crazy parts bin engine mount upgrade! (OEM engine damper)

[TheMAN]

I'm still on my stock rear mount and it's working just fine.. it's not torn at all... yeah, the turbo diesel's rear mount is different but I don't know if it fits or not.. probably does... and I don't know if it's stiffer or softer... like I said, what I have now is fine

total parts cost is around $350 *retail*
price really depends on where you get the parts from... you should be able to get the US sourcable parts plus retail rapage for the 2 imported parts and end up way less than $300

ok, so it's not cheap, but this s*** works... the engine may not be "solid" like everyone out there wants, but its movements are greatly reduced and are good enough for *smooth* spirited driving

yes, the stock s*** sucked

 

[Kansei]

I'm sick of "solid".. with solid front and rear I still have wheelhop, only worsened by the fact that I'm on rubberband 205/40 tires right now. The way my dash jumps (it moves too much to call it vibration) when launching is atrocious.. I've had it. 300 dollars is totally tolerable. Hopefully it'll be enough that I don't have to tear off the intake manifold again and deal with the hell of my rear motor mount again.

 

[chicaboo]

I took my rear CS inserts out the other night, so I just have the front CS inserts and side AWR inserts, and it's quite tolerable right now. I just have a little vibration at idle with the AC on, can hardly tell when the AC is off.

However, from what Edwin has been saying about this upgrade, and from what I used to experience on my auto, this mod will do more than just eliviate vibrations. It should also control the wheel hop via the roll damper, well it did on my auto, I never had any hop on that car, it would just grip or spin up heaps.

Gav.

 

[chicaboo]

Hi guys,

I've gone back and reread the article, and I didn't see anything relating to the 1.8 FP-DE in particular, so I will contribute this: Since the F25M-R manual tranny and then FN4A-EL auto trannies are both F series, I thought I should check my bolt hole configuration. To my surprise, my bracket looks just like the auto bracket that Edwin posted up, minus the tab for the roll damper ofcourse. I don't have the curved out wall on the bracket, and the bolts are the other way around...

Based on this, I am assuming the 1.8 owner's can do a comlpete and easy auto tranny engine mount swap. The bolt holes and the shape of the bracket look identical as far as I can tell. So I will buy the auto bracket and see how I go and get back with the results.

Cheers,
Gav.

 

[TheMAN]

cool... let us know how it goes!

I totally forgot that I wrote in the FAQ a long time ago that the 2.0 auto bracket will work on the auto/manual 1.8s.... yes the stock 1.8 auto & manual brackets are the same, and since the 2.0 autos essentially uses the same tranny as the 1.8 auto, the 2.0 bracket ought to work just fine

 

[chicaboo]

Oh snap, too bad I didn't check the FA-Q. But I was all ready to order the Sport20 bracket from NZ when I realised I had an F series gearbox and not a G series (simple oversight ). And my guess that all the F series had the same bolt hole locations appears to be supported by your findings.

Another thing I should probably check is the length of the T bracket on the USDM passenger side engine mount. As maybe the 1.8 has the same offset as the auto F series P5's do? I will get back to you on this when I can CBF'd looking.

Cheers,
Gav.

 

[TheMAN]

all of the auto 1.8/2.0 proteges uses the same #3 engine mount... all 1.8s uses the same #3 engine mount regardless of tranny

1.6l tranny bracket is NOT the same as the 1.8, so the roll damper trick won't work

 

[chicaboo]

So if I understand you correctly, the 1.8 #3 manual = 1.8 #3 auto = 2.0 #3 auto? That's how I read it anyhow, and that's kind of what I had suspected...

Gav.

 

[chicaboo]

OK, on the weekend I confirmed the above statement on AUDM cars. The easiest way to describe it is that the G series #3 mount (P5 manual) is different to the F series, ie: longer T section as discussed in another thread.

I have all the parts I need save one, that is the F series automatic bracket that goes to the bellhousing. The roll damper is quite a bit smaller than I had anticipated too, and it appears the roll damper pivots around the tightened nut on the larger circlular piece. I hope to have the last part I need soon, and have this installed in the next couple of weeks.

Gav.

 

[P-Funk!]

So...
If i went to JUST the diesel mounts (front and side) and kept the AWR/70 in the rear (too much trouble to replace!) - would it be less vibes and decent hop control?

HHmmh? What do you think?

 

[chicaboo]

When I had the AWR inserts and front and rear AWR 88s I wouldn't get hop ever. But when I replaced the 88s for CS inserts front and rear, I would get hop on wet roads, but not as bad as having nothing. Now I just have the front CS and AWR inserts (ie: stock rear), it's easy to hop on a dry road, but not as bad as stock.

I hope to have my last remaining part soon to do this upgrade. I will still keep the AWR inserts in, as they help a tiny bit with hop, and the passenger side mount inserts atleast prevent the stock mount from tearing...

As I don't have the diesel mount, I may modify the CS inserts with some holes to effectively soften them up, then reinstall them to compliment the damper system.

Gav.

 

[chicaboo]

OK, I have all the parts I need now to finish my crazy parts bin front engine mount upgrade! I should be able to do this conversion within a couple of weeks if I am lucky. The best thing is, this is one modification that is actually easier to do on the 1.8s! Just get all the P5 automatic gear and you are off and running.

