PSA: check your motor mounts

[Drew Mouton <drew@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

Here's my freebie Public Service Announcement, especially for folks who 
are irregular maintainers of slightly older cars.

I bought my '87 E30 convertible back at the end of July, and at the time 
did a pretty thorough inspection of most wear points. I had it up on a 
rack and, among other things, noticed that one of the engine mounts 
looked a little ragged. I ordered replacements a couple weeks ago and 
finally got them installed last weekend.

In the process, I had the engine supported by a jack under the crankcase, 
and imagine my surprise to note that *BOTH* mounts were competely 
separated from their metal support plates. I'd been driving around for 
almost two months with virtually _no_ mount point support, and with the 
engine jacked had the subframe and control arms dangling dangerously in 
the air. And until I had the car up and supported under the engine 
(rather than by the wheels), there's no way I could have seen that they 
weren't in passable shape.

So, take a moment to check 'em next time it's convenient. (I also get a 
much better feel behind the wheel, now that a 1000 pounds of engine isn't 
adrift int he wind around curves.)

Drew

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