Greetings Dodge Neon enthusiasts! I have a predicament that I must share with you and get your collaborative opinion on.

THE SITUATION:

Motor mount. Yes, the thing that's responsible for keeping your engine from shaking your entire vehicle like an earthquake. There's 5, or something I think (oh yeah, I'm not a car-pro). The other week or so I decided to take my Neon down the streets of downtown Baltimore. Little did I know, my mounts were slowly getting pummeled by the plethora of crappy potholes, makeshift "speed bumps," and just about everything imaginable. My upper passenger side motor mount did not like this too much and decided to physically rip off of the source. My car didn't make happy sounds shortly afterwards. So I replaced it. Awesome. Unfortunately, my happiness was short-lived as NOW my vehicle is exhibiting pleasant creaking noises whenever I hit a 'dip' in the road. I can do highway driving perfectly fine, just no 'dips.' Today, I decided to military crawl under my vehicle, looked to the left, and, to my (not so much of a) surprise, I saw slight wear and tear on the rubber 'grips' on the lower passenger mount. Crap.

My theory is that when the upper mount failed the weight from the engine shifted to the dying lower mount that was already exhibiting issues.

THE SOLUTION:

Well, this is where I need opinions. I'm by no means a 'high-roller' (nor a fan of this vehicle). I am tired of bending my wallet's bum over for some toothless redneck "mechanic" to rape it ala "Deliverance"-style just to find more issues that were never there before. Yes, I know--that's harsh, and not all mechanics are like this, but you haven't been to my town. I need to do this myself. And cheap. Cheap is good. Recommend me websites or shops to buy a lower passenger-side motor mount. I like to know these things.

So, again, tips, tricks, anything. I need to fix this damned lower motor mount ON MY OWN (needed this emphasis) and any help is appreciated--even if you think it's too "dumb" to mention. Lay it on me.

Thank you, my Neon brethren.

 

-Just go to either the Advance Auto or Autozone website and pick up a new lower mount. Fairly easy to replace too. Takes just a little more than the top one to replace it. You'll just need a floor jack and a block of wood to help support the engine while you replace the old one. If you order online through the Advance Auto site, you can punch in "P20" at the checkout in the promo code box. It should knock 20% off of the price.

-Also make sure that you get the engine torque struts set to the correct measurement too. You can download a free copy of the factory service manual on here. It has quite a bit of valuable info in it. Here's the link that others have shared on here....

http://bayfiles.com/file/gd4x/MKc4pa...SX2.0-SRT4.zip

L8R,
Matt

 

I appreciate this, Matt. Tomorrow is the day I replace the lower mount.

However, I have an issue with the label on this website: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...archTerm=mount

The keyword being "transmission." Again, I am no car-pro as I previously mentioned, but this mount looks exactly like the one where the rubber is crying out in pain.

Also, I'm a bit confused at this part from your reply:

I don't understand what or how I could achieve this. Could you clarify what this means exactly? Because, originally, I thought the process would be this:

1.) Jack car up.
2.) Get a block of wood (maybe like a bunch of piled up 2x4's laid down horizontally)
3.) Unscrew and remove lower passenger motor mount.
4.) Scream obscenities because the process is not as easy as I thought.
5.) Screw in brand new lower passenger motor mount purchased from Advance Auto.
6.) Slowly remove pile of wood supporting the engine up.
7.) Un-jack or whatever the car.
8.) Go around the block finding every bump or dip and PRAY that I do not hear creaking noises every time I hit one.

Help?

 

I'd worry more about the actual part number vs. headings and representative pictures (though, that picture is correct).

From here:
The Anchor Part Number 2949 is the correct number for the lower torque strut. That AAP page says it is part number 2949, so you will be GTG with that!
There is a link in my signature for the torque strut alignment procedure that Matt is referring to.

 

Okay. Thank you for this.

I just replaced my upper torque arm thingamajig last week or so. So, if I'm reading you right, the proper way to do this is jack the engine up to merely support it in-place, remove both the UPPER AND LOWER torque struts, replace the defeated lower one with the new one, replace both torque struts following the diagrams within. That's a lot of friggin bolts to undo.

My biggest concern is if I hit more dips in the road and I *STILL* hear creaky noises, I'm going to flip out on my vehicle.

I'll let you all know how hard it was for me as a commoner among pros.

I'm sure this thread will serve valuable for the next person like me (seeing as I wished there was already a thread about it on here...if there was, I'm not seeing it).

Thanks.

 

You are going to be replacing the lower one. The upper is only two more bolts that are very easy to get to.

There's also this thread: Buying a used Neon? What to look for... that has Neon-specific and general automotive things to look for.

 

Thanks again.

I have to find out if I have car service ramps to gain access to the bottom of the vehicle (tight squeeze without it) and then use my floor jack with 2x4 to support the engine while I proceed with my operation.

 

-You don't have to remove the upper one again. All you do is after replacing the lower strut, make sure both upper and lower mounts are loose. Then jack the engine up or drop it a little to get it to the measurement you need. Leave it sit there, then tighten all of the bolts/nuts on the mounts. All done...

-I hate to say it, but if you still hear creaky noises after replacing the lower strut, it just may be the lower control arm bushings making the racket. I replaced them on mine a couple years ago with urethane bushings and haven't had any noises since. A bit of a pain to do, (not really hard, just time consuming) but the handling improved and the noises went away. But those were more of a clunking sound when entering parking lots, driveways, etc...

L8R,
Matt