1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
 | [Main 9000 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Inspection Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:08:59
In Reply to: yet another motor mount question(s)..., shawn, Tue, 10 Jun 2003 01:11:47 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
There are two lower mounts, both on the right side of the engine compartment. The forward mount is visible if you open the hood and look straight down on the pulley side of the engine, towards the front. To know exactly where the motor mount is, look under the car. On the engine subframe, there are two metal cans about 2 1/4 inch in diameter sticking down about an inch or so from the subframe. One is tucked forward of the front wheel, the other is right about under the drive axle, inboard about a foot.
You should be able to see the forward one from above. Look for cracks in the rubber where the bolt goes in. The rear one requires a bit more work - Turn the front wheels full left, and peek in through the hole in the fender inner-liner.
Unfortunately, for some mount failure you might not see anything. For others, you'll see that the bolt in the middle of the mount is actually disconnected from the rubber.
I agree, you usually don't see a dead upper mount and perfectly good lowers. The upper mount usually fails because of excessive movement due to failed lower mounts, and vise-versa.
I'm a big fan of using the OEM hydraulic mounts. Especially with automatic trannies, the solid mounts *can* transmit a lot of vibration. It depends on the car. I've had two almost identical '88 9000Ts, and on one the steering wheel was like a paint-shaker with a solid upper, and no problem with the other. Each car is different.
In my opinion, just going to firmer engine mounts doesn't provide a major improvement. It might make shifting a little better on manual-tranny cars, if you shift under high-torque conditions (powershifting). Firmer engine mounts play a part in improved handling IF they are a part of an overall handling package - firmer bushings, lower-profile tires. Together that package will improve handling, but at the expense of comfort. But that's always the trade-off. Changing just one thing might make a small improvement, but like the links in a chain, you need to strenthen all of them to see an overall effect.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:08:59 <-- Viewing This Message
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
