help! removing motor mount bracket

[tsi_turboawd]

My '96 Eclipse GS started making some loud rubbing noise the other morning, and noticed the idler pulley (i think it was) was loose and wobbly. Seemed to cause the timing belt to rub into the inner part of the timing belt cover. So now I'm stuck in the middle of tearing down my 420a motor trying to get to the idler pulley with the mounting bracket.

I've removed the crankshaft pulley already. Took out the bolts for the motor mount bracket except for the 2 bolts I've already loosened facing the side chasis of the car. Yet still the damn thing wont come out. It's stuck in there since theres no room.. looks hopeless =\ this engine seems much harder to work on than the 4G63T.

Can anyone tell me how to remove the motor mount bracket on their 420a?

I need my car running again badly.

 

[WHite97RS]

jack up the motor, i did it by putting a wooden block on the jack so not to mess up the oil pan, and jacked it up by the oilpan. If i remeber correctly without jacking up the motor that mount gets in a bind and wont come loose unless it is jacked up. Once jacked up, it should come out rather easily. Good luck.

 

[wolf20043]

jack up the motor, i did it by putting a wooden block on the jack so not to mess up the oil pan, and jacked it up by the oilpan. If i remeber correctly without jacking up the motor that mount gets in a bind and wont come loose unless it is jacked up. Once jacked up, it should come out rather easily. Good luck.

Exactly. It helps to take the front motor mount loose as well. And dont try to take the bolts out of the mount like I did. Simply pull the whole mount out after the motor is up.
Mike

 

[dr1665]

BEST TRICK IN THE BOOK FOR GETTING THAT BASTARD OUT:

Drop the cross member.

Use a jack with a block of wood on the saddle under the oil pan to raise/lower engine.

Back all three bolts on the bracket out as far as you can get them, then push back in.

Lower engine as far as it will go (even pull the jack out from under it)

Use right hand to "pump" engine downward while using left hand to reach under frame rail to pull on the bottom bolt. You should get it out fairly easy.

Raise engine up until you can get the top bolt out. (This one is the easiest.)

Now, look at the inside of the strut tower and locate two things: the recess (dent) for that last bolt and the hardlines.

Lower the engine until that last bolt lines up with that dent. You will find that there is a hardline right there. Follow that line to the front of the tower and you will see it makes a turn and heads to the top of the tower, where it then bends again and heads out to the fender. Use a long screwdriver and very gently pry that line upwards from the top of the tower. This will get the line out of your way down on the side.

At this point, you should be able to pull that last bolt out as far as you can (into the recess), and rotate the bracket somewhat CCW (viewing from the top) to get that bastard out.

The day I tried this method, I had that bi*** out in two minutes. I've tried all the other methods and they all suck compared to this one. I have made it my personal mission to share this information with the world. #### that bracket. I spiked it on the garage floor afterwards.

This will help. That thing is the worst part of the whole procedure.

 

[WHite97RS]

well if you wanna get technical about it^^^^^^^

 

[dr1665]

well if you wanna get technical about it^^^^^^^

I'd rather do just about anything than dick with that thing. If it's not the most annoying aspect of doing the timing, the HG or pulling the engine, it's in the top three.

 

[WHite97RS]

i agree totally.....

 

[selmerguy]

due to my recent stupid problem i got to take my s!!T apart again. i found that if you leave out the timing cover of the bracket goes in alot easier. it might be a bad idea but alot of people do it.

 

[BigRand]

Oh wise one, you need to send that to the tech boards, "how to drop your 420a motor mounts"

 

[tsi_turboawd]

alright fellas, I got the motor mount bracket outta there! by jacking the motor up. Relieved. Now Im gonna go around and look for a new Timing belt and those 2 pulleys(Idler & the one on the bottom) maybe crankshaft seal and some other ones while at it.

anyone recommend where I should get parts other than the dealer? I plan on selling the car next year so It doesnt have to be the top of the line $$$ part.

thanks all!

 

[wret]

Somebody should put this in the tech articles or something. I lost hours on that #### #### bolt working on my daughters car. I finally drilled a one-inch hole through the fender wall.

 

[tsi_turboawd]

How did you remove the Cam Gears(sprockets) bolts without using a special tool?

Im scared I'd snap something to hold still the gears using a pry bar instead of that 'special tool' to break the bolt loose on each of the cam gears. just wanna play it safe.

 

[dr1665]

anyone recommend where I should get parts other than the dealer? I plan on selling the car next year so It doesnt have to be the top of the line $$$ part.

Parts Dinosaur. I've never heard anything but very happy words about this guy. I've never met the man, but he's got an excellent reputation.

 

[XMasta19]

Parts Dinosaur. I've never heard anything but very happy words about this guy. I've never met the man, but he's got an excellent reputation.

I got my new oem replacement pistons, rings, headgasket, etc from him...great price and shipping

Do you even have to take the cam gears out for what you're trying to do?

 

[tsi_turboawd]

^ yea well my pops told me to replace the crankshaft seal aswell bc he think its leaking a bit(or might be). As much as I try to avoid the trouble, I really wouldnt care much to do so.. since Im selling the car next year. But I also dont want anything else to fail on me before I sell it that would take so much trouble to fix.

 

[selmerguy]

^ yea well my pops told me to replace the crankshaft seal aswell bc he think its leaking a bit(or might be). As much as I try to avoid the trouble, I really wouldnt care much to do so.. since Im selling the car next year. But I also dont want anything else to fail on me before I sell it that would take so much trouble to fix.

the seal on the tranny side? or oil pump seal? either is no fun

 

[tsi_turboawd]

i've got the parts now: Timing Belt, Idler pulley, and Tensioner pulley. Also I've decided not to tinker with the not-so-fun parts to replace. Hopefully it'll be running within a few days before my Bday

 

[dr1665]

The front main seal is an easy replacement if you're down to the timing belt. You just need to pull the crank sprocket (Autozone has a tool you can rent for free, but you will have to buy $3 worth of metric bolts to thread into the sprocket.), then pry the old seal out, and press the new one in. It's just like the rear main, only it's about an inch across.

Hope that helps. I think the front main is under $10 at the dealership. Peace of mind...

 

[eskimoeqib]

I just went through this about 2 weeks ago with my Talon. Had to do the timing belt and waterpump and adjuster pulleys. I just messed with it for about 2 days pulling it different ways and jacking the engine up and down and finally it just came out when I pulled hard enough on it. A TON easier to put back in than it was to take out. It helped too to take off the front motor mount so the engine could move a bit more.