front and rear motor mounts, or passenger side lca. ( bad ball joint, rubbers f'ed up and soft too ) lca's prolly about 6 years old, mounts, front replaced 3 years ago, rear is original. what's happening is the exhaust keeps coming loose cause of the torque of the vq and i end up replacing gaskets every few months. i know, i know, mounts sound like the logical choice, but there's a ton of play in the right side lca, that's a safety issue in my mind, right? opinions and valid answers welcome

 

I put my safety first, so I would do the lca stuff first. I don't like my cars going places that I don't tell them to.

 

Nailed it

 

Sounds like you mght need to fix an oil leak as well! Rubber doesn't just get soft and mushy from air!

 

That oil leak is probably the rear valve cover or the oil pressure sending unit. Quite common on old 4th gens. Find and fix those at the same time as you do the LCA.

Then save up and eventually do the front and rear motor mounts while replacing the exhaust mount gaskets.

 

timing cover's been leaking for years, ruined the last lca i put on there too. valve covers were done 3 years ago and the rear is leaking again, idiot must have not put the rtv in the one side cause i see oil coming out. man, i really love this car but the amount of work to keep her on the road is going to be expensive. needs the water pump temsioner job too and that won't be cheap and i'm not too keen on ripping that side apart as i'm afraid $hits gonna break.

 

Dont feel bad, Ive got to do alot of work on my front end also, car is almost 20 years old, and doesent feel like it at all, Just taking it one step at a time, rear motor mount, both axles, and both control arms, inner tie rod/boot. ect, love the 4th gens!!

 

Maybe you need a new, better mechanic. Your car shouldn't be falling apart like that. A more expensive mechanic may cost more in the short run, but for the long haul they come out waaaaaay cheaper. Think about what shape your car would be in if all the jobs were done right the 1st time.....and how much money you could have saved.

That timing chain cover leak says something about the history of the car.....maybe the previous owner didnt quite take care of it.

 

LCA first, then motor mounts. As stated, safety is #1.

Just drive like a Grandma (no quick blips of the gas pedal) and your motor mounts will be ok until you change them.

 

guess i gotta slow down, i keep going through gaskets in teh exhaust as well. lca has been sitting in the box new for 4 years waiting to be installed. anything else need to be replaced on that side while its apart?

 

The sway bar bushings and the connecting links.