engine mounts replacement: side, rear or both

[nemodat]

Re: 1993 Camry 4 cyl 5S-FE (353k km / 220k miles)

I'm looking for suggestions on whether to swap out the torque strut mount (dog bone) or the rear mount or both. The symptom is slack in the drivetrain at very low speeds - when I tap the gas pedal on and off at very low speeds the engine rocks back and forth.

About a year ago I had the local Toyota garage replace the front engine mount which helped but did not cure the slack. Right now I'm in the middle of replacing the transaxles (which is going relatively well thanks to the expert posts on TN). Since the car is on mounts and I'm in that area anyway, I figure I might as well do what I can to tighten up the torque slack.

If I'm not mistaken it is easier and cheaper to replace the torque strut mount compared to the rear engine mount. A few questions come to mind...

1. What benefit can I expect if I go to the trouble of exchanging the rear mount? Given that the technical name for the dog bone has the word "torque" in it, I'm wondering if the replacing the dog bone would pretty much take care of the problem.

2. My local Toyota garage is quoting me $478 for the rear engine mount which is hydraulic . NAPA is quoting me about $225 for the hydraulic mount and $77 for a solid rubber mount. Since this is a high mileage car, I'm leaning toward the cheaper solid rubber mount. Anyone agree or disagree?

3. The NAPA parts system refers to the rear engine mount as the trans mount - can someone confirm that the trans mount = the rear engine mount?

Anwyers and any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[fenixus]

replace all 4 of them (front, rear, top and tranny), otherwise they will be going bad, every time another one plus the one stressed most. make it once and right.

OEM ones from online dealer are suggested to use, aftermarket ones tend to go bad VERY quickly (6-12 months).

www.1sttoyotaparts.com
www.toyotapartsoutlet.com
www.toyotapartszone.com
etc.

also PM our supporting forum vendor (dealer from Georgia) Toyopartsman, maybe he can get you better prices (more discounted) and cheaper shipping.

you can do the job on your own (top one takes 5 mins, no need to support engine) and front one. if you are mechanically inclined you could do the rest too or use local shop, just bring your own parts, ask them about labor. my local shop charges $50/mount on labor.

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by fenixus

replace all 4 of them (front, rear, top and tranny), otherwise they will be going bad, every time another one plus the one stressed most. make it once and right.

This.

[JohnGD]

+1. Use OEM mounts. Aftermarket mounts appear to be 50% cheaper. But I think these are all solid rubber ones, not hydraulic. The OEM rear hydraulic mount for L4 automatic transmission is about $180USD from the first of Fenixus' links. Import duties may add too much into Canada.

If OP only has only one good mount in there then it will get stressed. I take it the "toyota garage" was an independent shop. Did they do a complete diagnosis? Just be prepared to do all four mounts this time, even if the front one "was" new.