If you're like most people -- the kind who read the little text box before the article text itself -- then you're probably thinking "What's with the 'moderately easy' rating on a motor-mount replacement article?" The answer, o scanner of documents, is that this job really isn't particularly difficult. But there's a caveat here: you have to have the right tool for the job. Without it, you can still do the job, but there's a good chance it'll turn into a nightmare of misaligned mounts and broken parts.
Instructions
- 1
Disconnect the negative battery cable to prevent electrical system damage, and remove the bolt securing the coolant surge tank to the chassis. Move the coolant tank off to one side; it's going to either block the engine support bar, or get crushed by it.
2Install the engine support bar. These bars, available at many large chain hardware retailers, consist of five parts: the bar that spans the engine bay, the sliding supports that you must adjust to sit on the fender-well ledge, and a pair of long bolts that go down vertically through the bar. Once you have the supports adjusted, you'll position the lift's hooks so that they engage the engine-lift hooks on top of the motor. Spin the adjusting collar on the lift hooks so that the bar just begins to take some of the weight of the engine.
3Remove the nuts securing the bad mount to the body, and then remove the bolt holding the engine bracket to the mount. You may need to play with the adjustment on the lift hooks to take load off of the mount; you do not want the weight of the engine hanging from the last thread on a stud. Once you get the mount off, install the new mount and hand-thread the nuts and bolts in place in the reverse order of removal.
4Tighten the bolts holding the engine bracket to the mount to 96 foot-pounds, and torque the nuts holding the mount to the body to 49 foot-pounds. A couple of drops of medium-strength (blue) threadlocker on the stud and bolt threads isn't required, but it can't hurt. Once you have the nuts and bolts torqued, spin the hook collars counter-clockwise to shift engine weight to the mount, and remove the lift bar. Reinstall the surge tank and the negative battery cable, and enjoy your newly freshened Alero
