rotaryguy

howdy honda dudes. my daily beater is a '98 civic, all stock. i've been having a problem with the car bucking a bit when i hit the gas or take my foot off it. the engine feels like it's bouncing around under the hood and the gear shifter pops back and fourth an inch or two.

this is likely a problem with the engine mounts, right? is there a particular one that is prone to breaking? i'm looking to replace, or repair just the one that's busted. i've heard you can do a cheap repair with some sort of caulking material. does anyone have any recommendations here? i'll be doing the work myself (hey, i own an rx-7, compared to that, a civic should be mikey mouse ****, right?) and just wanted to get an idea of what i'm dealing with before i climb under the car.

i searched for engine mount, but it came up with a bunch of swap info, none of which i'm really all that interested in.

anyhoo, i'd apprecate any advice from the experts here.

hondapwr

Caulk?!? WTF? LOL

Most of the motor movement can be controlled by installing a polyurethane insert into the REAR motor mount. Energy suspension makes one, and I think Summit Racing carries them for about $45. Also, don't forget to tighten and inspect the rest of the motor mount bolts.

I used to have a 2nd gen RX7, a B16 Civic beats the pants off it anyday of the week..

rotaryguy

i'm more partial to my 1st gen rx-7 http://www.redhavana.net/album...d.jpg

anyhoo, the engine movement in the ol' civic is abnormally severe. is this polyurethane insert a repair, replacement, or upgrade? i want to make sure it's repaired, and i'm wary of adding an upgrade if the part itself is broken.

thanks for your help!

here's a bonus pic of the civic: http://www.redhavana.net/album...d.jpg

hondapwr

Oooh, fancy wheels! lol

The poly insert is an upgrade, but if the rubber inside the mount is damaged the poly insert will fix the symptoms. The poly insert should work as long as none of the metal is cracked or broken, and all the bolts are tight.

I should tell you that this will increase vibration inside the car, especially if you use a poly insert for anything but the rear mount.

hondapwr

It's actually 2600cc's BTW.. There are TWO 1300cc squish points.

EE_Chris

A brand new rubber mount is about $65 from an online OEM vendor (slhondaparts.com)

Prothane makes an insert for about $10-15.

There is also the DIY method.

rotaryguy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondapwr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's actually 2600cc's BTW.. There are TWO 1300cc squish points. </TD></TR></TABLE>

nope. the combustion chambers each displace 654cc

rotaryguy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EE_Chris &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A brand new rubber mount is about $65 from an online OEM vendor (slhondaparts.com)

Prothane makes an insert for about $10-15.

There is also the DIY method.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thank you for the diy linkage, EE_Chris and everyone. i now have options to explore. i appreciate your help.

one more question: what sort of difficulty is involved with installing these inserts? do i have to remove the mounts or do they slide right in on the car?


Modified by rotaryguy at 12:30 AM 7/12/2005

hondapwr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rotaryguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thank you for the diy linkage, EE_Chris and everyone. i now have options to explore. i appreciate your help.
one more question: what sort of difficulty is involved with installing these inserts? do i have to remove the mounts or do they slide right in on the car?
Modified by rotaryguy at 12:30 AM 7/12/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>

The rear mount can be a pain for clearance reasons, but the other mounts are pretty straight forward. Expect some dissasembly.

kkim

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondapwr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The rear mount can be a pain for clearance reasons, but the other mounts are pretty straight forward. Expect some dissasembly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

How about the front upper mount? I just found the rubber portion cracked and am thinking of installing the prothane insert. How difficult is it to install into this mount? What is involved?

Sorry for the hijack, but I was just going to post when I saw this thread.

Thanks

hondapwr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kkim &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How about the front upper mount? I just found the rubber portion cracked and am thinking of installing the prothane insert. How difficult is it to install into this mount? What is involved?
Sorry for the hijack, but I was just going to post when I saw this thread.
Thanks </TD></TR></TABLE>

The front mounts are easy with a ratchet and a jack. Keep in mind that a prothane insert for the front mounts creates alot of vibration compared to the rear mount. If I were you, I'd just get a new OEM mount.

kkim

I am considering a new stock mount, but the car has only 42k miles and the mount is done?? Seems like buying a stock mount is inviting premature failure... again. Yeah, I've read about the vibration w/ the prothane. Do you have the prothane front mount and are you advising against it?

Also condsidering buying a used front mount to experiment filling it w/ urethane from Home Depot or slide a prothane in it if I don't like the DIY results. Do you know if anyone has tried the DIY method on this mount before? Is it even possible?

thanks

hondapwr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kkim &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am considering a new stock mount, but the car has only 42k miles and the mount is done?? Seems like buying a stock mount is inviting premature failure... again. Yeah, I've read about the vibration w/ the prothane. Do you have the prothane front mount and are you advising against it?

Also condsidering buying a used front mount to experiment filling it w/ urethane from Home Depot or slide a prothane in it if I don't like the DIY results. Do you know if anyone has tried the DIY method on this mount before? Is it even possible?
thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think hybridforum/hybridgarage.com had an article on the DIY method step by step. Search the internet for instructions. I had a set of energy suspension front mount inserts, and felt that the added stiffness wasn't worth the vibration. Now I just have a rear mount insert and it works great.

Even with an insert, I would still recommend replacing any mounts that are visibly cracked/ripped. It seemed like rotaryguy couldn't find any visible damage, so I recommended just checking the bolts and getting a rear insert.