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front trans mount?

T

tigerbalm

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
May 6, 2006
Messages
649
Location
Aiken, SC
I've just order and will soon be receiving the energy suspension motor mount inserts. I was wondering if it was necesssary to support the engine while replacing the single mount or will the other 3 mounts hold it in place for that short period of time. If I do have to support the engine how would i do that at home without a cherry picker. Is there any other advise that might make this task easier as well.

p.s. will the inserts also work for the rear trans side mount?
 
The front anti roll resistor/transaxle mount is different from the rear one. Thus, the insert used with the front unit does not fit/work on the rear unit. But you can contact pole120 if you want to look into other alternatives.

About supporting the transaxle,... will you have your car up on ramps? If so, do you own a floor jack? You might get next to no movement when you do this, but it's good to eliminate the possibility.
 
tigerbalm said:
... I was wondering if it was necesssary to support the engine while replacing the single mount or will the other 3 mounts hold it in place for that short period of time. If I do have to support the engine how would i do that at home without a cherry picker. ....?
Click to expand...
Drive up ramps (or place car on jackstands. Then using a two by four to take the weight of the engine/tranny, put the jack under the two by four and jack it up. My Contour has been in that position for 5.5 days. Hope to get everything sorted out by Saturday morning.
 
thanks for the info guys. I also need to know how hard it is to replace the motor mount that is close to the battery side. I think mine may be cracked and i need to know where to find another for a decent price.
 
tigerbalm said:
thanks for the info guys. I also need to know how hard it is to replace the motor mount that is close to the battery side. I think mine may be cracked and i need to know where to find another for a decent price.
Click to expand...

This is for an automatic. Manual is similar.

Tranny Mount to driver fender
Tony2005 said:
I started working on this, yesterday, and stopped after about one/two hours. Long story but I fell very ill and one bolt refused to come out, and I tried to get away with not removing the battery, still did not remove the tray (but will do it if I have to do it again).

Anyway for anybody out there planning to do this, I will write a how to when I am done. Car is on jack stand now. 1996 V6 Duratec Automatic.

1. Disconnect battery (10 mm), remove battery (10 mm), remove battery tray (I think 10 mm).
2. Remove air filter housing (top and bottom) by removing worm clamp near the MAF. Disconnect MAF connector and IAT connector.
3. At this point you can see the driver side engine/transaxle mount. Spray bolts with "Power Lube" or "WD-40". Remove air filter housing to tranny mount bracket (2 bolts, 10 mm). Note that the Ford CD says to remove the 4 nuts on the tranny bracket. This is not necessary and if you do remove them, you need to get new ones as Ford says they are self-locking nuts.
4. Remove rectangular wiring box on right of air filter housing near the strut tower by unscrewing bolt on left of box (can't remember size of bolt). Remove the wiring box. Note that this is not the Power Distribution Box next to the battery. This black box is the one closest to the driver side strut tower and cruise control. You need remove it so that you can unscrew the horizontal bolt on the fender closest the firewall. An Electric Ratchet at $200 would solve this problem in a heartbeat.
4. Place a 18 to 24 inch length, 2 by 4 under the engine/tranny and jack up to lift weight off the engine/mounts.
5. Remove the "through bolt" (15mm). (having a breaker bar helps. I used a 15 inch length 3/4 inch inner diameter PVC pipe on the ratchet). This is the horizontal bolt on the tranny mount going from the radiator side to the firewall side. If you did not remove the battery tray, this will take you half an hour. I'm sure it will be less than 5 minutes if I had removed the tray.
6. Remove top vertical bolt (15 mm) on top of driver fender.
7. Remove first of two "horizontal bolts" (15 mm) going into the fender. I am stuck on the second one, the one closest to the firewall, managed to remove about 1/3 inch before I became very ill yesterday. It was suppose to rain today plus I was recovering. Will continue tomorrow and try from below the car. The bolt must have been cross threaded as it is taking a lot to turn 1/8 turn each time. This bolts have about one and one half thread lengths in them.

I have taken some pictures and will do a how to when I am done. Just in case someone wants to continue on before I am done. This my plan for the rest.
8. Remove horizontal bolt closest to firewall. And then remove battery tray and set aside Power Distribution Box (should have done this much earlier).

