engine mount replacement M60 E32 740

[shogun]

to make the job possible in your driveway or garage.

Tools needed:

- Motor mounts (11 81 1 094 149, 11 81 1 094 150--these seem to be updated designs)
- Jack
- Jackstands and/or ramps
- Creeper will save your back
- Wheel chocks to save your life
- Set of regular (i.e. NOT deep) 1/2"-drive 6-point metric sockets. I highly advise not using 12-point sockets to minimize risk of rounding off the nuts which is VERY easy when using swivels, universals, and extensions at funny angles.
- Universal joint for 1/2"-drive socket (swivel sockets would be ideal because of their shallower profile, but I got away with the universal on top of my regular sockets).
- Two 12" extensions for your 1/2" drive. You may be able to get away with one 12" 3/8"-drive extension and one 12" 1/2" drive extension joined by an adapter.
- 1/2"-drive ratchet
- 1/2"-drive long handle or breaker bar to bust loose those stubborn top nuts
- Penetrating oil (WD-40 isn't best but will work)
- Tie-wraps (assortment of sizes help)
- Phillips head screwdriver
- Flat head screwdriver
- Needle nose pliers
- Miniature (6" max) pry bar with 90" bend at one end
- Mirror
- Some kind of area light source (fluorescent or incandescent work light) to illuminate the undercarriage
- Some kind of focused spot light (flashlight is fine) to illuminate the top nut on the motor mounts
- Extendable wand with magnetic tip to retrieve lost nuts, bolts, etc.
- Your choice of cool refreshments
- Your choice of music or radio/sports/talk show

Time needed: 3-4 hours (having a 2nd person helps and will reduce time)

Instructions:

1) Raise front of car with jack and support safely using jackstands (or use ramps like I did); insert wheel chocks at rear tires depending on grade of surface.

2) Open hood to allow as much light to flood engine compartment; lock hood struts using whatever mechanical means available for safety.

3) From above car, start removing items that will impinge on engine movement when you start jacking it up. First remove the plastic cosmetic engine cover (4 x 12mm nuts)--if you leave this piece on, it will hit the coolant expansion tank in front of the wiper/cowl area when raising the motor.

4) Remove the push-pins holding the fan shroud to the radiator frame (this is to let it float when you raise the engine)

5) Remove the airbox assembly by first disconnecting the hose clamp holding the MAF to the flexible intake hose and then removing the 2 x 10-12mm(?) bolts securing the air box to the car body. Remove the entire air box assembly (including MAF) from the car (you will have to mind the snorkel that goes into the recess behind the headlights--the snorkel stays attached to the airbox).

end of part I

[shogun]

6) Get the windshield washer fluid reservoir out of the way. Using a flat head screwdriver, loosen the black plastic bolt that holds down the windshield washer fluid reservoir to the car body (this is the reservoir on the passenger side by the strut tower, NOT the other reservoir for the headlight washers located down behind the bumper!). You will not be removing the tank, so leave all tubing connected. Once the reservoir is free from the car, just rotate it out of the way into the space that the airbox normally occupies (behind the headlights). The top nut of the passenger-side motor mount will now be visible (look just ahead of the front-most header, and a few inches below the top of the frame rail). Spray the nut with penetrating oil but don't touch it yet.

7) From above car, on the driver side, you will need to relocate the brake fluid reservoir. First disconnect the wiring harness going to the sender unit enclosed in the cap. I would recommend using small tie-wraps to make sure the 2 black brake lines stay securely attached to the barbed fittings on the side of the reservoir. There is one clip that holds the reservoir to the metal base bracket, but it's located under the tank and faces the passenger side so you can't see it. Using a mirror as a guide, identify the clip: it looks like a bent piece of sheet metal, with the fold facing down and a slot for the "pin" to slide out from above. Still using the mirror (unless you are REALLY good), use your needle nose pliers to free the front tab off of the tip of the pin (the pin is kind of like a nail head, in that is has a little ridge or lip that keeps the clip secure underneath it; the front half of the clip has to come up a little to clear the lip of pin). Once the front tab of the clip is off of the pin, you can use the small pry bar or even a flathead screwdriver to push the clip down and off of the pin completely (make sure to catch it before it falls!). Now the reservoir is free from the metal bracket, and you can relocate it. I just rotated it out of the way and tie-wrapped it to the top left corner of the radiator, making sure that tubing didn't bind in the process. I think the reservoir cap has a bleed/weep hole, so keep the reservoir HORIZONTAL (brake fluid will eat paint!). Now the top nut of the driver side mount will be BARELY visible. Spray some penetrating oil but don't touch it yet, you'll have better access in a moment.

