Brendanj

Hi,
New lurker here. Nice place.

I’m having a problem changing the driver side motor mount on my 2003. I’m hoping someone here has had experience and can chime in. I have read all the motor mount tutorials and threads on all forums, but most of that information seems to be aimed at the Miata’s with mounts that attach to the block with three-bolt brackets. My 2003 has a four-bolt bracket. There is more to this bracket than just an extra bolt - it also has a “lip” that curves under the edge of the oil pan. This lip keeps me from maneuvering the mount once I have everything disconnected.

So here is what I have done so far. The passenger side mount has been changed and I had no problems there. On that side of the car, the motor mount bolt fits into an elongated slot in the crossmember. That allowed the mount/bracket assembly to slide out once I had unbolted it and jacked up the motor. The driver side does not have this same slot in the crossmember, only a hole. I can jack the motor up 1 inch and there is no way to maneuver the mount/bracket assembly so I can get that threaded stud clear of the crossmember. I have shoved the engine over to get a little more room, but I can’t get that bracket to budge. I did find a post ( may have been this forum) where someone’s mechanic drilled holes and created a slot in the subframe which allowed the motor mount and bracket to slide out. I may go this route, but I wanted to see if anyone has another possible solution?

Thanks,

Ben

iTrader: (33)

I just replaced the d/s mount on my 01 a couple weeks ago. Had to disconnect both mounts and raise the engine with a hoist. Also had to move the engine around with a breaker bar, especially to get the engine to sit back in the proper place on the subframe when reinstalling the d/s mount. The p/s mount is a bit simpler. Seems like it would be a lot tougher with a jack under the oil pan instead of lifting with a hoist, and it had to come up a lot more than just 1 inch.

Brendanj

Excellent. Thanks, Ben. I have access to a cherry picker and I can give this another try.