on the passenger side (there is another at the rear of the motor), so we ended up putting the floor jack under the motor mount bracket on that side to lift the motor. In hindsight, you could probably do this on both sides if you don't have a lift; we just wanted to be careful not to crush the oil pan.

So that's it...right or wrong, that's exactly what we did. Total cost for my parts was about $2.50 (I got the hockey pucks for free from a buddy), so it's definitely a cheap solution. Pretty labor intensive, however.

A few observations:
- It helps to have 2 buddies helping you
- It helps to have beer & breakfast tacos
- New mounts are much stiffer than the old, worn rubber, so there is a bit more vibration transmitted to the cabin, but not an excessive amount.

 

cool, i dont think you need the bowls though.. would 2 pucks on each side be sufficient or would that raise the motor a lil bit?

 

Judging by the thickness of the old rubber after it decompressed, 1 1/2 pucks was the right height.

Don't know if an extra 1/2 puck's worth of engine height would be bad for it, though...I was just trying to match the original as best I could.

Also, I kept the original bowls so as to keep a more stock appearance...we have yearly inspections down here in Texas, and I don't know if a couple of hockey pucks sitting under my engine would cause me to fail that (I had heard that was a problem in some other states). As it is now, you can't even tell that there are pucks sandwiched in there.

 

To change your engine height would change the geometry of the drivetrain throwing your pinion angle out of spec causing binding. Ultimately your drive shaft would fail.

Looks like something I might try I had to find another good motor mount for mine.