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Thread: Replacing I6 e39 engine and tranny mounts.Question.

  1. #1
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    Replacing I6 e39 engine and tranny mounts.Question.

    Well it's time I think to replace my mounts but I've only seen DIYs on V8 models. Do I need to remove the fan to raise the engine enough or is there enough space?
    Thanks Vlad.

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    im curious as well... would like to do this in the very near future...

  3. #3
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    Hey V!
    I have heard it is VERY similar to "Black BMW's" DIY.
    I also plan on doing this!

    Awesome pict!
    Love it!

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

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    No need to remove the fan blade, just take the 2 rivets out of the fan shroud and lift it slightly so that it unseats from it's bottom clips. Now when you jack the engine up the shroud moves with the fan. install new mounts, lower, and seat shroud, put 2 rivets back in and done.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason5driver View Post
    Hey V!
    I have heard it is VERY similar to "Black BMW's" DIY.
    I also plan on doing this!

    Awesome pict!
    Love it!
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark@EACTuning View Post
    No need to remove the fan blade, just take the 2 rivets out of the fan shroud and lift it slightly so that it unseats from it's bottom clips. Now when you jack the engine up the shroud moves with the fan. install new mounts, lower, and seat shroud, put 2 rivets back in and done.
    Thanks Jason and Mark, I'm at 132K miles and the shifts are not as smooth as they used to be ( not that they were perfect when i got the car btw, I've driven cars with better shifting even after I removed the CDV..but they had lesser mileage also soo..) Will report results when done.

  6. #6
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    hehe ill show that girl some grade A mounting

    Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by blackxs View Post
    hehe ill show that girl some grade A mounting
    hey it's not OT lol. plus it's my job

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark@EACTuning View Post
    No need to remove the fan blade, just take the 2 rivets out of the fan shroud and lift it slightly so that it unseats from it's bottom clips. Now when you jack the engine up the shroud moves with the fan. install new mounts, lower, and seat shroud, put 2 rivets back in and done.
    Hey Mark!
    You are talking about replacing the Engine mounts, correct?

    When replacing the transmission mounts, I think you need to hold up the transmission with a jack and piece of 2x wood with another piece of 3/4" plywood...?
    Then, don't you remove the bracket with the transmission mounts...?
    -Swap in the new mounts.
    -Lower the transmission.
    -Then tighten the mounts...???

    Thanks!
    Jason

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason5driver View Post
    Hey Mark!
    You are talking about replacing the Engine mounts, correct?

    When replacing the transmission mounts, I think you need to hold up the transmission with a jack and piece of 2x wood with another piece of 3/4" plywood...?
    Then, don't you remove the bracket with the transmission mounts...?
    -Swap in the new mounts.
    -Lower the transmission.
    -Then tighten the mounts...???

    Thanks!
    Jason
    ^^ what Jason asked.

  10. #10
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    if you are just doing trans mounts there is no need to mess with the shroud or fan, the tip I posted is just for motor mounts.

    I just did motor/trans mounts on a 525i touring 2 weekends ago, and it took me approximately 1 hour. This is the rundown.

    remove 2 rivets at fan shroud, one on each side.

    Use a ratchet and 2.5' extension with universal joint at socket end to take the nuts off the top of the engine mounts. Be careful and you can get them both without taking anything else off. (nuts are 15 or 16MM IIRC)

    Park car on concrete, put the car on jack stands with the stands at the jack points along the rocker panels up front.


    Slide under car and remove nuts from bottom of motor mounts, now use a jack and block of wood to slowly lift the engine. help the shroud move up with the engine until you can pull the old mounts out. Insert new mounts in correct orientation, put bottom nuts back and lower the engine onto the new mounts. You may need to push the engine one way or another from the top while lowering, this is normal. Put top nuts back. seat bottom of fan shroud in its clips and put the 2 rivets back. motor mounts are done.

    trans mounts.

    keep the car jacked up in the same manner. slide under car with a drop light, jack, block of wood, new mounts and a couple wrenches (13 or 14 mm? lol) Remove the bottom nuts from the trans mounts. loosen top nuts. Use jack and wood to lift trans slowly. slide old mounts out, transfer top nuts to new mounts leaving them loose and slide them in place, hanging from the trans. Now lower the trans slowly (you may have to help the new mounts find their holes by flexing them a wee bit) and put bottom nuts on/tighten. Tighten top nuts. Trans mounts done, trans cross member never removed. You can take the crossmember off but take my word for it my way is easier and faster.


    Take car off jack stands and enjoy.

    I've done this job on the ground and with a lift, either way it can be done pretty quickly as long as you have a game plan. I have found a little bottle jack like from a truck works well underneath the car to lift the motor or trans.
    Last edited by Mark@EAC; 12-22-2009 at 04:56 PM.

  11. #11
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    Good post. I believe i may have to do this.

  12. #12
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    did tranny and engine mounts on my both E39
    must be done on any BMW E39 60-80K miles to feel the luxury of BMW
    take Cortego engine mounts- they are fluid filled and OEM replacement
    engine mounts are a bit difficult to replace ( kind of pazzle ) so you need to play with jack and block
    Do it in 2 steps - first left mount , second right mount
    I didn't remove fan but be carefull do not crack engine fan coverage plastic
    use proper torque is a must
    parts cost is ~100$
    overall 2-3H job
    difficulty is 3-4 from 10
    Last edited by champaign777; 12-22-2009 at 11:32 PM.

  13. #13
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    awesome pic!
    Lazy Saturday drive in my E34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzvZgPnOos

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by champaign777 View Post
    use proper torque is a must
    Thanks, you mean the torque applied to the nuts on the mounts? How much torque is needed?
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark@EACTuning View Post
    if you are just doing trans mounts there is no need to mess with the shroud or fan, the tip I posted is just for motor mounts.

