Engine Mount Replacement Procedure?

[Nomis]

I'm replacing my engine and trans mounts on the SC400. I'm sure I have to jack and support the engine one side at a time, but is there anything else I should disconnect? Things like air intake tubing, radiator hoses, etc. Does anyone have the factory manuals to look this up? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Shawn

[AWJ]

I'll look it up sometime over the next couple days. I'm painting house - very busy.

[jzz30]

when i changed my mounts on my LS400 i didnt disconnect anything but when i put it back together powersteering hoses blew because the hoses become hard and brittle with ps fluid and age. so be ready to change those. as a matter fact just go ahead and get those.

[Nomis]

I changed the mounts. Bottom line - They are a PITA. Dealer quoted me $450 and it's almost worth it to have them do it. I detailed the change procedure over at clublexus.

[AWJ]

Gee thanks.

[Nomis]

AWJ made me feel bad so I copied over the info ;) :

My search through previous posts has led me to believe that no one on the board has changed their own SC400 mounts. I'm writing this so the next guy will have a better idea of what he's getting himself into. The lower nuts are fairly easy. It's the upper nuts that are a pain. They are tucked up under the exhaust extractors (manifolds), and then angled towards the block. The lower is a 19mm nut, the uppers are 17mm. A deep socket won't fit, a box end won't fit - all that well either. The best way I found was to use either a 3/8 socket wrench with a short or "stubby" shank and a standard depth socket. The only problem with this is that you can't really get any leverage on it, because you have to contort your arm up and around the wishbone susp. Luckily, the drivers side came off after a couple heaves. The pass side has a few more lines in the way, although I found that I was able to come at it from the front - it still wouldn't budge, so I put some liquid wrench on it and will try again when I get home. Then I'll have to jack up the engine - place something under the pan to evenly distribute the weight. The preferred method would be to use an engine hoist from the top to pull up on the engine - which I might end up renting if this doesn't work or I deem it unsafe.

After this the trans mount should be a breeze. I took a look at it and it looks like I just have to remove the 4 trans cross member bolts and then the trans mount bolts (while supporting the trans).

So there you have it. I couldn't take pics of the process if I wanted to as everything is so cramped and obstructed. So the above description will have to suffice.

Incidentally, I called the dealer and was quoted @ 2 hours each for the engine mounts and 1 hour for the trans mount. This came out to a grand total of $450. No thanks; even if I smash my hand while putting in the new mounts, and have to visit the emergency room - I'll still come out on top.

Got the new mounts in, but not without some issues. When raising the engine with a floor jack and a piece of wood under the oil pan, I got it most of the way up when all of the sudden, fluid started pooring down - turns out it was a brittle hose on the p/s reservoir. I will attempt to pick one up from the dealer tomorrow, if they don't have one i'll just use some plain hose as its a low pressure line anyhow. Man that freaked me out with all this fluid raining down - oh well better now while its in my garage rather than on the road. The old mounts came out okay once I got the nuts off but the new ones were a pain to get in there. As one would expect, they sit higher than the old compressed mounts and the top bolt just did not want to line up with the top bracket hole. I tried to raise the engine to give me more room and ended up denting the pan ever so slightly - no oil leakage but I'll keep an eye on it. Oh one more thing, the stock mounts use a very thin heat shield on one side of the mount. With the increased width of the new mounts, there was no way I could this thing back on. The mount is about 3-4 inches from the manifold and I don't anticipate any heat related issues (although engineers don't usually add on parts for no good reason). Once the mounts compress a bit I may go back and install them - if I'm in a sadistic mood.

The good news is the tranny mount is simple to install - a 20 minute job.

- Support the trans with a small jack with block of wood to distribute the load.

- Remove the small trans mount bolts in the middle of the crossmember - 13mm?

- Remove the 4 trans crossmember bolts and remove crossmember - 14mm?

- 4 more bolts secure the mount to the tail housing and then you can remove the old mount.

Both my engine and trans mounts were showing wear but nothing horrible. Don't do the mounts unless you're sure they're bad. My SC400 has 107K on the clock so I figured it was time, but they probably could have lasted another 15-50K depending on wear and usage. I feel better now that they're new but what a pain. I haven't had a chance to test drive it as I'm waiting to replace the p/s hose.

I think the price I was quoted was a bit on the high side @ $450.00. If you've got the cash go ahead and shop your local lexus dealers to get the best price and then have them take care of it. Do the trans mount yourself and save some cash as it's relatively easy. Oh, the cost of the p/s hose that broke is $26 - not too bad.

I hope this helps you guys in the future.