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Old 02-21-2009, 09:13 AM   #1
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Location: Arvada, CO
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Smile Completed project one on Wed night - Front Engine Mount

Hey guys,

So in my process of getting my '98 Boxster back up to snuff, the first project I had to tackle was the engine mount.

The engine was making a very unhappy knocking noise on acceleration, or clutch and throttle transitions, and it felt like the clutch was very imprecise. Sometimes the clutch seemed perfectly fine, other times it seemed very short and grabby.

So I decided to test the possible theory of the engine mount being the culprit by popping off the engine cover behind the seats, and watching the engine motions as the car was driven up the street, around the corner, and back home.

Well, after watching the engine try to climb out of the engine bay, I decided that the front mount had most likely gone to Maui many years before, and it was time for a replacement.

I ordered it from auto parts warehouse late on Sunday night, and it arrived Tuesday night. The address on the box shows that is was drop shipped from someplace local to me, hence the lightning fast delivery time. I love pleasant surprises like that!

So Wednesday night, after getting home from work just before 6pm, put the car up on ramps in my garage, and got to work on replacing it.

Its a pretty straight forward process, all things considered.
No real surprises, or gotchas in the process, but once you have the old mount and yoke out, and you separate the two, and the center portion of the mount just falls out, it gives you that feeling that you make the right choice in replacing this worn out decrepit part.

Once the car was all back together, and my test drive confirmed that all is now right in the universe, that feeling of deep satisfaction overcomes you in the knowledge that you just saved yourself a boatload of money. Well, maybe it was a inflatable canoe's worth, instead.

Took me roughly 3 hours and 40 minutes to complete, while crawling around the cold garage floor. Old mount appeared to be the original solid style with the 3 mounting points. Strange that the new mounts have 4 mounting points, the upper right going unused on my car.

Next two projects are replacement of all 4 rotors and pads. New Zimmerman rotors are sitting in my garage right now, but the pads and brake lines haven't arrived as of yet (boo to **************************************** not being a fast shipper), and the rear struts should arrive on Monday night.

Once that is complete, I'm going to spend some quality time with it up in the mountain roads that I have here in the Denver Colorado area. I'm already familiar with them as I'm an avid motorcyclist, but am very much looking forward to driving them during the couple months before they are clean enough to enjoy on the bikes (3 Hondas and 3 Ducati's grace my garage, all of which I also perform all the services on myself).

If anyone's interested, I can upload a picture of the very dead engine mount.
Some people, like myself, love examining dead mechanical components.

Sooner or later, curiosity will get the better of me, and on a rainy afternoon, I will pop off the valve cover on one of the cylinder heads, just to take a look.

BC.

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Old 02-21-2009, 09:38 AM   #2
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Congrats on getting the mount in...something about that feeling that you've overcome a problem and did it yourself. I do alot of work on my old 911 track car, but I stay to what I know I can't screw up. I've done mods to Boxy, but haven't had to do any repairs due to the low mileage (15k). "If" and when the time comes to do these items, I will certainly feel well versed on the work and having these types of references certainly help (at least I can help out friends that have higher mileage cars).
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Old 02-21-2009, 10:41 AM   #3
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is there any "general" rule as to how long this engine mount lasts?

my car has 75k on it. the motor was replaced by porsche at about 15k (no idea if they repalced the mount at the time of the motor replacement... i suspect not.

so assuming my motor mount has 75k on it - are theodds that it's broken?

my car has a coolant leak I just found, so I may take it to my independent mechanic to get it fixed - and wondered if i should have him do this on mmy car or attempt this guy on my own?

i also have a broken/bad windshield wiper reservoir.. may have a look at that myself too..
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Old 02-21-2009, 04:01 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmatta
Congrats on getting the mount in...something about that feeling that you've overcome a problem and did it yourself. I do alot of work on my old 911 track car, but I stay to what I know I can't screw up. I've done mods to Boxy, but haven't had to do any repairs due to the low mileage (15k). "If" and when the time comes to do these items, I will certainly feel well versed on the work and having these types of references certainly help (at least I can help out friends that have higher mileage cars).
I've always felt that you will never truly know what you can and can't do until you actually give it a try. The worst possible thing that can happen is that you have to ask/pay someone else to help you. Either way, the issue gets resolved.

If you look around the internet at the different motorcycle forums, they will tell you that Ducati's are hard to work on, and should only be handled by factory trained mechanics, who specialize in Alien Technology.

Once I started reading up, I realized that Ducati's are actually extremely easy to work on, and were only slightly more complex than your average valve train. Once they mystery aspect was gone, I realized it was actually alot easier than most bikes to do a normal valve check and adjustment on.

So, the Porsche is easy by comparison.

BC.
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Old 02-21-2009, 04:09 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 23109VC
is there any "general" rule as to how long this engine mount lasts?

my car has 75k on it. the motor was replaced by porsche at about 15k (no idea if they repalced the mount at the time of the motor replacement... i suspect not.

so assuming my motor mount has 75k on it - are theodds that it's broken?

my car has a coolant leak I just found, so I may take it to my independent mechanic to get it fixed - and wondered if i should have him do this on mmy car or attempt this guy on my own?

i also have a broken/bad windshield wiper reservoir.. may have a look at that myself too..
Well, only you would know if its broken.
Is there a bit of a knock if you are in first gear, start to accelerate firmly, and then release the throttle? Knocking while shifting through the gears is another indication.

Or, you could pop off the engine cover, and go for a quick test drive up the block, and look behind while accelerating in a straight line, and chopping the throttle. Engine should move a little bit, not a lot.

As for coolant leaks, there's nothing bad that can happen if you track down the source of the leak by lifting up the car on ramps, and looking underneath. If you find the source, then that will let you know if you can fix it. Simple hose related leaks are something I am sure you can fix yourself. If its a water pump leak, that might or might not be something you are capable of tackling. If you have a cracked cylinder head, then I doubt you would want to try and solve it on your own.

Finding the leak, however, is completely within your capabilities.

BC.
__________________
Its not how fast you go, or how expensive your toys are.
Its all about how big your smile is at the end of the day that truly matters.

'98 Silver Boxster, '08 Ducati 848, '89 Honda Hawk GT, '89 Honda Pacific Coast
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Old 02-21-2009, 07:09 PM   #6
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If the front mount has 75k on it, the rubber is most likely broken. I recently installed a Pedro's remanufactured "enthusiast" mount on my 2000 S with 65k on the odometer. The original mount's center section was completely torn free due to cracking of the rubber. Just buy the Pedro's mount...

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* 9x7 short shifter * Pedro's enthusiast mount * Carrera Ltw. wheels * Stebro bypass pipes
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