So, I know there is a 5SFE motor mount thread, but I wanted to create one with pictures and specifically for the front motor mount for my 1995 Camry Coupe DX, manual tranny, so here it goes:
Tools needed:
-New OEM or replacement motor mount (I used Westar part #8361)
-Eye protection while working underneath the front end
-Jack and block of wood (about 6x6")
-Catalyst for rusted bolts (PB Blaster)
-Small and large handle ratchets
-Metric sockets (I forgot which ones, sorry. One large for top of mount, one slightly smaller for bottom three spots, and one even smaller for splash guard bolts)
-Possibly a locking wrench like I needed for rusted splash guard bolts
*Important - make sure to check the threading on the new mount if it is a replacement by using with the top bolt removed from the OEM mount, this may be the first thing you want to do. My Westar mount did not match the top bolt bolt threading perfectly and I stripped the bolt while tightening it in at the last step. I guess this is the downfall of going replacement...*
A week earlier, I sprayed PB blaster on all of the splash guard bolts, which wasn't really necessary since I snapped most of them anyways. It might have helped the motor mount bolts though. I gave the splash guard bolts a spray of PB blaster just before working, as well as the mount bolts of which there are three connecting to the engine frame and one on the top connecting the engine through a bracket.
Here's the OEM mount which is busted and two other pictures showing all relevant bolts.
Notice the top bolt and the three bottom bolts. The top bolt is a single piece that screws directly into the top of the mount. The front bottom bolt screws in from underneath and tightens to a welded-on nut. The two side bottom bolts screw in from the top and tighten into nuts on the underside which you do not need to worry about. Pretty funny how the left-side bottom bolt is covered in muck...I cleaned it up though:
I Loosened all of these bolts first. Here's a view of the right side bottom bolt:
Here's a shot of the splash guard and the bolts I sprayed with PB Blaster. The splash guard needs to be removed in order to access the front bottom motor mount bolt which needs to be removed from underneath.
The splash guard is in two separate pieces. The piece we are concerned with is the furthest from the front bumper. After removing all of the screws (I think about 11 in all) I snapped 7 of them after having to use the locking wrench. Oh well that's what New England weather does over time...
And my last few bolts are here...luckily I had four which I could tighten the splash guard back into place afterward. I may need to drill new holes to fix this issue...
And now I removed the splash guard:
Now, I loosened and removed the front bottom bolt which is now accessible as well as the other bottom bolts on both sides.
Another view of the front bolt I sprayed:
Now, after loosening and removing all of the skirt bolts and mount bolts I lifted the engine using the jack and the small block of wood. I placed the block of wood underneath the oil pan which was the only level place and lifted the jack slightly, just enough to see the engine moving upward. Be careful and do this step slowly, you don't want to jack the engine so that things break or get loose. The point is to just lift the engine enough to slide the old mount out from its place.
At this step you may need to finagle the jack and loose mount a bit in order to free it.
Here's a view of both the new and old mounts. *Important - At this time make sure the top bolt will fit properly into your replacement mount threading before installing it by screwing it in first. Actually it might be better just to take off the top bolt first before anything else (jacking, loosening, etc...) and check the threading on the replacement mount before going as far as I did:
I then finagled the new mount into place:
Then I tightened the bottom bolts a little bit to keep the new mount in place. The side bottom bolts should screw right back in through the top into the nuts underneath, which we were not concerned with in the beginning. The front bottom bolt will need to be tightened back into place from underneath to the welded-on nut on top of the new mount. I let the engine down slightly using the jack after this and tightened the top bolt in place, but then much to my chagrin it did not properly fit the threads in the new mount. I tightened it as much as I could after making positively certain that the engine bracket was centered over the new mount's threading. I will plan on using a breaker bar to just tighten it all the way and figure that I will not need to replace this mount ever again...Enjoy you new mount!
***UPDATE - I purchased a thread repair kit to repair the thread of my OEM front mount top bolt that connects to the engine bracket and fixed it already. I need to remove the engine bracket to fix the thread (originally not perfect) on the replacement mount then I should be all set, but that was a pain. It is nice to have the thread repair kit for future use however...
P.S Please let me know if I posted pictures improperly or if anything needs to be adjusted since this is my first DIY...I wanted to post nice sized thumbnails but they were too small so the large size was posted instead. I think this takes space...Thanks
DIY: Front Motor Mount Replacement Pictorial Guide
Linear Mode
