New owner and member -got a motor mount question

[midnite03]

Hi there,

I just bought an 03 P5 with 62.5k miles on it, from the original owner. Moving out of the country- seemed like a genuine reason for sale, paid a little over $8k. It has the power roof and the disc changer as options. It's the midnight blue ...


On to my question.... After spending a little more time with the car, I feel there is more vibration from the engine than there should be. If I leave my hand on the shifter between shifts, it buzzes through my hand, also I can feel it in the gas pedal, as well as a little bit in the seat, and a little in the wheel. If I get the car on the highway and then drop it into neutral, I can tell that most of the noise/buzz is coming from the rpm's rather than the mph's... I started taking a look at engine mounts, and the passenger side one looks like it may have failed to me, but I am not sure. The rubber looks torn at the top.

Sorry the picture isn't great.
Am I on the right track, or is the buzzing I'm describing normal for the vehicle (I tend to doubt that)? Do these mounts often wear out at this mileage? Or can you suggest other things to look at. The motor is running pretty well; it settles into a good smooth idle. And one more question-- is this one termed the 'side mount' or the 'front mount' - i.e is it relative to the engine or the car? Would really appreciate some help!-
looking forward to enjoying the car even more.

Thanks a lot!

 

[BOOSTR]

That is your side motor mount and yes its common for them to tear, even before hitting your mileage. You might also want to check the rear mount on the firewall as its common for that to tear also. Front mount and trans mount usually hold up better. Won't hurt to check them all.

 

[Riken]

Welcome to Disneyland. The best place to be. Yep get yourself a set of AWR motor mounts from protegegarage.com Great place for parts for our car. Oh im sorry to tell you that you didnt get the faster color.

 

[midnite03]

Thanks for the info guys. I would actually like to get the car back to a stock feel, but also do that with reasonable economy. Some of the prices I have seen for that stock side mount are pretty high!- $120+. I don't think I'm gonna go to a stiff high performance mount.

This one looks bad too, doesn't it? Is this the one that is called the transmission mount?



I notice in the parts catalogs there is a side mount which is for the automatic; I assume it fits the same but is softer rubber? It usually shows a lot cheaper than the manual transmission side mount.

 

[Cellerator]

That is the one on the transmission mount however from that picture, I can't tell if it's torn or not. If you want stock feel, whatever you do, don't go aftermarket. Especially for the rear mount.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Thanks for the info guys. I would actually like to get the car back to a stock feel, but also do that with reasonable economy. Some of the prices I have seen for that stock side mount are pretty high!- $120+. I don't think I'm gonna go to a stiff high performance mount.

This one looks bad too, doesn't it? Is this the one that is called the transmission mount?

View attachment 118939

I notice in the parts catalogs there is a side mount which is for the automatic; I assume it fits the same but is softer rubber? It usually shows a lot cheaper than the manual transmission side mount.

You could always fill the stock mounts with some substance to stiffen them back up a bit. I think it may make them a bit stiffer than stock, but stock really isn't the best place to be...though you get more vibes with aftermarket MMs, the advantages are pretty good...some guys say it feels like adding 10 hp because so much power is waste when the engine moves under shifting and hard acceleration, plus stiffer mounts help eliminate wheelhop.

I don't know if you are all about spirited driving, but I am, and mounts are my next mod. There's a wealth of info on the boards about them, and AWR actually makes 3 different stiffnesses, so you can always go the softest if you are worried about vibes. It will still help...

If you're interested in filling your own mounts, follow this link...
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72087&highlight=DIY+Motor+mount

 

[JoshP5]

Check your front mount first. This is a great reference. It's the easiest to access/inspect/replace and most prone to early failure. Also the cheapest to replace.

If you need to buy new parts check onlinemazdaparts.com for 20% off dealer prices and free shipping for >$100 purchases.

If the vibration changes as the load on the engine changes, like it gets worse when taking off from a stop, that suggests the motor mount(s) may have failed. If the vibes vary only with rpm, it's probably something else.

Oh, yeah, welcome to the site!

 

[midnite03]

Thanks for the additional information. I guess those AWR mounts are worth another look, if there is a soft one.

Here is a pic of that passenger side mount, which I took off today.



