jrice93

I'm pretty bad at this whole German car thing. Got 90k on her so now things are deciding to fall apart. Can you help me please with:
1. What is this silver piece that in between the front motor mount and oil pan? It is rather loose. It has a belt shield that extends upward.
2. How bad is this problem? It is missing a few security pieces.
3. Can it be resecured by replacing the missing bolts? What other maintenance is necessary?
These pics are from a few different angles/zooms. I tried to capture it as well as possible.
I did the best I could to look up the anatomy of the car online, but there's so many components that I could not diagnose the problem. I first noticed the problem via vibration sounds when downshifting near 3200 rpm. My first thought was a bad motor mount, so when I looked around I found this.
Any help would be appreciated. I'm much better with simpler vehicles, but I love how this drives/functions.
-A college student aspiring to be one of you all someday.

John535is

Snub mount bracket. It should not be loose. So either the bolts are loose/ missing or the rubber snub mount has failed (or both).

You can unbolt and remove this. Its just a aluminium bracket so unless its cracked its pretty robust.

The mount is a round rubber part. These do wear out. A genuine one will be about $15, a aftermarket about $7 depending on the brand. Part number 8D0199339P.

If you replace it yourself, there are two other engine mounts that will hold the engine up, it may just tilt forward a bit so it would help to have a floor jack handy, and of course safety first, use ramps or stands when under the car.

jrice93

Thanks a bunch. Probably the best reply I've gotten on this website. I presume the mount itself is shot and has caused the bolts to come out. I'm gonna try and do it myself. Shouldn't be too bad. Thanks again!