Motor Mount Replacement DIY

[Lucas325]

I want to change my mounts too... but recently replaced transmission mounts and im wondering... If u jack up the engine, does it not force the transmission mounts out of shape? As its going diagonal and the transmission is stuck to the crossmember.
And seems like i cant jack the engine up too much as the radiator hoses will pull ...or am i too worried?

[mkM3]

ALTERNATE METHOD FOR E36 M3

This is probably the best thread for E36 motor mount replacement, no doubt you have arrived here by web search. Note M3s are a bit different since they have dual exhaust, and this is a contributing factor for the right engine mount being more difficult (i.e., engine not lifting high enough to sneak out the mount). I have a 95 M3 and these are the procedures I went through (however, I never could have done it without Hellrot's initial post!). Other E36 variants may benefit from the instructions below too.

- raise car and support both front wheels on ramps
- for safety, disconnect: rubber intake hose to manifold, plastic air duct for alternator
- remove strut brace if necessary
- note distance between fan shroud and fan blades
- loosen and remove all 16mm bolts from L and R motor mounts (top and bottom)
- lift engine with hoist or from below with floor jack with wood block (remove x-brace if required), watch fan blade clearance, remove shroud or fan if required (I didn't have to do this)
- left side mount comes out easily as people mention, replace old with new, hand fit new lower 16mm nut
- confirm weight of engine is off the right side, it should slide around a bit with some play, however the engine will not be high enough to remove it
- "magic step": loosen and remove the right side motor mount brace that is attached to the block (four easy 13mm bolts), the right engine mount will now be very easy to remove and you don't need to lift the engine so high
- note position of heat shield and mount in the assembly and install with new mount
- with righthand mount in position (thread on the lower nut) reattach right side motor mount brace and bolts, check torque specs
- make sure both mounts are in their correct position, lower engine onto mounts
- thread on and tighten all 16mm mount nuts, torque to spec
- reattach intake hose and alternator air guide (also x-brace, strut bar, fan shroud, etc. if required)
- double check your work
- lower car
- test drive

This is the procedure that worked for me. Perform at your own risk, more important .... have fun wrenching :-)

After 5 hrs of struggle I had to gv up:
1) the heat shield nut behind the exhaust pipes: how in the world did u guys get it off to access the nuts that hold the transmission brace? I had to bend the heat shield to get access the nuts.
2) tried hoist as well as jack w rubber block was still not able to line up the passenger side mount stud to the brace. Drivers side was doable but still a pain. Regarding the 4x13mm nuts that hold the brace supporting the mount, how were u able to access the 4th bolt (top front corner)?

The engine is heavily loaded on the passenger side so every time I lifted it, it had a tendency to tilt/load up the passenger side mount. How were u guys able to lift engine enough to align the passenger side?
Thanks,

This is a followup to the above:
Wrapped up the project today with the help of a mechanic, things learned:
- always separate fan from the engine, air box and disconnect the duct (as mentioned earlier) & loosen the transmission brace bolts.
- Use a lift, make its much easier to work. Also have access to underhoist safety stand (in LA there is a garage you can rent lift space)
For passenger side engine mount:.
- use the safety stand to push on the front section of the oil pan (circled) to raise the engine to replace passenger side mount.

IMG_4178.jpg

It is also much easier to access the nuts for these engine mounts from below. The driver side had to be torqued from the top though.

Transmission mounts:
- Not an easy job considering the amount of space available. That said have a stubby 13mm to remove the nuts that are at the top, makes it much easier.

One thing to watch out is the brake reservoir position while jacking the engine, mine got pinched and broke a plastic connector next to it.

Learned a lot from this project even though the mounts weren't leaking or bad at 153k miles, ended up spending ~$210 vs ~$250 () had I had it done at a shop along with a weekend of body ache.

