Women, older folks and Uber drivers are targets for mechanics everywhere, sadly. In the Bay Area, if one was to drive out to the Asian/Mexican parts of the area(but are slowly gentrifying like the Fruitvale/Eastlake areas of Oakland and East San Jose for example), labor will be somewhat less than the other parts of town but they’ll install Anchor or other aftermarket junk unless it’s OK to bring in your own. Mobile repair is an option, but ask for OE parts.
I need to replace motor mounts
- Thread starter Shel_B
- Start date
San Francisco is possibly the highest cost of living in all of California.
In general, be careful when DIY engine mounts in a FWD vehicle. Some manufacturers specify a mount tightening sequence in order to suppress noise and vibration.
It could be the car's engine has been vibrating a lot or the car has been used in rough roads or terrain. Or possible the bolts on the mount is loose & just needs re-tightening.
Last edited:
Doing a little snooping online, it seems that the mounts last an average of 60k-100k miles, with the most common failure being the torque strut mount. Start there..
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,167
Great minds think alike. After viewing some videos I thought I might try replacing the torque strut myself. It's easily accessible and it looks like the job might be done with the tools I already have, although all that has to be verified.
When I go out to the car later today, I'll look at the situation and estimate my chances of doing that part of the job myself.
I am not convinced that I need all four mounts. I believe the shop was taking a cautious approach to doing them all so there'd be no "come back" and all the bases would be covered. Generally, I'm in favor of that approach, but I'm also conservative in the way I do things. If I can start with the simplest and easiest aspect of replacing the mounts, I may solve the problem and save myself some $$. Worst case scenario is I go to phase 2, looking at and possibly replacing the remaining mounts while saving a few bucks in labor and parts.
Thanks for your help here, and thanks to everyone who jumped in with their thoughts and suggestions. I've not done any wrenching on my cars in quite some time, so I'm looking forward to seeing if this is something I can do.
Jack rabbit starts will shorten the lifespan.
Again, go to a dealer, tell 'em the engine is vibrating, and let the dealer diagnose the problem and the cost of a proper fix. How hard can that be? You don't have to let the dealer do the work, just get their opinion.
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,167
I don't know what your problem is. Maybe you've not read the entirety of the thread, so for you, I'll say it again. I have three shops that I'll be taking the car to for a further diagnosis. Actually, one has already determined it's motor mounts. I'll be getting a couple of additional opinions within the next week ... right now the issues are which and how many mounts need to be replaced and which shop will provide the best value and service, both in terms of cost and turnaround time. How hard can that be to understand?
Parenthetically, it's a royal pain to take the car to the nearest dealers. They are inconvenient to get to, I'd have to leave the car all day and go through some machinations to return home and get back to the dealership to pick up the car, while the other shops are close by, have comfortable waiting rooms, nearby places to grab breakfast or coffee, and therefor are more pleasant and easier to deal with ... plus, I trust them more than the local dealers, with whom I've also dealt.
Last edited:
My guesstimate of the dealers quote + their diagnostic fee is around $2800.
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,167
They'll certainly be no less expensive than the local shops.
Ask if you can bring your own mounts....if they say no it's because they'll markup their wholesale price when comes time to pay them. They'll claim it's warranty issues but they'll buy the cheapest mounts their parts store carries so stay away from those shops as they'll try to gouge you in every way
Shel_B
Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2020
- Messages
- 5,167
All the shops I have in mind will use OE Toyota parts, either because that's their preference or because I've requested them. I trust these guys ... been working with them since the mid-80s, a couple since 1970. We may sometimes disagree on what should be done (i.e., some mounts or all of them), but I don't have any problems or issues with their integrity.
Sorry, it is a pain to go to the dealers, I just figure one can get an idea what's wrong and an idea what the cost would be with oem parts. Good luck with it.
I still can't figure out why a shop would do work with customer supplied parts. Desperate for business but the good shops usually aren't desperate for business. He's got a 2011 so it's out of warranty and they sure won't provide any warranty on their work with supplied parts.
I don't care if the customer supplies parts, as long as they are not junk. I am not in the business of marking up parts on the invoice. My labour charge covers my hours and the overhead.
Oops! I forgot I am retired now ...
