so last night... i had wet feet and my foot sliped right off the clutch.. and its wheel hopin like a *******.. and i finally get it under controll... this morning i noticed that my shifter(when in first gear) moves 6-8 inches to the right upon take off... and it moves about 2-3 in second... after that its fine... but the motor doesnt seem like its off a mount cuz i had the hood open and i was revvin it watchin the motors movment. any help appreciated

 

maybe the tranny mount is shot? get some traction bars to control wheelhop!

 

Take a good look at the drivers side mount. The Auto Zone mounts are junk.

 

yeah.. ill check the mounts... what exaxtly am i looking for??? the mount being completly dislodged or a crack, bolt loose/missing... i mean it only goes on when the torque of the motor is over coming the inertia of the truck you know?

 

You usually need to use a jack and block of wood. Lift easy on the oil pan or along the block if you can get a 2x4 up there on the mount perch. (Or prybar under the mount itself) Most times the crack in the rubber is difficult to spot. With a little upward pressure you will see the mount seperate and the engine lift up. I have torn the bolt clear out of Auto Zone mounts in no time. I treat my truck like a baby. I do use 2 low on boat ramps and tow a large boat. I have had to replace the trans mount also. The three mount setup just doesn't seem to strong to me. Especially on a 4x4.

When my drivers side let go. You could rev in first gear. The mount lifted up. (And gear shift would swing to the right) Then when you let off the gas, you could hear a very loud clunk. (Gearshift swings back to center) This was the mount falling back down. Really noticable in a parking lot with the wheels turned all the way left. It really torques the drivetrain when you ease out the clutch to get moving.

Spend a little extra on a Ford factory mount or good quality aftermarket mount. Don't waste your money on an Auto Zone lifetime warranty mount. You'll spend your lifetime changing them...

 

Is there away to use some kind of limiting strap to keep the motor from moving so much? This motor is tall and all the mounts are at the bottom. I notice that my motor pulls quite a bit even with the new mounts. I was trying to figure a way to hook a strap to either the bell housing or the block to assist the motor mounts in keeping the motor from torquing over so much.

 

When I was about 9 years old we had the 22 foot Phoenix house trailer hooked up to the 69 Chevy station wagon. We pull out from the drive way in central Ohio ready for a three week vacation to Florida (1972). A block down the road from the driveway the engine makes contact with the hood with a loud clunk. Motor mount just let go. Ol Dad didn't skip a beat. He pulls out from the tool box a set of vise grips with the motorcycle chain attatched. (Not sure what the real name for them is) Slings them around the motor mount, puts the bear grip on them and we are back on vacation schedule in about 5 minutes. We always bought the GM's from a dealer on the Cincinnatti/Kentucky border. That 69 got traded vise-grips and all as we came back North from the trip. The 72 wagon that we got was the biggest LEMON/DOG. The pollution controls had just came out. Dad has been with FORD ever since.

What I later learned was my oldest then 18 year old sister was a hot rodder hell raiser. That wagon had a 327 with 4 BBL and 3 on the tree. I guess it gave a lot of cars a good run. She tested it every chance she got. Hence the stressed motor mount.

I remember Mopars of the erra just had chain and padlocks around there mounts for limiting straps. I think the vise grips would work good. Put a peice of safety wire around the handle to ensure they don't come undone and free fall to the road. They just won't have the "COOL" factor the chain and padlocks had on the old Mopars. Like a beast that can't be caged...

Wish I was a little older in those days. It seems like the drivers side and the trainy mount really get the most torque/strain. When they go then it works on the passenger side.

 

I blew my mounts, engine and tranny, almost at the same time, What I did was weld 5 or 6 inch's of chain links to the engine mounts. One link to the top, a few in between, with a bit of slack, and last link to the lower. Engine can still flex but when you haul on it the chain holds tight.

 

how much money am i lookin at

 

why don't you just buy solid mounts, that way you dont' have to make anything permenant or worry about if it is going to break or work correctly?

 

Depends on where you go for parts. Got my stuff from Napa and was around $125 for all three, if memory serves.
I believe dodge had a recall for there engine mounts on 94 on up trucks, all they did was wrapped a cable around the engine mounts and crimped the ends together. Just a peice of info.

 

Your truck should have the hydraulic style mounts. Even if they aren't bad, if they are original, jacking the engine up will rip them. I'd just go ahead and replace both. Solid mounts are a very bad idea- truck frames flex. When you have solid motor mounts, you need a solid tranny mount, but then the engine/tranny setup is trying to hold the frame in alignment. Most likely, the first casualty will be the tranny case, or bolts. On my truck, I managed to break the bolts for the right side mounts before the left side one let go.