Saturn Vue rusted motor mounts?

[Elkins45]

My SIL has a 2008(?) Saturn Vue that her mechanic has said is unsafe to drive because the motor mounts (which are direct welded to the frame) are corroded. There’s a company that sells replacements which require cutting back the old ones to a nub and welding the news ones in place. Does anyone here have any experience doing this? The new mounts are only about $300 but I fear the labor costs would be prohibitive. I would offer to do it but I wouldn’t want to be responsible, and I’ve not all that confident in my welding skills. I’d try it if if were my own vehicle but not someone else’s.

 

[Astro14]

Paging @Trav - who I would absolutely trust with the mounts and the welding work. Not an uncommon problem in rust belt cars.

 

[zzyzzx]

Pictures would have helpful here.
If the motor mounts are rusted, I have to wonder what else is rusted and if it's worth fixing.

 

[hemitom]

Have you been underneath the Vue.
Notorious frame rot issues on that generation check it out first if the motor mounts are that bad the rest cannot be to good ?

 

[Elkins45]

Have you been underneath the Vue.
Notorious frame rot issues on that generation check it out first if the motor mounts are that bad the rest cannot be to good ?

Pictures would have helpful here.
If the motor mounts are rusted, I have to wonder what else is rusted and if it's worth fixing.

They’re 200 miles away so I haven’t seen it. I’m basing my question on what they told me and on a video from the guy making the replacement mounts. It has nearly 200k miles so I question putting much money into it under any circumstance, but they just did a bunch of home repair so there’s not a lot of extra money for a new car right now.

 

[IndyIan]

The actual welding is pretty fast and cheap, but getting everything out of the way can be the problem. Have a look and see if there's crusty brake lines, fuel lines, AC, anything that looks like its going to break when you try to undo it, if there's nothing there, or you can turn the fittings easily, then maybe its not a bad job.

My buddy and I welded up the chassis on my focus around the front subframe mounting bolts, on the one side, as there was nothing in the way, he had some 14 gauge steel and I cut up a few pieces, hammered them into a shape that would weld flat to the good metal nearby and a couple hours later, we had something that looked half decent and very strong. The other side needed brake and fuel lines moved to do all of it, so we just patched beside it so it would still drain, painted it as best we could and then hosed it with rust spray.
That was 5 years ago, so it was worth an afternoon of messing around.

 

[hemitom]

I would think that if the mechanic noticed the mounts being rusty he would have done a inspection of the rest or the Vue .

Hopefully !

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I'm in the " Salt Belt" also. I've replaced corroded motor mounts on 2 Toyota's & 1 Honda. Painted the new ones with POR 15. But, there were a lot of other corrosion problems I had to address also. ( power steering lines / brake lines / floor pans / etc ) That 2008 needs a good looking over underneath to see if the job is worth doing.

 

[Trav]

Which engine is in this?

 

[spasm3]

Need to make sure you have good metal to weld the mounts upon. Make sure the frame is decent before ordering anything.

 

[dfarr67]

I've never had motor mount issues- not that I wouldn't repair.... but would take a hard look around at everything to see if it's worth repairing.

 

[Donald]

Getting close to being a 20 year old Saturn.

How is the rest of the vehicle? Frame? Engine? Transmission? Interior?

 

[Elkins45]

How is the rest of the vehicle? Frame? Engine? Transmission? Interior?

I don’t know, but she was driving it daily until it started making noise.

 

[Elkins45]

Which engine is in this?

Don’t know. I know nothing other than it's a Saturn Vue, and not a hybrid.