Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Transmission Mounts, whats this?

A car dealership won't give me more than $2000 for my car becuase they said my transmission mounts are broken.... (look in my signature for pics of the car...it's worth at least $4500 trade in). Car drives AMAZINGLY smooth, i've kept up all the maintainence...it's in perfect shape as far as i'm concerned.

but, a mechanic friend said he *thinks* one may be broken, but i've never noticed anything wrong....there is a very small (barely noticeable) lunge when going from neutral, to drive, and back to park....but it's been there since i bought the car 2 years ago! i always thought it was a characteristic of the car! the mechanic (probably just trying me to fork over my money) says that the warranty company i have won't cover the rapair, and says it will bend my axle if i continue driving the car....

$200 for the part, and probably $500 for labor for dropping the tranny! and that's only if one is popped


Is this a huge problem? does your car lunge (very slightly) when going into drive? Should i lose sleep and start saving my lunch money for the repair? Thanks guys!

My car used to lunge when I shifted (MTX); my mounts weren't broken but had a lot of play. So I replaced them with stiffer SVT transaxle mounts front and rear with inserts, and that ran me less than $200CND. $200US seems too much, but Iâ??m not really familiar with automatics.
You don't need the tranny dropped for replacing mounts, at least not on an MTX.

How many miles are on it? You might get $4500 in a private sale but no dealer is going to give you $4500 for a 1998 (unless he makes it up else ware). Remember they have to be able to resell it at a profit and cover a 12/12 warrantee.

Jeff

Iâ??m in the same boat
1998 Myst LS $2000 trade.

i only have 52,000 miles. is it hard to replace the transmission mounts myself with basic tools (i.e ratchet set and screw drivers, maybe a jack)

torque wrench, jacks, jack stand (s), proper sockets. I'm gonna fill my top mount with 3M window weld to make it stronger and hope it eliminates my wheel hop problem. It should be easy to change that one as long as you support the tranny from bottom and then replace the mount. bottom mounts i'm not sure about.

I call BS on the mechanic!! Reason... I worked at a dealer for a short time, and did a number of these inspections. To put it plainly, I did not have any idea what I was looking at!! I was inexperienced and very young.

1) You do not have to drop the transmission to change "any" of the motor or transmission mounts on our cars!

2) If a slight jolt is felt, when placing the tranny into drive, I would not suspect much. Now if it pops, that is a inner CV joint!

3) Thinks! Well that is what he gets for thinking! He would have to tell me, then prove to me, that the mount was bad. Only one way to prove something and that is by showing me.
If you want to see what bad ATX tranny mounts look like, then check out my post here. That should give you something to go on.

4) General rule of thumb! If one dealer will not give you what you want, then go to another!

I just replaced the motor mount (passenger fender) and transmission mount (drivers fender) on a 95 zetec mtx. I've already replaced the front and rear mounts (roll resistors). The most expensive mount that I bought was about $102 (check Fordpartsonline.com). I'm not a mechanic, and the most time that I spent on any one mount was less than an hour.

Hi,
Depends on which mount that you are having issues with. I bought this 98 Merc Mystique some months ago and YES, it banged into gear and felt like a broken engine mount. I found the front one and the rear one broken all to pieces. Got replacements temporily at U-Wrench-It and found that you can remove them both in 2 sections and replace them after supporting the engine and unbolting the center bolt, then the mount. I put the used ones in and WOW..what a difference in putting into gear. Like a new car! I am soon ordering the center inserts that are replaceable from RockAuto.com which have them listed for $20 each. There is another mount under the air cleaner box that some CEGers have found broken center bolts on also. Good Luck...Duane Koss/Blue Springs, MO

The mount on the driver's side fender is the one that sags - did it on both my cars. One was done under warranty before it ran out. I bought the part from Bill for 70 bucks and installed it myself. My right roll dampener went out last fall. I couldn't reach it because I don't have a hoist. Took it to local shop, they did all for 250 bucks. Glad they did it because the bolt that holds it to the engine carriage was broken too; had to be drilled out. The for/aft movement and the stupid noises went away after all that.