mc_hotmail

Take a look at this picture of my A4 quattro engine mount. It looks like something melted, ooze out and streak down from inside the mount. Those brownish mark can be seen further down on the cross bar.

Anyone seen this before and should I replace it?

Thanks

Dolamite

Gross, isn't it? The mounts are fluid filled. They're purposefully filled with colored fluid to alert that it's worn and needs to be changed.

It's very recommendable to change since this is now putting stress on other parts of your engine. Vibration and jouncing will usually start effecting the snub mount if it hasn't disintegrated already. Your coolant flange is being stressed and about the same time, valve cover gaskets usually start to leak.

Depending on your roads and you, 034 offers street density solid rubber, but they are more rigid and some owners say that they increase vibration.

If you're in bad road belt then stock motormounts are advisable. Unfortunately, for the B7 the right is $150 and the left $130 if I recall. A very doable fix yourself, but requires supporting and jacking the block up a few inches while the front of your car is on stands. You'll need a stubby ratcheting wrench for the passenger side more so than the left.

mc_hotmail

Thanks for the insight.

The ElsaWin manual only talks about removing the entire engine, a lot of work. For replacing the mount only, is there a write-up out there?

mc_hotmail

Found "DIY: B7 A4 Motor Mount install" over at Audizine. Looks promising.

John535is

Takes about 1 hour tops.
I did the ones on the 1.8T quattro recently.
I put the car on ramps to allow access underneath and still be able to use my jack to lift the engine.
If you take the front mount off first, remove the fixing nuts on both the left and right mounts. I had enough room to (gently) jack the engine up (use a block of wood or something under the sump to spread the engine weight, I could get the engine just enough height to wiggle the old ones out and the new ones in.
When jacking the engine up, it will tilt back slightly as the transmission mounts are still in place. Check for clearance between the plastic components at the rear of the engine and the firewall so don't go just jacking the engine up too high. You don't want to start breaking other parts. The radiator hoses etc all seemed to have enough play to not get strained but check them as you go.
The engine mounts (at least one from memory) are not symmetrical, the threaded fixing was at a slight angle so make sure you orientate the new mount to be the same as the one you pull out. From memory there are little locating dimples on the bottom of the mounts that line up with the alloy bracket holes. The new front mount can be installed when the engine is back in place.
Otherwise a pretty straight forward job.

mc_hotmail

I finished this job last Friday. Personally, I think the alternative method of jacking up the engine to remove the mounts may put undue tension on other parts of the engine or transmission.

I used the Audizine DIY method: removing the support brackets under the engine mount, no jacking up the engine. To remove the top bolt of the right side mount, I used the flexible ratchet box wrench in the picture.

One thing I want to note is the struts produce downward tension on the sub-frame that connects both front suspension and the two engine mount support brackets. If you remove the long bolts completely off the two support brackets, the sub frame will kick down somewhat violently.

Whether you remove the two long bolts completely or not, it would be best to put a jack right at the middle of the sub frame. That will also make bolting the bracket back up much easier.

Kris Hansen

Great job!

massboykie

Good to know... The wife's A4 mounts were reported to be "oozing" so it's good to know I should be able to do this myself.

Cheers
Massboykie