1997 2.2L with A/T 204K miles....The problem started 6 yrs ago when I had the 4 motor mounts replaced at a small shop. I noticed that the torsion rod mount on top was twisted and off-center inside the engine mounting bracket and that the engine appeared to be sitting about 1 inch lower on that side (than it had been before the repair). The shop manager told me they used the right parts and it wasn't their problem. I quit going there and have been doing my own repairs since. 2 years later the mounts were severely damaged and I replaced all of them myself. They need to be replaced again and I would like to figure out what is wrong( I'm retired now and have the time to fool around with this).Today I installed new motor mounts from Rock Auto Parts and immediately saw that nothing had changed and I went ahead with a my plan to shim the back mount until the engine was level. This required a 5/8" thickness of slotted washers; the holes in the torsion rod mount lined up perfectly with the bracket holes. So far , the vibration at idle has almost disappeared. Here's what I got from Rock Auto.."This is the first reported issue of this nature for this part number. The manufacturer verifies that this should be the proper part (A7219) for your vehicle (with the automatic transmission). " I will let this go but I am still peeved at the shop that started all this. I asked to see the old parts immediately but they had already disposed of them.

 

Front motor mount tore apart yesterday while my son was driving my car. Of course, I suspect he was abusing the car but he denies it. The engine is level in the compartment but I can see that that the hydraulic shaft is offset about
14mm from the center of the motor mount body. The car has not been in a wreck but there seems to be a serious misalignment here that is stressing the mounts severely. Any ideas?

 

You state before the mount was changed 6 years ago the engine was oriented OK and the car has no frame damage?

Obviously the hydraulic mount is damaged.

Have you inspected the chassis from under the car. The car has a subframe under the engine bolted to the chassis. Check for proper orientation and damage.

Not all mounts are bolted directly to the chassis. The trans mount bolts to a removable cross member. Check this cross member for proper orientation and damage.

Without looking at the problem doubt it it the mounts themselves. Would be strange so many mounts were defective and Rockauto sells good parts.


One mount location may be misaligned and this is translating to the rest of the mounts being stressed.

Also check axle alignment. The axles are supposed to orient to the differential and free float via the CV joints, one allowing the axle to slide in and out with suspension movement. If for some strange reason an axle can't free float it might place force on the diff and rotate the engine. Not stating this is possible just to inspect and cover all bases.

Check trans mount area as this is the only location that is not fixed, as in not welded to or part of the welded chassis.

Might support the engine on a chain host balanced to allow it to rotate freely. Then remove the trans mount and see where the engine naturally rotates to (this assumes the other mounts are in good shape). Then reinstall rear mount and remove the others and recheck. Might find the engine wants to rotate one direction when trans mount removed and another when the others are removed indicating a problem with location the mount bolts to and not the mount itself.

 

And before they get here and I install them, I will follow up on your suggestions. First, I will check the position of trans mount base very carefully because that seems the best candidate for the source of the problem and then work from there. Thank you. I'll be sure give you feedback.
(PS This problem started after the shop worked on it.)

 

Post back with any finds.

Just replacing the engine mounts one at a time as say a shop would do should not cause the engine to shift. The other three mounts would maintain alignment while one was being swapped out. As such wonder what the shop did.

 

Crawled under the car yesterday and found that the trans mount is fastened to the same welded frame as the front and rear mounts. I snipped a photo off the internet showing what mine looks like. There is no adjustment possible that I can see for the positions of the 3 weight-supporting mounts. I can tell you positively ( after the repair 6 1/2 years ago) the engine had dropped enough so that the torque rod mount was rubbing against the brackets...fellow at the shop put the mount in a press and bent the short rod 20-30 degrees so that it wouldn't rub the bracket.


I've had no problem with the alignment replacing the last set of tires after 5 1/2 years of use with plenty of good even tread left. Car has never been wrecked..

 

Were the subframe bushings good and bolts tight?

If the mount can be installed in more then one orientation (rotated) check this out.