8) From below car, remove splash guard; motor mounts will be visible just inside each frame rail, just forward of each front wheel. Each mount has 3 nuts securing them to the car (2 on the bottom, 1 on top). It probably doesn't matter which side you start on, but I started on the passenger side since I knew it would be easier and was hoping any lessons learned could be applied to the more difficult driver side to make that one go faster/easier.

9) Remove the 2 bottom nuts from the passenger side motor mount FIRST. The nuts are different sizes (one is a 17mm I think), and actually didn't require a lot of force to loosen. You may want to use penetrating oil if yours are not as easy.

10) Using a piece of wood as a protective buffer, position the jack so that it is aimed at the front-most passenger-side corner of the oil pan. Pay special attention to not pinch the hoses/wires located directly behind this corner on the pan.

11) Slowly raise the passenger side of the motor (it will start to rotate clockwise looking from the front). Do not raise the motor too high at this point--only raise it high enough to gain additional access to the top nut from above while still keeping the bottom studs of the motor mount in their holes in the frame because those 2 studs are needed to keep the whole mount from rotating when you try and loosen the top nut in the next step.

12) From above car, loosen the top nut on the passenger side with your 16mm socket, universal, and two 12" extensions (24" total). You may not have enough torque with just a standard 1/2"-drive ratchet, so the breaker bar may be useful here. Be sure to keep the socket securely seated over the top of the nut--you do NOT want to round off this nut!

13) With all 3 nuts removed from the mount, continue jacking up the motor until you have enough clearance to safely remove the mount from its perch. After every couple pumps of the jack, re-check the engine compartment from above to make sure that you're not pinching any hoses, wires, etc. Take note of the position and orientation of the old mount before removing it, as the 2 bottom studs have to be positioned in a certain way so that a pin on the mount's bottom face can fit in a slot in the frame that helps index its position.

14) Once the old motor mount is out, replace it with a new one, paying attention to match the orientation of the old one. The pin on the bottom must fit inside the appropriate slot in the frame. You may have to jack up the motor even further to gain enough clearance for the new mount, depending on how worn/collapsed your old mount was.

15) Once the new mount is positioned properly, with all 3 studs (and the 1 pin) correctly located, you can begin re-tightening the top nut. Start it by hand to avoid cross-threading, and only tighten it a few turns (because if you tighten it down all the way now, the mount will raise enough to let the bottom studs out of their holes and the whole mount will spin, ruining your careful alignment!)

16) Alternate between lowering the jack a little bit more and going back above the car to tighten the top nut a few more turns, always careful not to let the bottom studs come out of their holes in the frame.

17) Once the engine is low enough that the bottom studs on the mount cannot come out of their holes no matter how much you raise the mount indirectly by tightening the top nut, go ahead and finish tightening the top nut all the way.

18) Carefully lower the engine completely, and remove the jack.

19) Tighten the 2 remaining nuts on the bottom of the mount.

20) Remove the 2 bottom nuts from the driver's side mount.

21) Re-position the jack (and wood buffer) so that it's aiming at the front-most driver-side corner of the oil pan (avoiding any hoses/wires).

22) Repeat steps 11 through 19 for the DRIVER's side of the car (this time you will be jacking up the motor so that it rocks counter-clockwise from the front). NOTE: my driver side motor mount was so worn out, the top half had actually separated from the bottom half! I could jack the engine up without loosening ANY of the nuts! If yours is as worn as mine was, you will have to improvise a little and find a way to mechanically lock the top half of the motor mount in place while you are trying to loosen the top nut (or the whole thing will just spin). This is a time when a friend/neighbor/relative is especially helpful.

23) Once both new mounts are in successfully, replace the splash guard on the bottom of the car.

24) From above car, re-install those items you removed or relocated (washer reservoir, airbox, brake fluid reservoir, engine cover). Re-installation is the reverse of removal (I love saying that!). Don't forget the push pins for the fan shroud!

25) After checking everything over, carefully lower the car off of the jackstands (or ramps).

26) Turn on the car (look for any special idiot lights), and enjoy your super-smooth E32!

The difference was AMAZING. The vibration I had in reverse was gone, the clunking on startup was also gone, and overall driving is like butter.