Motor mount and shifting

[RandallNeighbour]

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why replacing a worn front motor mount would make shifting smoother. I'm sure the cables leading from the shifter over the motor and to the back of the tranny do move up a bit when the new motor mount is in place, but this shouldn't make that much of a difference... or does it?

Or, is there something totally different of which I am totally unaware?

Somebody smarter than me should now educate me. I'm all eyes and ears on this end.

[ppbon]

When the motor mount cracks, it allows two things that weren't there before:
a) The front of the engine settles down a bit (1 mm to 10 mm).
b) The engine will "twist" sideways as you accelerate.
Both of these movements put undue tension and misalignment into the shifting cables, making it harder to shift gears.
I've seen some cars where you could not shift into 2nd gear because of a bad front engine mount.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

[RandallNeighbour]

Pedro I was hoping you would be the one to educate me on this.

I am confident I need a new one. But I want the least amount of vibration, even if the material in the mount goes out again in 25000 miles.

Should I order a factory one?

All the aftermarket ones I read about, including yours, talk of added vibration due to the material used in the bushing to make it more durable.

[kyleturner2020]

Great question Randall, I believe I could use a new one too. I was eyeing Pedro's "enthusiast" version, but not sure the difference to OEM.

Kyle

[Daniel R]

I installed Pedro's Race Mount several months ago, my original mount had almost completely disintegrated.

The Race version of the mount does give more vibration, particularly at 3,000rpm. I don't have a problem with it, just don't cruise at 3,000. I either go faster, upshift or downshift. The vibration is minimal at other engine speeds.

For me, I see the benefit in a rigid engine mount. Less power is lost in hard acceleration, as the torque cannot lift the engine up. Also handling is better as the engine doesn't shift around whilst cornering. I am now considering replacing the transmission mounts with some semi-solid type to really tie things down.

At the end of the day, we own sports cars, if I had wanted a comfortable ride I would have bought a Mercedes.

[Spinnaker]

Replaced my front motor mount a year ago with OEM mount. The old one was totally shot. Shifting improved tremendously afterwards, especially going into second gear. Used to have trouble with it popping out of gear and getting false shifts when going into second gear. It got so bad that I started to shift from first to third, skipping second. New mount got rid of all that.

[kyleturner2020]

Originally Posted by Daniel R

I installed Pedro's Race Mount several months ago, my original mount had almost completely disintegrated.

The Race version of the mount does give more vibration, particularly at 3,000rpm. I don't have a problem with it, just don't cruise at 3,000. I either go faster, upshift or downshift. The vibration is minimal at other engine speeds.

For me, I see the benefit in a rigid engine mount. Less power is lost in hard acceleration, as the torque cannot lift the engine up. Also handling is better as the engine doesn't shift around whilst cornering. I am now considering replacing the transmission mounts with some semi-solid type to really tie things down.

At the end of the day, we own sports cars, if I had wanted a comfortable ride I would have bought a Mercedes.

Could you elaborate on the "vibration" a little bit? Everything rattles, car shakes, etc.?

Thanks-

Kyle

[yimmy149]

I have the enthusiast pedro mount. The vibration is mild, but you hear it and feel it through the seat. If you are driving through 3000rpm, you don't really notice it. But if you cruise at 3000rpm for more than a dozen seconds, it gets annoying.

The other thing, Pedros mount will still fail at some point. When I replaced my water pump, I could see a crack in my mount, which only has around 1,000 miles on it, but couldn't tell if it was superficial or not. I'm curious how Pedros new mount material compares in durability and vibration.

-james

[landrovered]

No slight against any other brand of motor mount but that is why I chose the Wevo. Durabilty, as I stated above I only want to buy this part once.

[Daniel R]

Originally Posted by kyleturner2020

Could you elaborate on the "vibration" a little bit? Everything rattles, car shakes, etc.?

Thanks-

Kyle

It is like yimmy says, cruising at 3,000rpm is annoying, but anywhere else in the rev range is not hugely different to the stock mount. It does not make the car shake, it is nothing like Cup Car vibrations, it is not uncomfortable in the least.

The only thing I have noticed, if you have any loose components in the car they may rattle. I had to use some double-sided tape to stop my wind blockers from rattling, but that was about the worst of it. I am happy with the result.

[Topless]

Randall,
The 987 mount will fit your car. It is a lot better than the original and still keeps vibration low. A lot more $$ than Pedro's though.

[Rdward]

Originally Posted by Topless

Randall,
The 987 mount will fit your car. It is a lot better than the original and still keeps vibration low. A lot more $$ than Pedro's though.

I recently replaced the one on my 99 Boxster and got it from partsgeek for $129+shipping. It shows the brand OES but showed up being the original Porsche part. The part number they show is the same for all Boxster's 97-09.

[sb01box]

my 01 2.7L is almost at 100K miles. thinking of a weekend activity, motor mount replacement came to mind. took this photo. the rubber appears to be broken off the outer cylinder.
is it due for a change?
thanks in advance.

[fastorange]

i just replaced my mount. I have an 02 with 33k miles. the stock mount was torn in every place that it could be torn. I haven't had a chance to drive the car yet, but the stock 987 mount feels really soft. I hope it takes away the 3000 rpm vibes. by the way, the replacement procedure is pretty easy, however, I have a 4 post lift in my garage, so that makes lots of procedures alot easier....

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Daniel R

Also handling is better as the engine doesn't shift around whilst cornering.

You're joking, right?

[kyleturner2020]

I love this thread! I have an 00 S with 40k on it, and when I first got it 2nd was iffy to get into (I believe the car sat for along time) now that I've put some miles on it it's not too bad...wondering if I need to replace the mount? Other than that I really just want to do it for no reason....

Kyle

[kabel]

Decided to add to an old thread rather than starting anew one...

Replaced the motor mount and the transmission mounts and what a difference!
Nice to have that crisp solid feeling again. The motor mount inner core had completely separated:

[Globespy]

I read Pedro's DIY 'Front Engine Mount' article and was wondering if I need to do this on my 2005 987 Boxster S?

I am about to replace a failing water pump and noticed that the article suggested the front engine mount replacement while I was in there.
Not sure if the same issues with the mount apply to the 987?

Thanks.

[yimmy149]

Originally Posted by Globespy

I read Pedro's DIY 'Front Engine Mount' article and was wondering if I need to do this on my 2005 987 Boxster S?

I am about to replace a failing water pump and noticed that the article suggested the front engine mount replacement while I was in there.
Not sure if the same issues with the mount apply to the 987?

Thanks.

It's worth considering, I think they've revised the part some in the 987, but I think it will still fail. When you have all the panels off for the waterpump, you can sort-of see the cylindrical portion mount. If you get enough light shining on one side you should be able to see if it's cracked.

If I were in your shoes, and the car had 30k miles or more, I'd just replace it. You will need something to support the weight of the engine, either an engine support bar or a jack that doesn't leak-down.

-james