Cheers,
Gav.

 

[Javo]

wow subin...

 

[TheMAN]

OK, I have all the parts I need now to finish my crazy parts bin front engine mount upgrade! I should be able to do this conversion within a couple of weeks if I am lucky. The best thing is, this is one modification that is actually easier to do on the 1.8s! Just get all the P5 automatic gear and you are off and running.

Cheers,
Gav.

why would it take you a couple of weeks? this s*** only takes like 30 mins to do!

 

[chicaboo]

Mazda overturned the bolt through my front mount when they installed my clutch, so it won't lock up against the jambstop anymore. So it needs to be removed with a rattle gun to get it off quick enough with some hammer action. As all the shops are shut here, I have to wait til I can go to my friends place to use his air tools...

Otherwise I don't expect it's a big deal.
Gav.

 

[chicaboo]

Hey kiddies!

I got the damper installed finally the other day with just the soft AWR side inserts to compliment it. I haven't tried inducing any sort of violent shifts or hard launches yet due to a cracked header. However, I can say after two days driving in traffic in 1st and 2nd gear, it is definately smoother than stock without the retaded continual bucking you get while trying to drive slow. The car still bucks a bit, but usually only once or twice (to slightly less of an extent) and then it's happy. A bigger exhaust with a little less backpressure would actually help make things smoother again by reducing the sudden low-end responsiveness of the FP engine, I am decided whether to get 2.25" mandrel or crush...

Since I can't get the diesel mount like Edwin's, I might try drilling some holes in my Corksport front inserts to make them softer and then put them in with the damper to see if I can get a better result. I also have my old front engine mount laying around, I could try some eurethane/silicone compound in it and see if thats better or worse too... The last thing I want though is to make a virtual spring out of whatever material I put into the spare engine mount, that would be counter-productive. A dull slow reacting sort of material is what I want to aid the roll damper's benefits.

Edwin: Is there a way to adjust the roll dampers firmness? It looks so pissweak, I just wonder if it can be possibly turned a revolution against the internal spring to increase it's effect?

Gav.

 

[P-Funk!]

Theman:
I have read the original post (and apologize for being retarded) BUT - i still can't tell if i can't just bolt in a diesel mount - without the additional brackets and damper. Just the diesel mount.

Standing By.

Thanks again for taking this mod on - Lord Knows we needed it!

 

[TheMAN]

Hey kiddies!

I got the damper installed finally the other day with just the soft AWR side inserts to compliment it. I haven't tried inducing any sort of violent shifts or hard launches yet due to a cracked header. However, I can say after two days driving in traffic in 1st and 2nd gear, it is definately smoother than stock without the retaded continual bucking you get while trying to drive slow. The car still bucks a bit, but usually only once or twice (to slightly less of an extent) and then it's happy. A bigger exhaust with a little less backpressure would actually help make things smoother again by reducing the sudden low-end responsiveness of the FP engine, I am decided whether to get 2.25" mandrel or crush...

Since I can't get the diesel mount like Edwin's, I might try drilling some holes in my Corksport front inserts to make them softer and then put them in with the damper to see if I can get a better result. I also have my old front engine mount laying around, I could try some eurethane/silicone compound in it and see if thats better or worse too... The last thing I want though is to make a virtual spring out of whatever material I put into the spare engine mount, that would be counter-productive. A dull slow reacting sort of material is what I want to aid the roll damper's benefits.

Edwin: Is there a way to adjust the roll dampers firmness? It looks so pissweak, I just wonder if it can be possibly turned a revolution against the internal spring to increase it's effect?

Gav.

I don't see of any way to adjust it, but inside the damper is most likely a spiral wound spring which does the job... yeah it does look weak but it works! it seems like it works better than that weapon-r s*** that have been floating around, and no intrusions either

I'm glad it worked for you also and that I wasn't just imagining things... looks like this is another proven mod (first)

 

[TheMAN]

Theman:
I have read the original post (and apologize for being retarded) BUT - i still can't tell if i can't just bolt in a diesel mount - without the additional brackets and damper. Just the diesel mount.

Standing By.

Thanks again for taking this mod on - Lord Knows we needed it!

of course you don't need it! the 4WD cars uses the same front motor mount as our 2WD cars, which means the physical space for the motor mount is the same on the 4WD bracket as the stock s***... in otherwords, the turbo diesel mount will go in any 3rd gen without problems

 

[chicaboo]

I don't see of any way to adjust it, but inside the damper is most likely a spiral wound spring which does the job... yeah it does look weak but it works! it seems like it works better than that weapon-r s*** that have been floating around, and no intrusions either

I'm glad it worked for you also and that I wasn't just imagining things... looks like this is another proven mod (first)

Not only is it just a proven mod, it's something that works both on the FS AND FP (with F series auto parts).

Apart from the Weapon-R damper being on the wrong side of the engine and obstructing the strut brace and AC bracket, etc. I wonder if the 2 combined would achieve a fuller effect? I wish there was a way to dull the responsiveness of the engine below 3000rpm without having to except trade-offs like larger more noisy exhausts...

I would still love to get my hands on a diesel mount when someone is not too busy to help. Guess who I'm looking at?

Gav.