You can see from the pictures just how badly a stock motor mount can fail.. I knew it was time for new engine mounts when I noticed how badly chewed the drivers side engine mount was. The passenger side one was still in very good condition.

Installation:

The first thing to do is to remove the nut that you get to from underneath the motor mount. This requires a 15mm socket. The second thing is to remove the other nut holding the mount to the frame. On the passenger side this is just a nut, but on the drivers side this is a bolt. Once again, this uses a 15mm socket. The next step is to remove the nut off of the bolt going through the bushing. This requires two 18mm wrenches.

Once this has been done you need to lift the engine up slightly to unweight the engine mounts. Ideally this would be done with an engine hoist, but since I didn't have one at my disposal, I used a jack underneath the oil pan with a 2x4 used to distribute the load more evenly along the oil pan. This sounds kinda sketchy, but in all honesty it isn't lifting much weight at all so it really isn't a problem. Once the mount is unweighted the long bolt slips out from the bushing fairly easily.

Now from what I hear, some years require the removal of the oil filter mount in order to remove the passenger side bolt. I had no such problem as shown in one of the pictures. I don't know which years have the problem and which ones don't, but for reference, mine is a '94. If anybody knows what years have the problem, and how you remove the mount, please e-mail me and I will update this article.

Now you are ready to install your motor mounts. Installation is the reverse of the removal of the stock motor mounts. When I ordered my motor mounts from Rusty he warned me that some years needed the shoulder to be clearanced slightly. Mine required this as shown in the pictures. In the side by side comparison of the new motor mount with the old motor mount you can see how the stock motor mount provides more clearance at the ends of the bushing.

The other slight problem I encountered was on the passenger side motor mount the hole for the stud in the frame was just slightly too small. Quick pass with the drill fixed that problem.

Driving impressions:

In short GET THESE MOUNTS NOW. This is one of the best modifications I have done to my truck. Throttle response is noticeably improved from the stronger mount. Also there was a noticeable improvement in the trucks handling trait and squeaks and creaks coming from the chassis were decreased. I assume these benefits are the result of increased chassis stiffness that came from the installation of these motor mounts. Finally, these motor mounts provide a great deal of peace of mind over the weak stock mounts.

Now the big question, what are the downsides. Honestly, there aren't any. I didn't notice any increase in noise or vibration coming from the engine. All in all, the installation of these motor mounts was extremely easy and is undoubtedly worth it for the peace of mind it provides.

For more information, contact:

Rusty's Off-Road Products
213 Oak St.
Trussville, AL 35173
205-655-8714
Rusty@rustysoffroad.com
http://www.rustysoffroad.com/

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