[wintershade]

OP - thanks for taking the time to take the pictures and post the DIY.
A few comments (may have been addressed but I'll give my experience here):

1) Driver's side was super easy compared to passenger side. Passenger side was a total nightmare on mine becuse I couldn't get the PS engine up high enough to insert the new mount. The studs on the new mounts were about 1/4" longer on each end so once I got the passenger side mount out I couldn't get the new one it. Turns out it was _significantly_ easier once I loosened the cast aluminum motor mount arm that the rubber mount bolts to.

I like many others seem to be stuck on the passenger side. I got all the bolts off and driver's side done (though it was a tight fit), but I just can't seem to get enough room for the passenger side. I'm jacking up by the oil pan with 2x4. At first the engine comes up, but then it stops and I'm basically just jacking the car up by the oil pan. I tried a bunch of different angles, placement of the 2x4, 2 wheels up vs all 4 wheels up, etc. I just can't make enough space.

Are there any other tips I should try? I am not sure what Jeff means above "loosening the motor mount arm" (is this the front subframe??).

Is this significantly easier with the Harbor Freight engine hoist? If so, I'll just buy one. I really don't like working under the front of the car supporting it by just a jack on the oil pan anyhow? The other idea I had was just used a drummel to cut out the old bolt and then shorten the new bolt a bit (but that would mean buying a drummel and I'm not super keen on shortening the bolt as this is a track car and I'm putting AKG 75D mounts in). Help please!

- - - Updated - - -

Is this the $60 HF Engine Support Bar people have mentioned to lift the engine out? http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb...bar-96524.html

Because they also have some full-on engine cranes and stuff, but I don't have nearly enough garage space for anything more than something that would straddle the hood of the car.

Anyhow, tips appreciated....

[M3C]

That is the one, it is not too expensive even for one time use. Don't forget to loosen the fan shroud.

[ragnas]

ALTERNATE METHOD FOR E36 M3

This is probably the best thread for E36 motor mount replacement, no doubt you have arrived here by web search. Note M3s are a bit different since they have dual exhaust, and this is a contributing factor for the right engine mount being more difficult (i.e., engine not lifting high enough to sneak out the mount). I have a 95 M3 and these are the procedures I went through (however, I never could have done it without Hellrot's initial post!). Other E36 variants may benefit from the instructions below too.

- raise car and support both front wheels on ramps
- for safety, disconnect: rubber intake hose to manifold, plastic air duct for alternator
- remove strut brace if necessary
- note distance between fan shroud and fan blades
- loosen and remove all 16mm bolts from L and R motor mounts (top and bottom)
- lift engine with hoist or from below with floor jack with wood block (remove x-brace if required), watch fan blade clearance, remove shroud or fan if required (I didn't have to do this)
- left side mount comes out easily as people mention, replace old with new, hand fit new lower 16mm nut
- confirm weight of engine is off the right side, it should slide around a bit with some play, however the engine will not be high enough to remove it
- "magic step": loosen and remove the right side motor mount brace that is attached to the block (four easy 13mm bolts), the right engine mount will now be very easy to remove and you don't need to lift the engine so high
- note position of heat shield and mount in the assembly and install with new mount
- with righthand mount in position (thread on the lower nut) reattach right side motor mount brace and bolts, check torque specs
- make sure both mounts are in their correct position, lower engine onto mounts
- thread on and tighten all 16mm mount nuts, torque to spec
- reattach intake hose and alternator air guide (also x-brace, strut bar, fan shroud, etc. if required)
- double check your work
- lower car
- test drive

This is the procedure that worked for me. Perform at your own risk, more important .... have fun wrenching :-)

Thanks for the hint on the "magic step" and thanks to Helrot325 for the original DIY!

On my 97 M3 sedan I did not need to loosen the fan shroud, but I did remove the fuel rail cover. I also removed the air box and alternator ventilation connector. I placed the jack (with short 2x4) as far to the passenger side of the engine as I could. Driver side was a snap and after loosening the 4 bolts on the PS engine mount bracket I was able to get the PS mount in with no problem.

