How to change 164 motor mounts

[<lah@domain.elided>]

I decided to change some motor mounts on my 91 164S because it was clunking
a bit when I shifted.  I read on the list that only the right rear mount
was difficult.  My local dealer had had the right front mount in stock so I
decided to change that one even though I wasn't really sure which needed
replacement.  I figured I'd get a better view of the others while I was
down there.

Well, it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected.  It was
easy enough to unbolt, but I couldn't get the clearance needed to get the
old one out and the new one in.  It is very scary to jack up the engine and
hear things crunching - especially when you don't have close to the
clearance you will need.

I started unbolting things - the exhaust, the gear shift linkage, the
radiator overflow bottle, the and the right side motor mount.  Still not
enough clearance.  I called Fred Di Matteo and he confirmed what I was
starting to realize - it's a bitch of a job.  The car disk wasn't any help
because they only give the procedure to remove the engine from the car -
that simply says "unbolt everything".

One thing Fred said that was key was that I needed to unbolt the left rear
motor mount.  I had been avoiding this because it looked like such a pain
to reach.  I did unbolt it and it made a big difference.  I also had to
loosen up some bolts on the radiator where the alternator was hitting it.
I finally managed to get enough clearance to do the swap.

I bolted everything back together and I notice an improvement already.  One
big mistake was not replacing the right rear mount at the same time.  I had
already done 90% of the work so I should have replaced it while I was in
there.

The left side looks much easier and might not require unbolting anything
except the mount itself.

Lawrence Hegarty   1991 164S
Montreal, Quebec   1986 Spider (in bed for the winter)

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