One of the less appreciated facts about driving is that every time you go anywhere, you’re doing so by harnessing thousands of explosions. We’ve grown so accustomed to cars that we completely forget what’s going on under the hood. That blissful ignorance is something we can thank engine mounts for.
Needless to say, driving would be a very different experience without these simple but essential components. We’ll use this opportunity to explore the world of motor mounts, find out what they do, how they work, and much more. Let’s get to it!
What Exactly Are Engine Mounts?
Modern engines are smooth, silent, and almost unnoticeable when they work. However, a massive part of that perceived comfort can be attributed to engine mounts rather than the engine itself.
Your average motor is a place of extreme violence. If you think about it, every second that engine runs, fuel is being injected into its cylinders, compressed, ignited, and the exhaust pushed out the back. Rinse and repeat thousands of times every minute. Aside from pushing us forward, this process also produces a bunch of violent vibrations.
If you were to bolt the motor straight onto a chassis or the body of a car, it would be uncomfortable. One way to deal with this issue is to place dampers between the engine and the chassis, thus neutralizing all of those violent vibrations. These dampers are called engine mounts or motor mounts.
One of the less appreciated facts about driving is that every time you go anywhere, you’re doing so by harnessing thousands of explosions. We’ve grown so accustomed to cars that we completely forget what’s going on under the hood. That blissful ignorance is something we can thank engine mounts for.
Needless to say, driving would be a very different experience without these simple but essential components. We’ll use this opportunity to explore the world of motor mounts, find out what they do, how they work, and much more. Let’s get to it!
What Exactly Are Engine Mounts?
Modern engines are smooth, silent, and almost unnoticeable when they work. However, a massive part of that perceived comfort can be attributed to engine mounts rather than the engine itself.
Your average motor is a place of extreme violence. If you think about it, every second that engine runs, fuel is being injected into its cylinders, compressed, ignited, and the exhaust pushed out the back. Rinse and repeat thousands of times every minute. Aside from pushing us forward, this process also produces a bunch of violent vibrations.
If you were to bolt the motor straight onto a chassis or the body of a car, it would be uncomfortable. One way to deal with this issue is to place dampers between the engine and the chassis, thus neutralizing all of those violent vibrations. These dampers are called engine mounts or motor mounts.
Damping Noise and Vibrations
Damping noise and vibrations coming from the motor isn’t merely a matter of passenger comfort. Sure, it would be highly uncomfortable to ride in a car that has the motor bolted directly onto the frame, but would it even be safe? Not really, no.
The vibrations caused by the motor when it idles just a small part of residual energy that needs to dissipate somewhere. You also have torque, road imperfections, and a whole slew of other things that need to be accounted for. Failing to neutralize all of these would most likely lead to the engine shaking itself apart.
The solution to the problem is rather simple. If you were to take any car and break it down to its individual parts, you would notice that the entire drivetrain is isolated from the rest of the car. The engine and the whole transmission system are suspended from the body using engine or transmission mounts, which are the same thing essentially.
What Does an Engine Mount Look Like?
Your average engine mount is nothing more than a large piece of rubber sitting between two mounting points. Some motor mounts are square; others look like discs while some feature pretty unusual shapes. Some even come in the form of bushings, which depending on the make and model of your car. However, they all do the same job.
This sandwich of metal components and rubber has been subject to a fair bit of engineering. As it turns out, there are different types of vibrations out there. You can’t just slap a thick, rubber brick between the motor and the rest of the car and call it a day. There’s a bit more finesse to it. Engineers have recognized that the rubber’s stiffness plays a significant part in what kind of vibration motor support can neutralize. That’s why not all mounts are created equal.
The Anatomy of Motor Mounts
As you drive your car down the road, you’ll experience the vibration coming from the motor itself, but also the vibrations coming from the road surface. In other words, not only is it the job of an engine mounts to dampen the vibrations from the motor that dissipate outwards, but it also has to dampen the outside vibrations from going into the motor.
