Motor mount... hydraulic or solid rubber??

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babyivan

babyivan

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Jul 31, 2009
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Capital Region, NY
My mechanic just replaced all of my mounts. The one issue I'm having is that he put a solid rubber mount in place of the factory hydraulic (oil filled) mount. He claimed that it will last much longer and not leak seeing as they are not fluid filled.

Well, as soon as I left the shop noticed way more vibration. There's less "give" in the solid mount. I guess it's good in terms of less torque loss, but I'm not liking the lack of smoothness.
Thing is, my 3.8 engine is lacking the balance shaft that the 3800 has, MUCH more noticeable now!

Anybody out there run into the same issues with mounts?

I ordered a hydraulic mount off of Rockauto (my mechanic couldn't find one from his parts supplier), but it's [censored] aftermarket.... you can't find OEM anymore.

Any opinions on solid rubber vs. hydraulic?
Should I keep the solid one in there or go with the cheapo hydraulic?

My concern is also that with less dampening, I will start to find leaks in new places.

Any insight or experience with this will be much appreciated!
 
I have noticed with mounts,they soften over time.So given a few months from now,it would be nearly as harsh as it is now.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
I have noticed with mounts,they soften over time.So given a few months from now,it would be nearly as harsh as it is now.
I think you mean, "it wouldN'T be nearly as harsh as it is now." I get what you're saying and thanx for the reply. You're probably right, I guess I should wait it out.
 
I think with the solid rubber mount you're not going to get leaks in other places or anything like that. You'll just feel more vibrations that you're experiencing and maybe more interior rattle noises. I would probably try the hydraulic mount. Is it Anchor or another brand?
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think with the solid rubber mount you're not going to get leaks in other places or anything like that. You'll just feel more vibrations that you're experiencing and maybe more interior rattle noises. I would probably try the hydraulic mount. Is it Anchor or another brand?
DEA brand, same garbage as the Anchor mounts.
Yeah, I'm hearing all types of interior rattles now, it's driving me crazy. But I think it will subside after time like "NHGUY" said.

At the moment, my mechanic will change it out if I want without charging me again. I will give it a month or two and see how it feels. If it still ends up bothering me, I will switch over to the hydraulic.

-Ivan
 
Did someone pull the balance shaft?
Use only GM OEM mounts on the 3800 about $80 ea online. The solid rubber and anchor, DEA and other brands are absolute tat.
The after market hydraulics are for the most part empty space, guys on the GP forum have been filling them with all sorts of junk for ages all for naught.

That rubbish isn't getting any softer, its going vibrate like mad till you change them. Fun job too.
Been there done that got the T Shirt.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Did some pull the balance shaft?
Use only GM OEM mounts on the 3800 about $80 ea online. The solid rubber and anchor, DEA and other brands are absolute tat.
The after market hydraulics are for the most part empty space, guys on the GP forum have been filling them with all sorts of junk for ages all for naught.

That rubbish isn't getting any softer, its going vibrate like mad till you change them. Fun job too.
Been there done that got the T Shirt.


My car is an '87, so it's pre-3800 which means no balance shaft from the factory. OEM mounts are not available anymore for my car, or else I would absolutely buy one!!

I am gonna look to see if the 3800 mounts are the same, but I don't think so.
This is an A-body Cutlass Ciera, the set up is different than the H-body Lesabres and W-body Regals.
 
Originally Posted By: babyivan
My mechanic just replaced all of my mounts. The one issue I'm having is that he put a solid rubber mount in place of the factory hydraulic (oil filled) mount. He claimed that it will last much longer and not leak seeing as they are not fluid filled.

Well, as soon as I left the shop noticed way more vibration. There's less "give" in the solid mount. I guess it's good in terms of less torque loss, but I'm not liking the lack of smoothness.
Thing is, my 3.8 engine is lacking the balance shaft that the 3800 has, MUCH more noticeable now!

Anybody out there run into the same issues with mounts?

I ordered a hydraulic mount off of Rockauto (my mechanic couldn't find one from his parts supplier), but it's [censored] aftermarket.... you can't find OEM anymore.

Any opinions on solid rubber vs. hydraulic?
Should I keep the solid one in there or go with the cheapo hydraulic?

My concern is also that with less dampening, I will start to find leaks in new places.

Any insight or experience with this will be much appreciated!


Some manufacturers redesigned motor mounts after a few years and may have switched from one to the other. In other cases its just a cheaper mount.
 
Oh ok now i got it. Sorry i never saw one of these, i didn't work on many US cars in these years.
I may be able to dig up the OEM part number if that helps so you can search the vintage sites.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Oh ok now i got it. Sorry i never saw one of these, i didn't work on many US cars in these years.
I may be able to dig up the OEM part number if that helps so you can search the vintage sites.
that would be fantastic , thanx!
 
Originally Posted By: morris
A " factory hydraulic (oil filled) mount" sounds like some one is trying to cover up a bad design, of some kind.
please explain
 
It's actually very common today to see hydraulic mounts especially on the more complicated FWD transverse powertrain mounting. It gives lower NVH and with 4 and V6 engines they're not as naturally balanced as inline 6 and V8s. It's like having the benefits of less vibration from a softer mount but firmness when strong movements.

You could say they were covering up for using a 90 V6 and it needs a single balance shaft. But hydraulic mounts are used on the ones with a balance shaft too. they're used on 60 degree V6 mounts a lot too.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav

The anchor/DEA solids will tear before the soften, keep an eye on it.


Will do!

I do think that the solid dea/anchor will for sure outlive the hydraulic dea/anchor... that is the main reason why I'm inclined to live with the added vibrations.
 
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