    I just did motor/trans mounts on a 525i touring 2 weekends ago, and it took me approximately 1 hour. This is the rundown.

    remove 2 rivets at fan shroud, one on each side.

    Use a ratchet and 2.5' extension with universal joint at socket end to take the nuts off the top of the engine mounts. Be careful and you can get them both without taking anything else off. (nuts are 15 or 16MM IIRC)

    Park car on concrete, put the car on jack stands with the stands at the jack points along the rocker panels up front.


    Slide under car and remove nuts from bottom of motor mounts, now use a jack and block of wood to slowly lift the engine. help the shroud move up with the engine until you can pull the old mounts out. Insert new mounts in correct orientation, put bottom nuts back and lower the engine onto the new mounts. You may need to push the engine one way or another from the top while lowering, this is normal. Put top nuts back. seat bottom of fan shroud in its clips and put the 2 rivets back. motor mounts are done.

    trans mounts.

    keep the car jacked up in the same manner. slide under car with a drop light, jack, block of wood, new mounts and a couple wrenches (13 or 14 mm? lol) Remove the bottom nuts from the trans mounts. loosen top nuts. Use jack and wood to lift trans slowly. slide old mounts out, transfer top nuts to new mounts leaving them loose and slide them in place, hanging from the trans. Now lower the trans slowly (you may have to help the new mounts find their holes by flexing them a wee bit) and put bottom nuts on/tighten. Tighten top nuts. Trans mounts done, trans cross member never removed. You can take the crossmember off but take my word for it my way is easier and faster.


    Take car off jack stands and enjoy.

    I've done this job on the ground and with a lift, either way it can be done pretty quickly as long as you have a game plan. I have found a little bottle jack like from a truck works well underneath the car to lift the motor or trans.
    Thanks, Mark! Will try to take pics in the progress to make this thread even better.

    Quote Originally Posted by SpeedsterBek View Post
    awesome pic!
    Thanks!
    Last edited by volodka1985; 12-23-2009 at 03:55 AM.

  15. #15
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    Wow, this sounds easier than I thought. I always thought you have to hoist the engine from up top with a cherry picker. Guess not.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by champaign777 View Post
    did tranny and engine mounts on my both E39
    must be done on any BMW E39 60-80K miles to feel the luxury of BMW
    take Cortego engine mounts- they are fluid filled and OEM replacement
    engine mounts are a bit difficult to replace ( kind of pazzle ) so you need to play with jack and block
    Do it in 2 steps - first left mount , second right mount
    I didn't remove fan but be carefull do not crack engine fan coverage plastic
    use proper torque is a must
    parts cost is ~100$
    overall 2-3H job
    difficulty is 3-4 from 10
    So, what's the correct torque?


    Thanks Mark for the info!!!

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  17. #17
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    Bump...
    So, what is the torque setting for the transmission mounts?

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  18. #18
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    BMW TIS or the bentley manual will have the torque specs listed.

    It's not rocket science to me though- put it back as tight as you took it off. Lefty loosey, righty tighty.

    You would be wise to heed my advice regarding the fan shroud as well- if not you will be flexing your fan against the shroud when you lift the engine. Why you would want to do that is beyond me- we all know how fragile the fan blades are on these cars. It's 2 plastic rivets that take all of 3 minutes to remove them both.

    Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
    Last edited by Mark@EAC; 12-28-2009 at 03:33 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  19. #19
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    I watched the fan carefully as i was jacking my engine to replace the mounts, it never even came close to touching the shroud on my '00 540.

    "You can take the crossmember off but take my word for it my way is easier and faster."
    +1 to not taking off the transmission crossmember, there really isn't any need.

    I just did this a week ago, my transmission mounts were in surprisingly good shape for having 104k miles, the engine mounts were pretty worn however.

  20. #20
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    So is my imagination running wild or is it possible of the engine to shift a lot when it's jacked up from under? Like the engine toppling over in the engine bay.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by newton22 View Post
    So is my imagination running wild or is it possible of the engine to shift a lot when it's jacked up from under? Like the engine toppling over in the engine bay.
    It's your imagination...

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  22. #22
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    OK guys it took me longer than I thought to actually order the mounts from EAC and install them (other stuff came up in life...) but I finally did it. It's easier than I thought it would be, thanks to Mark and his write up. I didn't have a chance to drive it yet but the new engine mounts are taller than the old ones (+ old ones are cracked all around) and the the old tranny mounts were more compressed under the tranny weight than the new ones. Everything is as Mark described except on the passenger side I had to unscrew the exhaust heat shield to take the motor mount out. Plus there's more room on the sides of the I6 engine than the V8..
    If you have a chance to use a lift it will significantly reduce installation time.
    Pics and comments after I drive it tomorrow.For now here's style 5 on a VW


  23. #23
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    hmm- I did not have to remove anything on the 525 touring I did. Each set of tools is different though, so I can see how you might have needed more room in there.

    Many times those engine mounts will totally fail and you will not notice until you remove it. I've seen more than one mount come out in 2 pieces. Glad to hear you were able to get to it and get the work done easily.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by volodka1985 View Post
    Well it's time I think to replace my mounts but I've only seen DIYs on V8 models. Do I need to remove the fan to raise the engine enough or is there enough space?
    Thanks Vlad.

    I love this picture!

    Double hottness!
    LOL!

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  25. #25
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    Thanks for my thread resurection. By the way, I'm hitting that ( I mean I drive that car hard)
    Last edited by volodka1985; 07-18-2010 at 02:11 AM.

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