Motor And Transmission Mounts

[CVN86]

Hey guys,

I recently changed the right side torque motor mount since it recently failed on me. I notice that there is also a front motor mount, but are there any other mounts that I may be missing? Thank you in advance for the help!

[BoaR]

should be 3 engine mounts on a '95. my old one when i bought it had 2 broken. looking at the engine top down, one is just on the upper left corner as a "bar" type hand length (looks like a dog bone of sorts). others are under the manifold as a fat circle with a center rubber squash shield and the other is to the left of the passenger side driveaxle.

off the top of my head thats what i can remember, as i no longer have had the car for a while. but you know if you have a broken mount because while putting it into gear or under heavy acceleration you will hear a "clunk" type noise. or have someone (while holding the brakes!) put it into gear while you look at the engine with the hood up (get a trusting friend lol) if you see the engine move then you know you have a broken mount. it's very obvious the pronounced engine lift.

hope it helps!

[CVN86]

Thanks a lot BoaR! I had a friend run the engine while pressing on the breaks and it looks like I have another busted mount. I'll be checking the other two this weekend. Thanks again!

[wlfng2005]

Guys,

How do we check to see if the mounts are busted? and what are the problems would they cause? On my 97 ES300, it seems the dog-bone mount (Torque Strut Front Right) is broken. Currently, my car seems a bit rough on the road time to time (not everytime) so I am wondering if I can blame the issue to this mount. Also, could it be the sway bars?

Please advise,

wlfng2005

[BoaR]

How do we check to see if the mounts are busted?

... but you know if you have a broken mount because while putting it into gear or under heavy acceleration you will hear a "clunk" type noise. or have someone (while holding the brakes!) put it into gear while you look at the engine with the hood up (get a trusting friend lol) if you see the engine move then you know you have a broken mount. it's very obvious the pronounced engine lift.

already posted how. and "rough" on the road has nothing really to do with a busted mount. you will hear the loud clunk of the engine bucking upwards for sure, when shifting or under very heavy acceleration. unless all 3 are broken you can "get by" for a small while. If they are all broken and you let it go, basicially worst case your engine will fall right through the bottom of the car into the road lol.

The car wandering around or feeling bad on the road due to a strut is a completely different problem.

[CVN86]

BoaR,

You mentioned that you replaced 2 broken mounts on your '95. Is it possible to replace the mounts yourself or would it be easier to take it to a mechanic with a lift? It looks like I have to replace my front and rear mount (both sphere shaped) and I wanted to save some money by replacing them myself.

Thanks again in advance for the help!

[BoaR]

To be honest I took it to the local mechanic (who i later found out was ripping everyone off. nice to know nobody can be trusted sigh)

the top ones you can easily do yourself it's 2 bolts. the bottom one in front it's iffy. the way he did it without ripping out or lifting the entire engine... ready for this? used a 2x4 after unbolting to jimmy the engine about 1" upwards and slid it out. notably my top was busted so it allowed this. also the car was on a lift to put the 2x4 underneath in a wedge position. the force required as per my recollection, would be scary if the car was only on jacks and you underneath. scary enough to have me not try it for fear of something slipping and me being folded in in half under the crashing down car lol.

At a local mechanic in all honesty it shouldnt be costly to jack up and fix. i got ripped off royally, but now knowing more about lexus in general - brand new the mounts at most will run you (cdn) about 20 bucks. 28 for the larger round bottom one. this includes the rubber err.. springy thingy for lack of a better word lol. it comes as a complete assembly. It only took about half an hour to do once the car was up.

I'de guess not being scammed around 100 total. bring your parts and use his time type thing. (vs me not having smarts and getting ripped for 300... sheesh)

[CVN86]

OUCH 300!? I just stopped by my friends shop and would charge me $130 for the labor (2 mounts and the right axle). Good deal! I'm still trying to figure out how to do it myself though. I think I'm making it more complicated than it actually is. Thanks again for the help BoaR. Wish me luck!

[knipknup]

I know this is a 2 year old topic, but after some searching, I haven't found much. I just ordered the part for the top motor mount - just the rubber grommet thing, not the torque bar (dog bone thing). However, what I received is much larger than will fit in the torque bar. The invoice says 1997 Lexus ES300 upper motor mount, and the part is about 3" diameter. The existing dog bone hole is only around 2.5". I'm wondering which part is incorrect. This car has a rebuilt title, so it is very possible that the torque bar is wrong. Does anyone have measurements and possibly a picture I can reference?

Thanks in advance.