I couldn't find a torque spec anywhere for those bracket bolts, so I used the torque spec table in the Bentley for M8 - 8.8 bolts, which is 24NM. I tested them before loosening and it seemed like they were torqued between 16 and 20 ft/lbs, so hopefully that does it.

[Bostongruen]

edit: Found my answer within this post.

[commodore631]

Just did this the other day, thanks for the write up. My only problem was on the driver's side where the motor mount was pretty busted and the stud was frozen onto the motor mount arm. I removed the arm, and with some Dremel and drill action drilled out the stud. Thanks to the busted motor mount the engine had moved slightly. My passenger side mount wasn't bolted super tight, I loosened up the transmission cross brace to get a bit more movement and everything then lined up perfectly.

In the middle of all of that I made a meme of my old mount

i am in the same spot you where in right now .the stud won't come out i beet the hell out of it And it still won't brake free .so not i have to remove the motor mount arm to try to free up the motor mount stud . WHAT A Pain In The BALL to try to remove the mount Bracket and i still have't removed it yet and i was just trying to upgrade too 80a polyurethane bushings on my 1998 bmw 323is with 190000 miles on it. and they never been replace yet. do you have ANY Tip'S on doing This Job on the motor mount BRACKET ?? and This is the driver side As Well and i even haven't got around to the Passenger side YET . please let me no if you have any Suggestion'S . Thank You

[Charlemango]

Registering a successful job and keeping this post in search. 97 m3 sedan, 100k. Loosening the exhaust side mount brackets 4x13mm bolts was crucial and made it pretty easy. Other things that mattered:

Unbolted engine fan and let it hang in the shroud. This was easy and prevented strain.

Exhaust top nut was stuck tight. Took a couple pb blaster soaks and a breaker plus sweat to get it off. All other nuts were easy.

I used a 4x4 on the oil pan. Loosened all nuts, lift and swap driver side, lower. Loosely put on driver nuts. Move jack a bit closer to exhaust. Lift, loosen 13mm bracket bolts, swap mount (with old heat shield put on the new mount), tighten 13mm bolts to 16 ft lb, lower engine and tighten all mount nuts to 33 ft lb.

My original nuts were all 17mm. The exhaust bottom nut got trapped by the subframe, i had to remove it last.

All told the job took me 4 hours. I could see cracks in my 26 year old mounts but they didnt look too bad- the new ones still made a difference. Much smoother at idle.

[osuwari]

I want to add my $0.02 as I just finished this up on a 95 325i with no issues at all. My situation is different in that I'm overhauling all the rubber in the car, so I do have a lot more space to work with.

First, my entire intake from the filter back to throttle body has been disassembled as well as my fan shroud and fan. Second, I was replacing my Transmission mounts at the same time. My X-brace and underpanel were already removed as well. These steps are crucial in that I had a lot of clearance and could see and touch everything I needed to get to.

My first step was to spray all the hardware down with a silicone spray to loosen things and get rid of any corrosion. I worked on the transmission first, replaced the mounts, but left them unbolted for now. I supported the engine via oil pan with a jack and then loosened the top and bottom nuts to the engine mounts. The bottom nuts to the engine mount hide behind an access hole under the front subframe. ***I used a regular socket to break the nut free and spun it out by finger. Your socket will get caught if you try to back out the nut all the way with it.***

After removing the nuts, I lifted the engine as high as I could. The passenger side motor mount was completely out, I was able to pull it out and swap the new one in. The driver side mount was completely out, but I did not have enough space to maneuver it out of position. ***I had to unbolt the 4 bolts to the mount arm to give me enough space to pull out the mount. I didn't completely remove the bolts, just loosened them up so the arm could move up a few centimeters.*** From there I simply swapped out the mount and retightened the motor mount arm to the engine.

I let the engine down slowly to make sure the bolts on the mounts were lining up to the arms and tightened everything down.

It only took about 20 mins from start to finish, but again, my fan shroud, fan, intake, x-brace, and underpanel were already removed.

I wanted to add that I never had to lift the engine high enough that the car was coming off my jack stands.