540i motor mounts : engine won't budge ?

[js22]

Okay, so I've got the lower nuts off of both sides (17mm and 13 mm IIRC).

I've got the car up on ramps, and a floor jack w/ wood pushing up on the oil pan.

The whole car lifted maybe 4-6 inches.

I used an iron bar, and wiggled the motor side to side.

I push on the car, and I can see the engine wiggle slightly the other way. (i.e., the car's weight is being supported by the oil pan.)

Still, the motor mounts haven't budged.

Any tips ? Do you have to go totally medieval on it ?

And no, the car is not rusty !

[h2oyo]

I just changed both of mine on my 540 and the engine moved very easily. If you have both nuts off the bottom of the motor mounts I cant imagine what would keep it from moving. I mean unless the two studs are binding it. I just raised it a little bit and wiggled the mounts and everything came right up. Please let me know what is causing this as I find it very interesting.
Good luck
Johan

[sennasixty8]

Try placing the wood at one edge l/r vs. Center. Do one side at a time.

[js22]

M'kay, Got it.


I think what was going on was that there was some binding in the front/back direction. I was using a floor jack whose arm sweeps through (close to) 90 degrees. Near the top of its swing, I think it was pulling the engine way forwards.


Anyway, I lowered the jack and used fatter wood, and it seemed to lift upwards (more vertically) just fine. Mounts slipped off w/ no problem.


So I've got the passenger side finished, and the driver side almost done. I've got the upper nut started (whew !) but not screwed down. That'll be for tomorrow when it's light again.

Despite not having that nut tight, I took the car out for a (gentle) ride.

Very noticeable improvement.

Very satisfying. (despite the frustration.)

BTW, both mounts were completely cracked in two. You can't see this before you remove them. The only thing that tipped me off (besides the vibration) was that one of them was soft and gooey enough that you could pull pieces of rubber off of it by hand...


A couple of comments for posterity....

1) One tool that was an absolute lifesaver was a magnet on a telescoping rod (few dollars at FLAPS). With one hand crammed and twisted into position, this thing was a nice way to "hand" a nut or socket, etc., through an impossibly small tunnel of engine stuff.

2) I bought a set of "wobble" extensions for the job. Now that I'm done (er, ah, almost done) I think I'd rather have the normal, non-wobble kind. For the Drivers side upper nut, the way that finally worked to get it off was to start from below and shove one extension upwards toward the only little patch of daylight visible. Snap another extension on and keep shoving. Eventually it comes out the top, right through the middle of the ABS brake lines. This method would have been easier if the chain of extensions wasn't so friggin' wobbly !!!

3) Plan on lifting the engine much, much more than you would expect. As you lift the engine, the whole front of the car goes up as well (less weight !) so it's kind of a race. You'll win eventually, but you have to keep lifting and lifting. And when you try to get the (unbolted) mount out of its little cavity, you'll need to lift the engine even more.

[h2oyo]

Great job, its not an easy on the 540's lol. I'm glad you figured out the issue. That is all I could think of is binding.
Johan

[jimoreno]

I only used 2 extensions: 20" and 10" and a universal joint. To keep the nut in the socket I used the old trick of a piece of paper in the socket to keep it in there while it goes all the way down. It took 20 minutes to get the nut started but the whole job start to finish took me about an hour and 30 minutes so it wasn't too bad.

[BMWBill]

Help! with my E34 M60 540i Motor Mount Replacement

I have all of it done except the driver side top nut. How did you guys do it? I've heard various ways; remove brake resevoir, remove alternator, etc. What seems to be the easiest?

[filmy]

What the OP described is best. Start from the bottom and guide the stack of extensions up through the forest to your helper (hint-hint) who holds the ratchet. The tricky thing to remember is that the threaded shaft on top of the mount isn't exactly vertical - it aims towards the top of the engine, making it much harder to get that friggin' nut started any other way than being under the car. Ideally, the mount would be lined up with its lower holes, then have the top nut (to the engine bracket) started, jack up the engine w/ attached mount and tighten. But then you have to drop the assembly back down on the K-member, aligning again the two lower mount shafts. Very tricky. But with the engine sitting heavy on the mount, it's almost impossible to get that top nut tightened from above with extensions.

Almost.

Somebody here: http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10 did a great write-up using a specially-made wrench. Keep searching...

[BMWBill]

wow, what a time-saver this board is! Yesterday I started removing the alternator, oil filter housing, tensioner, etc. etc. before posting here. Today I moved the brake reservoir out of the way and I was done in 10 minutes! It should be a clue that BMW fastened the reservoir to the car with one clip and no bolts. It is meant to be moved for this job, apparently.

Here is a pic of how I snaked my 2 extensions down to the nut. I did it myself, with the help of a lift. After putting the new mount in there, lower the engine just enough so the 2 studs on the bottom start to enter their holes in the subframe. This will allow you to tighten the top nut without the mount spinning. If you lower the engine all the way, the extensions won't fit.

Also, do indeed disconnect the battery first. And watch the upper radiator hose when lifting the engine. I didn't, and it popped off the radiator on my test drive. Thankfully it didn't break the neck.