I went outside to move my car today because of street cleaning, and decided to see if my engine moves when I press the accelerator, switch gears, etc. So I put the car on the hand brake and pressed the accelerator slightly (all done with the hood up, and me peeking between the body of the car and the open hood) and to my surprise, the engine moved to the right and forward. It was more of a sideways motion than a forward one. Is this normal?

 

yes it is....

 

Hmm.. well that's good to hear. I keep thinking I have a broken engine mount..

 

the engine mounts have rubber to allow the engine can move.
now if the engine moves alot or you hear clunking, the rubber might be shot (broken mount)

 

Clunking when I accelerate, or...? And what's considered to be a lot of engine movement?

 

clunking when the engine has a load (acceleration).
the mount is rubber inside a bracket. there is a hole in it. a bolt connects the engine to the mount. if the rubber is shot, you will hear the bolt clunking against the bracket.
does that make sense? it would easier if i could draw you a picture. o well. hope that helps

 

I understand what you are saying.. I don't think I have heard any clunking. Thanks...

 

and i was wrong on what they look like. the one above is how they look on my JEEP.
here is what it looks like on a MAX. same applies, if rubber is shot you will hear clunking
http://www.overnightautoparts.com/ni...tor-mount.html

 

when i accelerate my whole car vibrates... like a side to side type thing... (radar dector goes side to side)

could that be a broken motor mount?
is that covered under warrenty?

 

open the hood, set the brake (with car running) and then pull the throttle cable (on the throttle body) to rev the car from under the hood...then you can see exactly what it's doing.

 

im pretty sure 2k2 and 2k3 have drive by wire which means electric throttle which menas u cant engage trhottle from under the hood

-J

 

yeah that would make sense...forgot about the dbw on the 5.5th gens...