Engine moves side to side. ..

[DavidT]

When turning the wheel at idle. I had the strut mounts and bearings replaced, but I still need new struts, doh! Would that be struts causing the side to side movement, or motor mounts possibly? Also, the engine has definitely been moving at some point with shiny surfaces at the dis module, and around the SHO lettering (see pic )
I checked for movement with the parking brake on, going forward and reverse... didn't see much at all...

 

[Devin]

Back to front (from the car's perspective) are motor mounts. They can fail and then the engine will spin.

 

[zoomlater]

When my mount failed, I had that shiny spot and about an inch of movement. The shifter would also hang up between 2nd to 3rd during quick shifts

 

[DavidT]

Would that have been the mount (that failed) under the radiator? It looks like rock auto has ONE of them. ..not sure which one. .. yeah, my shifts don't feel that great. .. but I'm planning on changing the fluid. Also, I don't have a rod shifter... figured that might be the main reason though for the poor shifting.? ??

 

[Irish Pride]

Movement front to back would be a bad motor mount. Movement side to side when turning would be bad subframe bushings.

 

[zoomlater]

I would put in a reinforced mount so you don't have to worry about changing it again. It is also a good time to replace hoses and thermostat since the lower radiator hose will need to come out

 

[DavidT]

I didn't see a write up on changing motor mounts. The old ones that are referred to have vanished... anybody have a how to guide on it?
And gee, I had a mechanic look at the subframe bushings when he did the struth mounts/bearings. He said they were ok. ..

 

[zoomlater]

I used the procedure from the first link below when I replaced my mount about a couple month ago. I put in a Shosource reinforced mount

http://web.archive.org/web/20070518111552/http://www.shophoenixproject.com/mm/mm.htm

http://wiki.wikisho.com/wiki/Replacing_motor_mounts

 

[rubydist]

I agree with Chad - I would be looking at subframe bushings.