Changing motor mounts on a '94 ATX

[white1994ATX]

Hey guys, I own a '94 ATX with 115K on it and I just finished cam and crank seals and my next job to tackle is the motor mounts. I have been wanting to do this for a while but am a bit intimidated by the way the car appears put together under neath. I can see the front and back mount but I cannot see how on God's green earth that the mounts come out. It looks to me like you'd need to completely drop the front sub-frame out of the car to have any chance at getting particularly the front mount out. I understand, from reading other posts, that the back mount on an ATX requires lowering the sub-frame. I have searched this site for related postings and have not really found what I am looking for. Does anyone know whether there is a write up that is photo documented with a step by step process? The front mount has one lower bolt through the frame that is vertical, but the top of it is all up under the a/c compressor and all the lines and many other things are in the way. I cannot see how the mount bolts to the engine at the top because there is too much sh&^ in the way. How in the world does one replace these mounts? I am very mechanical and do all sorts of work, but this looks like a royal disaster to me at first glance. Any advice?

Here is why I think that I need mounts. I have no intake rubbing or anything like that, but I dont abuse the car at it's age and mash it to the floor and put undo stress on the transaxle and everything else, however, I have noticed that when I am at a stop and have my foot on brake, shift to DRIVE and then apply throttle, I can feel what I describe as movement in the driveline on the mounts. There is a slight thump as if there is play in the mounts. The car is all original and has 115K gentle miles on it, and I am sure the mounts are shot by now, or maybe not shot, but worn. I'd love to eventually replace them all. Any advise would be great! Thanks guys! :sun:

 

[Irish Pride]

http://www.shophoenixproject.com/mm/mm.htm

 

[Irish Pride]

Make sure you loosen both the front and rear mounts from the subframe before you try to lift the engine and remove them.

 

[rubydist]

that link shows a mtx car, the op has an atx car.

the only time I have seen a bad mm on an atx car is due to excessive oil leakage which destroyed the rubber of the mount. if you don't have that, there is very low likelihood that you need to replace motor mounts.

you test this by opening the hood, putting the car in drive with your foot firmly on the brake and stepping on the gas. note if the front of the engine moves upward. if it moves more than about 1/2" that is too much. in that case, replace the mount. otherwise carry on with life normally. repeat for reverse, looking at the upward motion of the rear of the engine in that case.

if you do need to replace them, you should be able to jack the engine up enough to get them out - as Irish Pride noted you need both front and rear loosened to allow engine to move upward that much.

 

[Irish Pride]

I have owned 2 ATX shos and i have seen 2 bad ATX mounts. ATX shos are more prone to mount failure than MTXs in my opinion.

 

[SHOdded]

I have owned 2 ATX shos and i have seen 2 bad ATX mounts. ATX shos are more prone to mount failure than MTXs in my opinion.

+1 on that. This has unfortunately been my experience as well. Replaced twice with Ford OEM parts on my ATX.

 

[SHOtimer]

My original ATX mount seperated around 150k. I bought an OEM Ford unit which lasted another 75k before I replaced it with a reinforced part, to prevent a future break.

White1994ATX I would recommend sourcing a OEM Ford mount....ATX's don't have good aftermarket mounts available.

Doug

 

[white1994ATX]

Thanks for all of the great advice guys. When I get some free time away from work, I am going to check it out in more detail using all of this information! I have no intake rubbing or anything like that. I have done the brake and acceleration test on my own before looking for engine shifting and the engine does flex a bit on the mounts but is it excessive? I am not really sure. I will look at it again really soon!

SHOTimer: You mentioned sourcing a front OEM Ford mount. What exactly do you mean? I have had REALLY bad luck with the Ford dealers around where I live telling me that ANYTHING I need on this car is obsolete and I have to go aftermarket. I think most of the parts guys are ding dongs as I know some of the stuff is obsolete, but if you can find someone that is interested in actually helping you, that is a HUGE plus. Most of these people just want you gone and out of their hair. Any advice on where I can get good ATX mounts if I should need to replace both?

 

[cali+Mocasho+]

I'm about to do my front mount but I'm not entirely sure how it's done.
From the information Iv gatherd it sounds simple enough.
Step one get under the car losses up both motor mounts.
Step two jack up the motor with a block of wood sitting on the jack Cushining the oil pan. Step 3 replace and reverse to put back together?