This is a stupid questions but i still have to ask. what does a bad engine mount look like? The reason why I am asking is because im felling a hard down shift when slowing down. I just replaced the tranny about 20k ago, so Im hopping is not the tranny again. some people tell me that a bad engine mount can cause a jerk when shifting. Thanks.

 

The rubber will be torn or cracked.

 

yeah it's pretty obvious if they're damaged

 

For the V-6, the front & rear mounts (#5 & 6) are vacuum operated. Thosemight be able to go bad without being visibly broken. Or the control valve #12 that supplies vacuum to them might not be working correctly.

 

Is there a way to test the control valve (#12)?

Here is a pic of the engine mount that is on the passenger side. I know the weight of the engine is supposed to be on the mounts but is that gap normal?

 

You can use a MityVac to check if that valve #12 is open or closed. Then energize the valve with jumpers to the battery to watch it change state. I don't have a V-6 so I don't know whether it's normally closed or normally open.

For the 4-cyl, only the rear mount is vacuum, & only on the auto-trans cars. For that car, the mount is supposed to get substantially 'softer' when idling in gear (P or N). You unplug the valve, to observe an obvious increase in vibration felt in the cabin. I suppose it should be similar, but the details would be found in the V-6 supplement repair manual (which I don't own).