Motor Mounts N body 1992 Buick Skylark GS

Need to know how to tell which motor mounts are bad on 1992 Buick Skylark Grand Sport 2 dr V6 3.3 L. with 3 speed auto. (86000 miles) I found the top right mount, the lower rt engine torque strut mount. Have not found the trans mount yet. The motor rocks forward and backward quit a bit and has caused an exhaust leak at the rear exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe flex joint connection. the muffler shop says the mounts should be fixed first. I need to know how to determine if the mount is bad or within normal movement. I suspect the torque strut is bad, but how do I tell if the top mount is bad? How much movement is in spec? Talked to 2 shops, got 2 opinions. The quoted repair cost was $500 to $800. That sounds a bit much for mounts I can purchase at NAPA for about $50 for the strut, and $80 bucks for the top mount and about 90 bucks for the transmission mount. The exhaust parts would cost about another $30 unless I have to replace the exhaust pipe. I have been looking for more detailed instruction on the remove and replace process other than the generic "remove and reinstall" blerbs in the Haines Shop manual. Thanks, Ron

If the motor is rocking then the mounts are probly bad.

Get it on a lift and inspect the mounts, its about that easy.

They are a PITA to replace if you dont have a lift and something to keep the motor/trans from falling out.

The $500 to $800 sounds about right if all three need replaced. They are probly buying the parts from the stealership, thats why they are expensive, plus thier's a little more work involved then what you are probly thinking.

Try this link (http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm)for some repair info.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Transmission mount is behind the drivers side front tire. You will have to take part of the inner fender off to see it. They are a PITA to change but one of those jobs that is WELL worth the price to DIY. A couple of jacks or an over head hoist will make the job go much smoother. The lower arm on the passenger side is the easy one. The upper one on the passengerside is a pain but not too bad.

Update: I replaced the lower engine torque strut today. Piece of cake. The rubber on the motor side was definately torn up. That stopped most of the rocking. The exhaust shop still would not fix the pipe to manifold gasket, so I purchased a top right mount today. It is a hydraulic mount. (60 bucks with tax at NAPA) It will not be to bad to take off, but might be a bit of a pain to swap out as the parts box had a set of 2 screws in it and talked about needing a vise and some such stuff to change in the mount assembly. (have not opened it yet.) I went to a You Pull It wrecking yard today and looked at some of these cars to see where things were. The trans mount is a real pain to get to. Also, I need to have a better idea of just what is broken. I think I will have some one show me where this one is broken. I see no damage to it at this time. If actually broken, I think I may pay a shop to repair this one. Ron

Update. Changed out upper right motor mount. Actually pretty easy. Just need to lift the car enough to extend the right front suspension and tire to get at the bolts on the wheel side of the core support and support the motor to remove the pressure off of the mounting bracket so the bolts can be removed. Only had to disconnect and remove the coolant overflow hose and move one wire harness out of the way. After the mount bracket assembly is removed, have to take it apart to get to the Mount. It was damaged where the set screws (rivets in the original factory install) go in the bottom of mount in order to secure it to the mounting bracket. The threaded section the set screws go into were torn out and the screws or rivets were gone. Fortunately the counter sunk inserts that go in the bracket were still lying around so I did not have to go find them. After putting everything back together I used my 1 million candle power spot light to light up the trans mount while I had someone shift it from forward to reverse with the motor running. The only movement in the trans mount was the designed rotational movement about the shaft as the motor torqued back and forth. no movement in any other direction. (used a casting seam on the frame side of mount to check with transmission side of mount bracket for relative movement in the front to back, up and down and side to side directions. Also no visible damage or marks shown on any of the components. Now moving on to the leaking slip/flex connection at the rear exhaust manifold and exhaust head pipe connection. Can fix that now that the motor movement is back in normal paramaters. Ron