Front Motor Mount Replacement by BadStratRT
#1
08-06-2005, 12:44 AM
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shelby Twp, Michigan
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Front Motor Mount Replacement by BadStratRT
Thanks to BadStratRT For This Article!!
Please Read DodgeForum.com's Disclaimer
Ok, for those 2001-2005 Stratus RT owners, be it manual or automatic, if you drive it hard at all, you will have motor mount noise/tearing. My front mount was ripped within 40,000 miles. Once you get a look at one used, you'll understand why these pieces of crap tear. You can always keep dropping 40 bucks a pop for the OE mounts, and keep letting them tear, or you can buy an injected polyurethane mount. You can make your own if you buy the liquid polyurethane, and if you do, I recommend 80A shore. It costs about 25 bucks a pound, but its hard to find, and once you do you will have down time while its out, and thats a pain. If you do opt that way, good luck, it is do-able, but I opted to buy a set from deyeme racing. They were 69 a piece for each of the front and rear, here is a shot of the front mount when I got it.
I didn't want to get into the side mounts, yet. You can also send your old mount back in for a 20 dollar a piece rebate, from what I understand. I am saving mine to have them filled with steel...now THATS a solid mount.
Anyway...changing your own mounts is not hard...I have not gotten into the rear mount yet, but I have done the front mount, the rear mount will be installed in early september. I think that it will be easier, just having to remove the battery, and the one bolt running through the mount, then the one holding the mount in place along the firewall.
The front mount is easiest to change when the engine is cool, but I had to drive mine to where I changed it, so its a bit harder because you have to reach between the engine and the radiator, and the cat is right there and it was hotter than hell, but if youre careful, you can get around it. The best way to do this would be to drive it up on ramps, but my car is too low for the ramps that I have, so i did without it. some people have done this from above, and i have to think that it was an AWFUL pain..here is a picture from above...I dont know how they got the back bolt out, but it must have been awful.
To do this, you will need a jack, a metric socket set or at least from 14 and 17mm sockets and a ratchet, and a wrench, also 14mm to hold one side of the engine mounting bolt so it doesnt spin. I also used some zip ties to hold the "radiator guard" on because the crappy plastic connectors that hold it to the car break at the slightest pressure.
First, put the jack under the car in front of the LF wheel, and put the lifting point right under the flat point on the tranny right past the pan. shown here:
If you dont jack it up enough or too much, itll be a pain to get the bolt out and line it back up once the new mount is installed. As you put pressure to the jack, it should just barely move the trans/engine.
Then crawl under the car. The motor mount is bolted to the crossmember that runs from the radiator support, to the middle of the car, and it is held in by three bolts. The first two are at the front end, under a black flap of plastic. The other bolt holding the 3 bolts involved in this are the two holding the mount to the crossmember, and the one that runs through the mount, and through the engine side of the mounting bracket.
First loosen the one that runs through the mount, youll want to put the 14mm wrench on whichever side is easiest for you, and on the other side, the ratchet with the 14mm socket. Every bolt that comes on a car from the factory is practically coated in locktite, so it will take some elbow grease to budge this at first. Once it is broken loose, it should be pretty easy to loosen, even with just your fingers. Once the nut is off, the bolt should pull clean out, effortlessly. If there seemes to be tension holding it in, try applying more or less tension to the jack until it literally slides right out. Now put the bolt back in. This will prevent the cross member from falling in you when you take the three crossmember bolts out.
I first loosened the front two bolts using a 17mm socket and the ratchet. These also are tough at first, and will take more effort to remove them. I used an air ratchet, but it can easily be done with a regular ratchet. They are long, and on each bolt holding the cross member in, both the front and back, they have a metal washer and a rubber sleeved washer that go between the bolt and the crossmember. Look at how they come off and keep them like that. The rubber washer assembly may stick to the crossmember when the bolt comes out, just tap them with the ratchet and keep them on the bolt so that they dont get lost.
Once they are out, move around to the area under the drivers door. You will need the ratchet and the 14mm socket. This is the same style bolt with the rubber washer assembly, so watch for it.
Once this rear bolt it out, you can go back to the front of the car, and while supporting the crossmember, pull the mounting bolt out, and the crossmember should literally fall out with the mount attatched to it. My mount was so bad that when i dropped the crossmember out, the center section of the mount containing the bolt sleeve crumbled away, as it was torn completely free of the mount. I will take pictures once I find it.
Take the mount and have someone stand on it, or put it in a vise, anything to hold it still to get the 2 bolts holding the mount to the crossmember loose and they are a bit tough. Once they are out, put the new mount in place, bolt it down, and everything goes back in reverse order of the way things came. First put the mounting bolt through the engine bracket and mount, then the front and rear crossmember bolts, careful to put the rubber washer assemblies back in the correct way. Make sure that everything is tight, and before youre done, put the zip ties back through the holes where the plastic screw clips broke away.
