hclll

Today I shifted from P to R with the hood open, I can see the whole engine moved a little toward back of the engine bay!!!

And If I put the shifter to D, the engine moves a little forward.

It seems all the movement is like: Engine moves about some horizontal axis paralle to the drive axle.

Is that normal or need repair?

HoJo

How much movement are we talking about here? A little is expected since the engine mounts have rubber inserts to keep vibrations from being trasfered to the car. If it's a lot, more than 2" your engine mounts are either worn or broken. They need to be replaced.

Aaron92SE

iTrader: (128)

I believe every engine should twist a little bit. But, if it moves too much, your motor mounts are bad. If you put it in D and do a very slight torque brake, you will see the engine turn in one direction. If you do the same thing in R, the engine will turn in the opposite direction. Motor mounts tend to go bad after a while. I know I need new ones.

hclll

for the top of the engine, it is about 1 inch.

It seems the engine rotates about some axis.

BTW, in doing mount replacing, do I need get the engine and Tranny aligned first?

HoJo

That sounds fine. Like we said before it is normal to have movement, and 1" isn't all that bad. The reason it moves when you torque brake it is because the engine/tranny is trying to turn the axles. Since the brakes are holding the wheels, which the axles are connected to, from moving the engine squishes the rubber in the mounts some. It's not something to worry about, unless like I said before you have more than 2" of movement. If you doo have them replaced you don't have to allign anything. The engine/tranny will only sit back down in the mounts one way and even if it were off some the axles have joints in them so they can bend.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

I agree with everything Hojo said, except that I think 1" is too much and the mounts should be replaced..

when I put new OEM mounts in my Vg, the engine flexed less than an inch.

You might want to take it to a shop and have them take a look at it, or jack up the car and remove the front mount and inspect it off the car.

HoJo

I wasn't sure about the distance. I could go out and look at my car, but it isn't a very good example. It'll move over 3". Am I going to replace the mounts? Hell no, I'll let the guy buying it deal with that. Oh, and those pesky little CV joints

JonnyMax

to remove all the engine mounts? I really want to do the flexane mount mod, but if I have to lift the engine or anything it will have to wait a while. I looked in my FSM, and it didnt seem to clear, so I already know ill need to enlist the help of my mechanic type friend.

Gamezilla

Mechanically challanging? No
Physically challanging? Hell ya!

To replace the engine mount/s, you're gonna hafta lift the engine out of it's bay enough to get the old mount/s out and the new ones in. Unless you have something that can hold that engine correctly, I suggest getting it done profesionally. If you go to courtasy nissan and plead with them (like I did) you can get the part for $80 each. Labor is gonna slaughter you, though. Chances are your front one just needs replacing. The back one doesn't wear anywhere near as fast as the front one.

To tell if the mount is bad, just feel what it's like in the car. If the engine idles smooth, but the car vibrates noticably, it's a bad engine mount. I had one replaced recently, and mine was almost touchin metal! It got so bad the steering wheel would vibrate and make my hands feel funny if I held it tightly. If your engine mounts are bad, get them replaced soon. It's not a life-or-death situation, but if you leave them for too long, say goodbye to a comfortable ride and a nice engine.