Trans mounts/motor mounts bad?
 

I'm getting a pop sound out of the LeSabre when changing from R to D or the other way around. I've also heard it pop if I am in D and pull it into 2nd. I can be completely stopped, with my foot hard on the brakes, and shifting R to D will still pop. So not likely to be the suspension.
I have the FSM, and was looking at all the mount points.
How do you tell if its bad or not without replacing all of them? It started out only popping once in awhile, now it does it every time.
Which one would be the most likely culprit? The mount for the trans in the front maybe? And where would you get a new quality replacement?
Thanks!

Pop your hood and take a look at the front mount on the transmission. Likely it's marshmallowy center is shot.

MarshMallowing
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...h_MVI_4258.jpg

Good mount
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...h_MVI_4259.jpg

Notice the difference in effort exerted as well.

So, if the mount is shot (possibly more than just the one...) would that be what is causing my left side suspension problems? Everything else has been checked out or replaced, and it just feels like a tire out of balance or a brake disc is warped. But it goes away, comes back, the pedal pulsates and its worse on right hand turns than lefts. Shakes both on acceleration and decel.
Could it be bad enough to cause this on its own, or might it only be part of the problem?
The car tracks almost perfectly in a hard corner in either direction.
At this point I'm still throwing parts at that problem. I'm sitting here with a new drivers side LCA, debating if I really want to put it in or not. Somehow, I doubt it will fix anything, probably why I keep putting it off....

If the motor and trans are really in there that loose, I'd be better off spending my efforts on the mounts if they are going to help things.

Hang in there Sparky... you asked about motor mounts. Let's not try and turn that into a full blown suspension question because you are asking about a pop when you go from F to R etc.

I'm sending you outside to go check your front transmission mount. :w3

Just thinkin out loud.
I posted the suspension problems before, just wonderin if 1+1=2 in this case. Id have to order the mounts no matter what. None of the local places have em.
Besides, I can't do much of anything outside right now.. mother nature wont quit with the rain already. My "spot" I use to work on anything is a pond, and my parking space is mud.
Days like this I dream of a garage. Or even a driveway... :nm

Raining simply means multitasking. You can shower while you work on the car. :thumbup2

Well, its shot alright.
If I rock the car back and forth, it yanks the inlet hose right off the air filter housing!

So, front mount is definitely shot. Rear one too then? Looks like its just see-sawing on the left and right mounts. But hard to tell if the rear is moving.

With this being the case, are they bad enough to throw the driveline off balance and create all the other problems I'm getting?

Guess I'll order the front and rear, and see if I can get it into the local guy here early Saturday before work, cuz I sure don't have any way to safely get to that rear mount here.
Something about a clay/mud and gravel driveway that really doesn't inspire confidence when its been raining for the last week straight, and the jacks sink into the mud further than the car goes up.... :rolleyes:

I'd do the front. Not sure if the rear is bad, it's usually ok.

Well, couldn't get it into the shop. They were too busy. And why is it that a garage is open for only 4 hours on they day that people usually have off? Wouldn't it make sense to be open all day, to capitalize on business, since Joe Regular guy can't make it during the week? Eh.

Is there any trick to getting the front one out? I have a feeling a torch or cutoff wheel will need to be involved in this one. Its rusted pretty bad, and I think my 600 ft.lb impact will just break the thing apart.
When I get outta work, I think I'm gonna have to find retaining nuts for it, since they didn't come with the new mounts (go figure).
Can I just take the bracket off the side of the trans, after jacking it up to relieve any weight on the mount? I'll re-read the FSM, but as with anything, there are sometimes better ways to fix a problem than the way the FSM is written. So, if anyone has some pointers on removing the front trans mount, I need all the help I can get.
I can already tell it will make a difference, since I put a ratchet strap from the upper lifting bracket down to a hole in the frame, and tightened it down a bit to keep the engine from turning over so much. I doesn't shake nearly as bad. But the heat from the exhaust already melted the plastic on the mechanism.
Hopefully I can get to it later today after work....

Start by spraying PB blaster on the bolts. Do this for the next few weeks.