RandogLeader

My wife was in a wreck some time ago and although the Camaro made it through without much more than a scratch or two (tough F-Body!), the gearshift was bobbing up and down. Upon crawling underneath I noticed that the Transmission mount was gone! The only thing left was a rod-like rivet device that was dangling down where the mount probably was.

Here's my problem. Since I never really looked underneath to see what the mount looked like before the wreck, when I went to the auto parts store to get a mount, their inventory showed it as "AT" (I'm assuming automatic-transmission) and the part didn't look like what I think should go there. Does anyone have a pic or any experience on this? (I have a 5-Speed manual tranny).

Thanks for any help!

85f-bird

i have an auto, and have replaced my mounts many times before. Although i haven't had to make the change on the manual tranny, i do know that the mount is different. Make sure that your autoparts store can look up the mount for the right vehicle, also, check ur haynes manual as it might have a picture or exploded diagram of the setup.

Dale

iTrader: (12)

search on my name, about 1 year ago (maybe little more). I posted pics when I was having problem with my trans mount. It is automatic. Mount is rectangle

The manual have a round puck style, and is VERY expensive, and you have to do some conversion to make the auto one work.

Dale

iTrader: (12)

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ighlight=trans

TraviZ

iTrader: (2)

on the third gen f-body, the tranny mount is the same for auto/manual, me and my friend both bought the energy suspension mounts and we installed them on our car at the same time (mines manual, his is auto)

if u go GM stock, its easy fix, if u go our route with the performance brand, theirs a little work you have to do.

Dale

iTrader: (12)

Heres a picture of the manual mount that came on BOTH of my camaro t5's I got.


https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ighlight=mount

Project: 85 2.8 bird

close up of another tranny mount, this one is the poly one you cain get from AZ & such

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...0_205_full.jpg

RandogLeader

That's what I was afraid of! $300 for a stupid mount! This "Liquid Filled" beast is what I have under my tranny right now. So essentially I can either hope to scavenge one of these from a junkyard and hope it's not damaged anywhere (what the hell is going on inside that giant puck anyway?) or I can scrounge a different x-member and use the Auto-Trans mount (preferably with a higher quality brand). Is this the general idea?

Dale

iTrader: (12)

Their is some way to convert over to the auto mount, I dont know it because I used the camaro trans in non-stock applications.

Might want to make a post in the transmission section, would get better answers their.

Doward

Been there, done that.

Seriously, the auto crossmember isn't any weaker than the manual dual rubber setup. All the rubbers are doing, is absorbing the rotation of the tranny, so that you don't break the transmission mount as easily.

Yank yours off, bolt an auto one up - it bolts right up, but NOT in the same bolt holes. You'll notice that it lines up with a set of bolt holes slightly further back in the tunnel - use the poly tranny mount.

It's actually a hydraulic mount. For $300 for a new one, spend $35 on the auto style one with the poly mount, and use the other $265 on some 1.6 roller rockers!

RandogLeader

I'm with you. $300 is retarded for this application. This "poly mount" that you speak of is equipped with more holes/options for mounting? I'm a newbie at this and have to ask what was the specific brand and application? I'm ready to jerk that oversized mount off and get something in there so I can get back on the throttle! Also, you said it would install in some holes farther back in the "tunnel". Do you mean holes on the crossmember or the tranny itself?

Project: 85 2.8 bird

Auto Zone is sellingtheir lifetime warranty hydraulic moounts for $50.

Doward

Unless I'm mistaken, our p/n is 2394 (Anchor) and that's the normal Automatic tranny mount. Yeah, it is lifetime, but who wants to change the mount constantly?

Look at the bolts that your tranny crossmember is bolted to teh subframe with... just to the rear, you should see more holes. You bolt the automatic crossmember there. Bolt the tranny mount to the tranny, lift in place with floor jack, then place tranny crossmember over (under) the tranny mount, start the bolt to hold the crossmember to the mount, then bolt the tranny crossmember itself into place. Tighten the bolt to the mount, and let her run!

RandogLeader

Cool. So basically I need to procure an auto-tranny mount(high quality) and crossmember. This "new" crossmember will mount to the sub-frame a little further back from where the old one was, and there are holes already there? And the auto-tranny mount will mount to the manual tranny w/out modification? Is this all correct?

