Back to all

A "Mounting" Problem (Motor Mounts)

April 24, 2022

You know how heavy your engine and transmission are, so you can imagine how tough the parts that hold them onto your vehicle's sub-frame must be.  Not only must they support the weight, they also have to isolate vibrations and noise from the passenger cabin.  Pretty tall order, wouldn't you say?

The parts that face that task daily are called the motor mounts, or engine mounts.  They are usually made of rubber with steel brackets.  Others contain a liquid for vibration and sound isolation. 

Most vehicles have three or four motor mounts, and while rubber or hydraulic liquids do a good job of damping the vibrations from the engine, they also have their limitations.  The problem with rubber is that it gets old and brittle.  Plus, if there's an oil leak anywhere in your engine and oil gets on the rubber motor mounts, rubber will deteriorate even more quickly.  As for the liquid motor mounts, they can develop leaks and stop working. 

Here are signs a motor mount is going bad.  You may hear a loud clunking or banging sound under the hood.  That means the weight of the engine is shifting around enough to bang against other metal parts.  You may feel bad vibrations, and the engine may feel like it's moving around in a strange way.

When things get to that point, your vehicle can be damaged from that heavy engine knocking against things, and its time to replace one or more motor mounts.  Schedule a visit to your vehicle service facility. There, a technician will assess your motor mounts; if one bad one is found, it's not unusual that others are likely to fail soon and should be replaced before they do.

Because all vehicles are configured differently, some motor mounts are easily replaced.  But others can be much trickier, take a lot longer and therefore are more expensive to replace. 

It's important for your engine's health to make sure motor mounts are sound and solid.  You will maintain that quiet, vibration-free ride and could save your engine and transmission from major wear and tear.

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Glendale Heights
1153 Bloomingdale Rd.
Glendale Heights, Illinois 60139
630-588-8846

More articles from Tuffy Glendale Heights

That Squeal is Telling You Something (What Causes Squealing While Steering)

April 20, 2025

If you hear a squealing noise when you turn your vehicle, it's trying to tell you something is wrong. After all, it never made that noise before, right? The sound you hear may becoming from a few sources. Let's take a look (or a listen) to some of the possibilities. First, you almost certainl... More

A Clean Start (Battery Cleaning)

April 13, 2025

You may be fanatical about keeping the outside of your vehicle clean. But what about what's under the hood? Have you ever thought about how dirt and grime may be affecting your engine's components? One of the most important parts under your hood to keep clean is your vehicle's battery. With a d... More

Chilly Warning (Diagnosing a Noise in Cold Vehicle)

April 6, 2025

When the weather gets colder, sometimes the noises your vehicle makes will change. For example, you may notice a whining sound when you get going in the morning. It may go away when the vehicle warms up, but it's best not to ignore that sound because it could be a warning of worse things to com... More