It doesn't have a lot of resistance to twist, the top having torn as you see.

Some of the pics of replacements I have seen don't have the middle piece - i.e. the bracket that goes over to the motor. Do I just knock the one out of the old one and reuse?

 

[Dermen]

The AWR side mounts are just inserts. They go into your stock mounts to fill the gaps. For the passenger mount you actually have to stretch the insert over that large bracket. The AWR front and rear mounts are complete replacement mounts and are available in 3 durometers.

SLS performance makes complete replacement mounts for the front and passenger side.

RR-Racing and Corksport make inserts for the front and rear mounts.

Inserts are cheaper, and aren't as stiff as replacing the stock mounts with solid mounts.

 

[Redcoat]

I'm planning on replacing my motor mounts but less vibration and overall smoothness is more important to me than a little more power. Am I better off buying OEM mounts rather than aftermarket?

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

They'll be smoother but they will probably just tear again after a while...and you'll just be throwing good money after bad. Maybe consider inserts for your current mounts. They'll hold up to the drivetrain lash while still giving you less vibes than non-oem mounts. If you search around there are some good threads on motor mounts and a lot of opinions on which mounts/inserts vibrate the least.

 

[midnite03]

Well, here is a followup to this story. I started off by buying a stock side motor mount. When I got it I realized that the separation/gap at the top surface is actually by design- although the gap on the new one was a lot smaller than the one on the old one. I took a closer look at the front mount, which wasn't torn through/broken, but looking from the drivers side (I took out the airbox and put my camera way down there) I was finally able to see a tear starting and that the engine had dropped a bit. So I replaced that with a stock mount. I would say that made things about 50% better. Then I went back and revisited the side mount, and put the new one in. At this point I'm reasonably happy. The car is easier to drive, with most of the back lash/ motor lurching gone, and the vibration/noise is cut way down. That said, I suspect the rear one is going bad too. That won't get touched till next summer. I have to say it seems strange that this is an issue. I have a 90 Festiva with 150k miles - same basic layout, the motor doesn't jump around and there's little vibration, never touched the engine mounts and have owned the car since 93. I don't really get why they had such a hard time with this after 13 more years r&d and why I'm replacing all the motor mounts on a 4 y/o 60k mile vehicle.... Every car has its quirks though I guess! Anyway I'm starting to enjoy the car more- it certainly goes where you point it and stays flat in the corners. Also it feels better to drive it a little harder now that the engine noise and vibration is lessened - doesn't seem as slow. Think I'll go for 4 new tires next. Thanks for your help, all!

 

[90210brandon]

Well, here is a followup to this story. I started off by buying a stock side motor mount. When I got it I realized that the separation/gap at the top surface is actually by design- although the gap on the new one was a lot smaller than the one on the old one. I took a closer look at the front mount, which wasn't torn through/broken, but looking from the drivers side (I took out the airbox and put my camera way down there) I was finally able to see a tear starting and that the engine had dropped a bit. So I replaced that with a stock mount. I would say that made things about 50% better. Then I went back and revisited the side mount, and put the new one in. At this point I'm reasonably happy. The car is easier to drive, with most of the back lash/ motor lurching gone, and the vibration/noise is cut way down. That said, I suspect the rear one is going bad too. That won't get touched till next summer. I have to say it seems strange that this is an issue. I have a 90 Festiva with 150k miles - same basic layout, the motor doesn't jump around and there's little vibration, never touched the engine mounts and have owned the car since 93. I don't really get why they had such a hard time with this after 13 more years r&d and why I'm replacing all the motor mounts on a 4 y/o 60k mile vehicle.... Every car has its quirks though I guess! Anyway I'm starting to enjoy the car more- it certainly goes where you point it and stays flat in the corners. Also it feels better to drive it a little harder now that the engine noise and vibration is lessened - doesn't seem as slow. Think I'll go for 4 new tires next. Thanks for your help, all!

Midnite, I did the exact samething you did and now my 'new' MM is torn a little more and the thrashing is back. I am considering taking the car to Mazda to see if they can pinpoint the problem but I am not convinced to do that though. I'll let you know what I find out if I do.

 

[CRANKEDAUTO]

the motor mounts are slightly different from automatic to manuals