Different car manufacturers have resorted to different designs to achieve this damping flexibility. On the other hand, some have completely ditched the simple rubber mount in favor of much more complex systems. These include hydro mounts and electronic mounts.
Hydro Mounts
Using fluid to dampen vibrations is nothing new. This technology has been in use for a long time. The idea here is to simply use fluid to soak up as much of those vibrations as possible. Generally speaking, hydro mounts are effective, but they aren’t very durable. Some of them are known to last for years and years of service, but most aren’t that durable.
Hydro mounts tend to spring leaks over time, thus losing the precious fluid. Once that happens, you’re left with another hard mounting point that does nothing more but transfers vibrations into the passenger cabin. Oh, and hydro mounts are pretty expensive.
Electronic Engine Mounts
The use of electronic motor mounts is a fairly recent thing, at least if we’re talking about their wide-scale use. Electronic mounts or active mounts use various means to counter the vibrations. Most rely on a system of vacuum actuators controlled by a computer. The car is then able to dial in the mount’s stiffness based on the current vibration levels, engine RPM, and other parameters.
Needless to say, active engine mounts are very expensive to both produce and replace. However, they are often the most efficient system. Some will even produce a vibration of their own to cancel out the incoming or outgoing vibrations in the drivetrain system.
Why do Engine Mounts Fail?
Motor mount failure is not something that happens often, but it does happen. That being said, some motor mounts can last longer than the car itself. It’s a lottery, really.
Why motor mounts fail is a simple question with an even simpler answer – wear and tear.
Years upon years of constant vibrations will eventually wear out anything, including a piece of solid rubber. The constant movement makes the rubber lose its properties over time. Add to that the temperature cycles of hot and cold weather, and you have a perfect storm.
How Many Engine Mounts Are There?
The number of motor mounts in a car largely depends on the type of car it is. You’re looking at a different number of mounts for front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles. On average, FWD cars will have three motor mounts, while RWD cars often come with only 2.
If you’re wondering why only two mounts for RWD cars, it’s because of the longitudinal layout. RWD cars often have one or two transmission mounts positioned in the back of the car, which complement the two engine mounts.
As for FWD cars, that extra motor mount is there to offer additional support since the whole drive train is built around the engine.
Knowing how many engine mounts your car has is a good piece of information to have. When engine mounts fail, they are often replaced as a group even though two out three might look just fine. The fact is that if one has failed, the rest are not too far behind.
How to Recognize a Failed Engine Mount?
Diagnosing bad engine mounts is generally much easier than you’d think. How can you tell that your mounts are gone? Easy, you’ll feel the whole engine moving. Aside from killing vibrations, engine mounts keep the engine fixed to the body of the car.
Incidentally, your engine wants to move. All of that torque that’s being transferred to the wheels requires the motor to be properly anchored down. Otherwise, some of the torque will make the engine move.
If you notice a clunk when you put a car fitted with an automatic transmission into gear, chances are your engine isn’t anchored down properly anymore. The same clunk can be experienced on sudden acceleration.
Additionally, you can always visually confirm engine mount failure. Have someone put the car in drive while you’re outside looking at the engine bay. Some movement of the engine is fine, but if it moves more than an inch or so, it’s probably time to swap the motor mounts.
Motor Mount Replacement
Replacing motor mounts is a fairly straightforward job. It usually comes down to removing the failed part and installing the new one. The process can be easy, but it can also be pretty tricky, depending on where the supports are located. On some cars, they are easy to access, but on some, they’re in a nightmare spot.
How to Find the Right Mount for your Car?
Here at eEuroparts.com, we offer a wide range of motor mounts for European vehicles. You can find the right type for your car by simply heading over to our online store and typing in your car make and model. Our system will then show you a list of parts that match your vehicle. Additionally, you can always type in your VIN. This will give you a much more accurate list of parts, especially if your car model came in different versions.
In case you have any questions regarding our selection of motor mounts, feel free to contact our customer support. We’re standing by to answer whatever questions you might have!
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