Reinstall.
1. Place new mount on tranny and fender. Push screwdriver from firewall side through horizontal hole (for "through bolt) from firewall side to radiator side on the mount side near the tranny.
2. Screw vertical bolt and horizontal bolts on fender but don't tighten to specs yet. Need freeplay for horizontal "through bolt".
3. Make sure screw driver is still loose, if not, adjust the jack underneath.
4. Remove screw driver halfway. Start threading horizontal "through bolt" from radiator side towards firewall side. This should slowly push screw driver out. The inner diameter thread for the bottom bracket of the tranny mount is only on the side closest to the firewall. So it should be easy until you push or screw all the way until the screwdriver is on the verge of dropping out. Tighten to 52 - 70 lb-ft.
5. Tighten fender bolts (vertical bolt, and two horizontal bolts). Do the horizontal bolt closest to the firewall side first as this is the hardest one. Tighten to 52 - 70 lb-ft.
6. Reinstall air filter housing to tranny mount bracket. Tighten retaining bolts to 15-22 lb-ft.
7. Reinstall air filter housing.
8. Reinstall wiring box next to strut tower/cruise control.
9. Reinstall all electical connectors (MAF, IAT, wiring box).
10. Reinstall battery tray and Power Distribution Box.
11. When you reinstall the battery, remember to have your keys in your pocket (outside the car), as the locks will lock by themselves as you tighten the battery clamps.

Good luck.

Edit. Anchor Mount 2873 for 1996 V6 ATX. You can purchase from www.Autozone or www.rockauto.com. Get the correct mount for your year, engine and transaxle by checking on www.anchor-online.com. The transmission mounts (tranny to driver fender known as "[Transmission Mount] Att To fender apron; Ford, Trans Code: CD4E", and tranny to rear subframe known as "[Transmission Mount] Att To crossmember (Insert); Ford, Trans Code: CD4E") are under "transmission"

and the engine mounts are under "engine mounts" (engine to front subframe, and engine to passenger fender).


Battery tray removal instructions from 1996 Ford CD.

1. Remove battery from vehicle.

2. Remove battery insulation from battery tray.

3. Remove power distribution box retaining bolt from battery tray and position power distribution box aside.

4. Remove battery tray retaining bolts from LH front fender apron.

5. Remove battery tray from vehicle.


Installation
1. Position battery tray to front fender apron in engine compartment.

2. Install retaining bolts. Tighten each to 8-12 N-m (6-8 lb-ft).

3. Install power distribution and retaining bolt to battery tray. Tighten retaining bolt to 8-12 N-m (6-8 lb-ft).

4. Install battery.

5. Tighten hold-down bracket nuts to 3-5 N-m (27-44 lb-in).
Click to expand...
 
You might have already done this mod, but in case you haven't, there is no need to jack up or otherwise support the engine and transmission, the other mounts will hold everything in place just fine. This is a nice little mod, you'll like it. I also filled my rear mount with some 80A ployurethane, and the two together make for a nice combination, with almost 0 wheel hop when launched correctly. Good luck and enjoy.
Nathan
 
mosoblkcougar said:
.. there is no need to jack up or otherwise support the engine and transmission, the other mounts will hold everything in place just fine....
Click to expand...
Correct, but there is a little weight on the front and rear, even though it is supported by the driver and passenger mount. Jacking it up a bit or putting in on a cherry picker makes it easier to unscrew and screw in the bolts. In any case, if the inserts for the other mounts were worned out, it would be a bear to try and center the mounts to screw the bolts if it is leaning a little off center. It took me about 15 minutes of adjusting and readjusting of the jack before I managed to get the through bolt and the bolt on the driver fender closest to the radiator side (when I did the tranny to driver fender side mount).

Edit. If all you are doing is just shoving some soft polyurethane in between, then yes, you probably could get away with not jacking or lifting the engine/tranny up.
 
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i found some polyurethan bushing replacements for the contour lower control arm. Is it better just to replace the arm or just the bushings? Do the bushings fit only non svt contours or is there a difference in the arms?
 
tigerbalm said:
i found some polyurethan bushing replacements for the contour lower control arm. Is it better just to replace the arm or just the bushings? Do the bushings fit only non svt contours or is there a difference in the arms?
Click to expand...

It is the rear control arm bushings which you can DIY. Not the front LCA bushings. The front bushings (if ever available) will probably as expensive as the front LCAs.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/sh...ue#Post1125789
 
sorry guys i forgot to ask if there is a torque spec on the trans mount or do i just tighten as much as i can?
 
Last edited:
Very wanted electric circuit on Conour 95, 2.5 AKPP!

Very wanted electric circuit on Conour 95, 2.5 AKPP!

Please help my!
 
Last edited:
Very wanted electric circuit on Contour 95, 2.5 AKPP!

Very wanted electric circuit on Contour 95, 2.5 AKPP!

Please help my!
 
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