Look/Feel of Motor Mounts

[Petrucci914]

no...........this is not a fetish of mine I think my motor mounts are bad due to some jerky shifting going on and suddent RPM drops after letting off the accelerator. I just went out to take a look at the easily visible ones (left, right, front). From my understanding is that they basically suspend the engine, have a pivoting bolt through it surrounded by rubber/polyurethane. My front and drive-side mounts do not feel smooth at all and I can basically slip my finger through them since there is little rubber. Is this a definete bad mount or should I take pics for you guys? Can I get any aftermarket ones or should I just get OEM ones and supe them up some how? Thanks.

[Mrizzle05]

pics always help... especially if your not quite sure and people can chop the pic to show you better.I might look into getting mine replaced too, but only when i get my good for nothin tranny fixed.Hope someone can help you out and maybe i can see if mine are really bad too.Matrixowners have lots of info/knowledge bout these too.

[kevera]

I don't think they make aftermarket for the auto's.If there is any gap,it's probably done.You would have to go to the dealer for the mount.

[Psychobroker]

EDIT: Caviat: Not sure if these fit automatics.You can always opt for Energy Suspention's MM inserts:http://www.energysuspension.co....htmlI believe they ran about $25-$30. Here's a pic of what the front insert looks like installed:

[kevera]

The auto mount is different,I think they only made them for the 5 speeds,not the automatic's.I might be wrong,but I don't think so.

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by kevera »The auto mount is different,I think they only made them for the 5 speeds,not the automatic's.I might be wrong,but I don't think so.Yep, I just checked that: Quote » MatrixYearFront End Control Arm Bushing SetRear Axle Beam BushingsFront Strut Rod Bushing SetRack & Pinion Bushing SetFront Sway Bar Frame BushingsFront End LinksRear Sway Bar Frame BushingsTie Rod Boots2003-068.3120(57)8.3121..24mm8.5128(29)...2003-06Motor Mount Insert Set (front and rear torque positions, w/manual transmission only) 8.1101

[northvibe]

yea the ESMM dont fit the automatic What you can do is get your own polyurothane liquid stuff and cap off one side of the mount and fill it with that stuff then let it set and do that for all the mounts. Its like a ghetto esmm. Theres a tutorial on matrixowners or newcelica about it. The only issue with these mounts is they cause your car to vibrate more BUT they help keep your wheels on the ground and your engine from flopping back and forth when shifting. sort of a trade off.

[JohnC]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »yea the ESMM dont fit the automatic What you can do is get your own polyurothane liquid stuff and cap off one side of the mount and fill it with that stuff then let it set and do that for all the mounts. Its like a ghetto esmm. Theres a tutorial on matrixowners or newcelica about it. The only issue with these mounts is they cause your car to vibrate more BUT they help keep your wheels on the ground and your engine from flopping back and forth when shifting. sort of a trade off.Good advice here...I don't think it's ghetto at all, just alot better deal. If you use the 3M Windshield rubber sealant it prevents the harsh vibration and work just as well. I have only done this on front drive, front mounts. I have found that the side mounts just compress and flatten out over the years, soryy no ghetto fix for them that I know of.

[Petrucci914]

I'll try to get some pictures up today or tomorrow. I'm pretty sure at least 3 of them at shot to hell. Know anywhere to get OEM replacements for cheap? How to I supe them up with the 3M Sealant? Thanks.

[kevera]

If I were you,I would hit the Toyota dealer,I don't think they are very expensive parts.You can use the 3m stuff,but I would only do that in a pinch.

[Petrucci914]

I went to a mechanic today and told him about the issue. He went out to the lot and hat me torque the engine in reverse and drive. He said it doesn't look like the mounts because usually when they're bad they'll clunk really bad and hit the radiator fan or hood. He also said he couldn't run diagnostic stuff on my car because it was modded and therefore his computers would read something wrong even though it is fine (as in, more than factory airflow, etc). I don't know what to really do from here. I still think it's the mounts I just can't justify the labor in replacing them without knowing 100%. I got a decent look at the front mount. It's like a black circular piece of steel and on the inside in the rubber mount that has like 3 arms that stick out and contact the steel as the engine moves. I saw only one arm touching the steel, the other two did not but I don't know if that's normal or not. Any ideas from here?

[kevera]

The mounts are something you have to see in person.Did that mechanic actually look at them,or did he just do the forward/reverse test.And what type of symptoms are you experiencing to say the motor mounts are gone.

[Petrucci914]

He didn't look at them. He just had me torque the engine and looked at that. If I'm going like 45mph and I let off the gas the RPMs drop down and then kick back up. If I am slowing down for a red light and it turns green and I give it gas it kind of jerks and lurches through the gear. It mostly happens when going slow. Before I had my cat-back exhaust put on the oem exhaust would clunk and hit the car when starting the car or giving it gas from a stop. When going over bumps it seems like there is a clunk and when you slow down it does feel like some weight is out of balance. Kind of hard to explain. I don't know if there was PCM update that I never got or something could be wrong with the CV joints. I don't get any clicking when turning but when slowing down/turning there is a noise but I think it's akin to normal braking sound.

[NewNeptune]

What do you mean by "sudden RPM drops after letting off the accelerator"? Do you mean that if you're going city speeds and you let off the gas, it drops down close to 1K and then surges back up? If so, that's normal.

[trimovingxr]

petrucci, i posted this response to your thread on matrixowners...Toyota motor mounts, especially front and rear mounts (the torque mounts), seem to have a lot of "give" for comfort. Not the best thing for performance. A lot of Matrix owners w/ manual trans have installed Energy Suspension polyurethane motor mount inserts to fix the problem. They make the motor "rock solid" at the cost of increased vibration. Problem is, they're not available for Matrix/Vibe with auto trans.You have a couple options, though:What you might want to do is strengthen your front and rear mounts, yourself, by filling the nooks & crannies in the stock mounts with 3M Auto Glass Urethane Windshield Adhesive. I've seen a couple DIY articles in books & magazines using this product with great results. Basically, what you do is remove the stock front & rear motor mounts, tape the backside shut, fill one side of the mount w/ urethane, let it harden, and then fill the other side and let it harden. Install the mounts and your done. As was mentioned, though, the rear mount is a real b**** to remove.Here's a link to the 3M urethane product:http://solutions.3m.com/wps/po...ndlerThere's also a guy on eBay selling do-it-yourself urethane kits for filling front & rear mounts on cars that don't have ready-made motor mount inserts. They cost $30-$35 and come in three choices of durometer specs, depending on how much "stiffening" you're after. I'm thinking, maybe the 60-durometer kit is enough for you. Click on his "Universal Motor Mount Inserts" link for a good tutorial on how to do it.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...83196