Hello all and happy Easter. I am trying to change the front motor mount and am having problems getting the clearance I need. I am about 1/4 inch too short and as far as I can tell I have everything disconnected that is relevant (front mount, rear mount, passenger side mount) but when I get to a certain point the whole car is starting to lift up so I am assuming that I am missing something. Could anyone give me a heads up as to what it could be? This is an automatic.

 

are you trying to take the motor out? or change just the front mount?

 

No, I am just trying to change the front motor mount....

 

If your vehicle is shaking in gear when stopped, but it goes away once moving or in park or neutral, it is most likely an engine mount. The reason for the shaking is that when in gear the engine is producing torque that is not being released. If your engine mounts are no good this will produce shaking.

This week I replaced all the engine mounts on a 88 Honda Accord Lxi. I had a hard time finding resources for the job and a good how to so I'll post how I did it. The job really wasn't that bad. I did 5 in a day. I was also able to replace the rear engine mount WITHOUT removing anything but the airbox and hoses. To do a job like this tho it is very important to have the right tools. Good tools. I would recommend,

1/2" drive ratchet set and breaker bars
2" ratchet extension
Jack and jack stands
Liquid wrench
Torque wrench

An important thing to remember is that your not just removing the rubber engine mount. In order to get them out easily you must also remove the mounting bracket to the engine/transmission. If your vehicle is shaking the first and easiest mount I would check is the torque strut. It looks like a dog bone on the top left side of the engine running from the fire wall to the engine. The dog bone dissipates a lot of torque from the engine and may very well be the only one broken. There are two round rubber inserts in the holes of the dogbone that get old and brittle. To see if it's bad, just grab it and shake it. If it moves its bad.

Replacing torque strut mounts ( Vehicle MUST be on ground. Do not lift!)

A 14mm socket is what is necessary for most of the engine mount bolts. There are two bolts and a small bracket that are holding this thing in. They are tightened to 54lbft however so it is pretty hard to break. Spray with liquid wrench and let it set in. Get a nice 2" 1/2" drive breaker bar and 14mm socket. Of your using 3/8 drive you'll probably break it. It's easiest to access these nuts from the pass side of the car so on the rear bolt by the firewall you will be breaking the nut. The forward part/engine you will be breaking the bolt. The rear nut is lefty loosey, push up. It is very tough but you'll get it with a long enough breaker bar. the engine side you turning the bolt so your pushing down/right. the engine side is tough because there are things in the way (i.e throttle cable). Get a short extension. Once those bolts are broken get some long needle nose to hold the nut for the front bolt. There is a small bracket on the rear side of the front/engine mount held on with a 10mm bolt. This is tedious but get a wrench and try not to drop it. Now you can get the strut mount out. in Back the bolts out. Push the rubber inserts out and replace them. $11.99 each and O'reillys had them in stock. Put it back in and torque to 54 lbft.

Replacing the front and rear engine mounts

Jack the vehicle up enough you can get under it. Now with a block of would jack lightly on the engine via the oil pan. I know people are going to complain about this but in order to get the engine to raise right for me to get the front and rear out I had to jack very slowly on the transmission. Otherwise it raises lopsided. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that, but it worked for me.
Remove the center nut on the front engine mount. It looks like a bell and resides in front of the radiator. You'll need a long extension and a 14mm socket. If you can't jack it up enough to get the engine mount bolt to clear the bracket, remove the bracket. The bracket is connected to the engine and is held on by three bolts. Two on top (easy) one under (hard). Get under the car with a 10mm wrench to get the lower bolt on the bracket. If you have to go this route also remove the other two bolts holding the engine mount onto the cross member. You want it loose so you can push it back to back the lower bracket bolt out. Once the bracket is off you can pull the mount right out. Replace tighten to 14lbft

Rear engine mount

Jack the engine up slowly and carefully by oil pan(I jacked by transmission). This is easiest to do with the front mount loose. Leave the side mount on otherwise the engine will be free and will be very hard to line up all the bolts to replace. Remove the air box and attached hoses/ducts. Get a 1/2 drive 2" extension. Take off the top nut on the stud of the engine mount. Get under the car. Remove the bolts holding the bracket to the transmission. You could theoretically get to them from the top, but its damn hard. Liquid wrench is your friend. Access the bolts from below and this will make life much easier. Get safety glasses. I had all kinds of crap falling down into my eyes doing this. Replace and torque to 14lbft. It's not easy. Patience is key. I did it in 3 hrs.

Side engine mount

This is located on the drivers side by the belts and looks like a dogbone. It's round. This was the easiest to do. Jack the engine with a block of wood on the oil pan to spread the weight out evenly. Remove the two bolts holding the mount to the crank case. Remove the nut/bolt that runs through the center of the mount. Boom it's out. Replace and torque to 28 lbft.


That's it. Now if your doing all these at once there is a certain sequence to torque all the mounts so the engine seats properly.

1- Tighten side mount snug only
2- Tighten the two bolts holding side mount to crank case by belts.
3- Tighten center nut on front engine mount to 14lbft
4- Tighten center nut on rear mount to 14lbft
5- Tighten side mount bolt to 28lbft (the bolt running through the center)
Lower car
6- Tighten rear bolt on torque strut to snug only
7- Tighten front nut on torque strut to 54lbft
8- Tighten rear nut on torque strut 54 lbft
9- Check the rubber damper on the center beam is centered in it's mount on the transmission. If not, loosen the bolts on the center beam and insulator and adjust as necessary. This is under the car.

Get yourself a shop manual for free. It helps.
SHOP MANUAL - HONDA ACCORD AERODECK 1986-1989

 

Great info, Jason, I've been looking everywhere for this. For the torque strut mount(dog bone) how do I find the bushings? It seems I can only find the metal part witch is of no use to repair it. Do you have the part number by any chance?

 

Try looking for "torque strut bushing" - a quick search and I found them on line for ~$7 for both.