DodgeStratus
Please Read DodgeForum.com's Disclaimer
Ok, for those 2001-2005 Stratus RT owners, be it manual or automatic, if you drive it hard at all, you will have motor mount noise/tearing. My front mount was ripped within 40,000 miles. Once you get a look at one used, you'll understand why these pieces of crap tear. You can always keep dropping 40 bucks a pop for the OE mounts, and keep letting them tear, or you can buy an injected polyurethane mount. You can make your own if you buy the liquid polyurethane, and if you do, I recommend 80A shore. It costs about 25 bucks a pound, but its hard to find, and once you do you will have down time while its out, and thats a pain. If you do opt that way, good luck, it is do-able, but I opted to buy a set from deyeme racing. They were 69 a piece for each of the front and rear, here is a shot of the front mount when I got it.
I didn't want to get into the side mounts, yet. You can also send your old mount back in for a 20 dollar a piece rebate, from what I understand. I am saving mine to have them filled with steel...now THATS a solid mount.
Anyway...changing your own mounts is not hard...I have not gotten into the rear mount yet, but I have done the front mount, the rear mount will be installed in early september. I think that it will be easier, just having to remove the battery, and the one bolt running through the mount, then the one holding the mount in place along the firewall.
The front mount is easiest to change when the engine is cool, but I had to drive mine to where I changed it, so its a bit harder because you have to reach between the engine and the radiator, and the cat is right there and it was hotter than hell, but if youre careful, you can get around it. The best way to do this would be to drive it up on ramps, but my car is too low for the ramps that I have, so i did without it. some people have done this from above, and i have to think that it was an AWFUL pain..here is a picture from above...I dont know how they got the back bolt out, but it must have been awful.
To do this, you will need a jack, a metric socket set or at least from 14 and 17mm sockets and a ratchet, and a wrench, also 14mm to hold one side of the engine mounting bolt so it doesnt spin. I also used some zip ties to hold the "radiator guard" on because the crappy plastic connectors that hold it to the car break at the slightest pressure.
First, put the jack under the car in front of the LF wheel, and put the lifting point right under the flat point on the tranny right past the pan. shown here:
If you dont jack it up enough or too much, itll be a pain to get the bolt out and line it back up once the new mount is installed. As you put pressure to the jack, it should just barely move the trans/engine.
Then crawl under the car. The motor mount is bolted to the crossmember that runs from the radiator support, to the middle of the car, and it is held in by three bolts. The first two are at the front end, under a black flap of plastic. The other bolt holding the 3 bolts involved in this are the two holding the mount to the crossmember, and the one that runs through the mount, and through the engine side of the mounting bracket.
First loosen the one that runs through the mount, youll want to put the 14mm wrench on whichever side is easiest for you, and on the other side, the ratchet with the 14mm socket. Every bolt that comes on a car from the factory is practically coated in locktite, so it will take some elbow grease to budge this at first. Once it is broken loose, it should be pretty easy to loosen, even with just your fingers. Once the nut is off, the bolt should pull clean out, effortlessly. If there seemes to be tension holding it in, try applying more or less tension to the jack until it literally slides right out. Now put the bolt back in. This will prevent the cross member from falling in you when you take the three crossmember bolts out.
I first loosened the front two bolts using a 17mm socket and the ratchet. These also are tough at first, and will take more effort to remove them. I used an air ratchet, but it can easily be done with a regular ratchet. They are long, and on each bolt holding the cross member in, both the front and back, they have a metal washer and a rubber sleeved washer that go between the bolt and the crossmember. Look at how they come off and keep them like that. The rubber washer assembly may stick to the crossmember when the bolt comes out, just tap them with the ratchet and keep them on the bolt so that they dont get lost.
Once they are out, move around to the area under the drivers door. You will need the ratchet and the 14mm socket. This is the same style bolt with the rubber washer assembly, so watch for it.
Once this rear bolt it out, you can go back to the front of the car, and while supporting the crossmember, pull the mounting bolt out, and the crossmember should literally fall out with the mount attatched to it. My mount was so bad that when i dropped the crossmember out, the center section of the mount containing the bolt sleeve crumbled away, as it was torn completely free of the mount. I will take pictures once I find it.
Take the mount and have someone stand on it, or put it in a vise, anything to hold it still to get the 2 bolts holding the mount to the crossmember loose and they are a bit tough. Once they are out, put the new mount in place, bolt it down, and everything goes back in reverse order of the way things came. First put the mounting bolt through the engine bracket and mount, then the front and rear crossmember bolts, careful to put the rubber washer assemblies back in the correct way. Make sure that everything is tight, and before youre done, put the zip ties back through the holes where the plastic screw clips broke away.
DodgeStratus
