View single post by Mark Rosenbaum
 Posted: 05-05-2005 11:38 pm
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Mark Rosenbaum



Joined: 03-12-2005
Location: Kingman, Arizona USA
Posts: 532
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 Assuming that your transmission console sits at the normal height, then yes, most likely your car's transmission mount is at fault.  The rubber in the stock mount is fairly soft when new, and becomes softer still with age and long-term exposure to oil.  Usually the first warning of a too-soft transmission mount is when you start hearing thumps, clumps, or clonks from the middle or middle-rear of the car when making high-acceleration starts or shifts.  I'd think that contact with the transmission console suggests that softening has progressed past this point.

To evaluate your transmission mount, put the car on jack stands, support the tranny with a small jack, remove the transmission crossmember and spacer, and finally unbolt the mount from the transmission itself.  All this should take less than 15 minutes or so.

Moving the upper part of the mount by hand, with respect to the lower part, should be difficult.  If the rubber is badly cracked or eroded, if it feels soft, if the threads on the studs are damaged, or if there are any cracks in the metal, the part must be replaced.  This is a safety matter, as a sudden gross failure of the mount could conceivably shift the engine so much that the headers would contact the steering shaft and jam the steering.

Once the transmission mount is reinstalled or replaced, check for interference problems with (a) the exhaust header and the steering shaft/U-joint assembly, (b) the exhaust system and the floor of the car, and (c) the shift lever and the transmission console.  Take a look at the motor mounts, too, just to make sure they're all right.  When satisfied, the car can be lowered back to the ground.

 

Attachment: 4 spd trans mount.gif (Downloaded 360 times)

Last edited on 05-05-2005 11:38 pm by Mark Rosenbaum