Doward

You, sir, are correct.

RandogLeader

Here's a pic of a 1987 camaro for sale on ebay. Is this going to work with my 1989 camaro? Looks like it should, but you never know till you try to install it.

TraviZ

iTrader: (2)

it will work

RandogLeader

Just an update. The conversion worked great! Installation was pretty straightforward other than widening the hole in the crossmember. It was from an 87 Firebird (the one pictured above) and mounted up exactly in the same holes as the old crossmember. The mount was the "poly" one from Spohn and it bolted right up with no probs. The slot in the crossmember fell right inbetween two hole positions in the mount, so I decided to stick with the middle one and file out the difference in the crossmember. This proved to be the hardest part of the install, proving once again that having the right tool for the job is imperitive. If I had a plasma cutter or even a torch, I probably could have done the mount swap in about an hour. With drilling, filing, and cussing it took me about 2.5 hours. Note to anyone who does this conversion: The "poly" mount nuts come with lockwashers. Tighten the nut until the lockwasher compresses and then give it another half turn. I went to torquing down on mine and before it hit 35 ft/lbs, the main washer began to deform in my enlarged hole! Not good, but I'll fix that later when I replace the clutch.

As far as the "vibration" debate that is going on with these "poly" mounts, I can say that YES the tranny vibration is carried over into the frame (as well as seats) more than the stock rubber mount. But if you saw how stout this mount is, you would see why. Polyurethene is a denser material than rubber. If you want a soft cushy ride, get a stock rubber mount that may or may not hold up. If you want a strong mount that can take all the torque that you can throw at it , get the "poly" mount. I will gladly take the vibration over the bouncing gearshift anyday. Besides, it really puts you in "feel" with your engine and lets you know how she's running. (mine's like crap right now)

Thanks to everyone who offered up help! You saved me about $250 with this conversion. Now I can get her running like a scalded dog again with all the money that I saved.

TomP

Randondog, thanks for coming back to let us know how it went! Glad to hear the conversion was a success- especially since you saved all that cash, AND since youll never have to replace that mount again!

Dale

iTrader: (12)

Glad someone responded on what had to be one. This will be a good search thread.

RandogLeader

I found out why the V6 had that stupid hydrolic mount. The V8's are more balanced when it comes down to torque and vibrations. This is why they use the standard mounts. The V6's (unless some kind of countershaft dampening) have more of a tendency to vibrate. I don't know if this is because of the 60 degree thing or what, but this is why GM developed that crazy hydrolic transmission mount. I still don't think that the vibration is that bad, though. I just did a MAJOR tune-up this weekend and the vibration nearly went all the way to the wayside. Smoother running engine=smoother feeling ride.

Goumba T

The auto V6s use the same type mount as the auto V8 though. There may be more to it than just the vibration.

RandogLeader

If the Auto-V6 & Auto-V8 use the same mount, then it must be in the tranny itself. Some sort of imbalance or something. The mount that I installed has had about 3-4 weeks to break in and I can say the the vibration has decreased substantially.

7plagues

iTrader: (1)

I had to replace mine right when i got it... although mine brand new from Caddie dealership was $120 i didnt complain too much so yea.

85f-bird

do remember though there are two types of mounts that run around....i've gotten both, a small round mount, and a square mount, the square one seems to work good too. Also, i've gotten different part numbers for the v6 and v8 mounts, although either will work for the transmission application. Right now, i've got a 305tpi mount in there, cause my stupid v6 one had broken a million times over after the vette servo , boost valve , and shift kit.

TomP

There was a design change for the autos, though. See the pic Randog gave us of the crossmember? See the two ovals on either side of the center bolt hole?

Supposedly the center hole was cracking b/c of stress. So GM came up with a secondary trans mount. Instead of the two ovals, there became two bolt holes. A flat bar got bolted across the middle of the crossmember, separated by two flat bushings. This flat bar had a hole in the middle, which the regular trans mount bolted to.

But I believe this change was also moved to the v8 models.

Gotta love GM!

Goumba T

Mine looks just like taht pictured above.

My 88 did have the other type of mount you describe though. Forgot about that. All I remembered was the basic shape and thought it was the same.