7SEALS

Well I am working on doing motor mounts right now on my car since my hooker long tube header is resting on the k-frame. I am pulling the entire motor mount assembly out. I am trying to remove the least amount of things possible to get these mounts out, so my headers are staying in for now. I have 3 out of the four bolts out on the pedestal side, on the drivers side of the car. It looks like the fourth bolt (one closest to the front of the car on the highest side closest to the hood) won't clear the steering shaft when I try to loosen it out, it looks like its going to hit the steering shaft so I am in the process of trying to move the steering shaft.

Right in front of the firewall, there was a 11mm bolt pointed straight up at me on the steering shaft. I took it out and started pulling on the shaft but its not really moving. I got it to move maybe a hair. Is there something else I need to unbolt to get this thing moved over? Keep in mind space is limited with headers installed, so using a hammer is difficult. I have been using long extensions and hammering on those. Am I on the right track or is there another bolt that needs removed? Also, so I be afraid of damaging anything when hammering, or should I just give her hell? Thanks for any help.

fruitsalad

iTrader: (5)

There's another 11mm bolt on the bottom of the shaft where it connects to the rack.

7SEALS

Does that need to be removed to get the shaft moved? Or can I leave the bottom bolt in and just pry the top out?

fruitsalad

iTrader: (5)

I believe the shaft has to slide down a little on the bottom to pull the top out, so i think the bottom bolt does need to be removed. The bolt is very easy to access from the bottom.

7SEALS

Define "very easy" lol. The only thing I can get on that bolt is a tiny *** wrench that I can't use to break that bolt loose. I have the alternator, and what looks like a splash guard in the way. Does that bolt need to be loosened or removed, or will this top come off without that?

Brndn59

Just remove that bolt and slide it down and the top will come out. The. Pull it out on the bottom. If u can't get it because of the alternator, pull the bolts out and move it out of the way.

fruitsalad

iTrader: (5)

I might be misremembering how easy it is because I've had mine out multiple times, but I'm almost positive I could always access it with a socket. You could try putting the top bolt in loosely (so that it can be removed easily) and turning the wheel until the bottom bolt is at a more convenient spot, then pull out the top by hand and put a socket on the bottom. If you do this, make sure the steering wheel doesn't move at all while the shaft is out.

7SEALS

Ok so I have an update. I got the bottom bolt out on the steering shaft, but how the **** do I get the shaft out now? Its not moving at all. I am using a long extension that is resting on base of the steering shaft, and I am hammering the **** out of the extension to try and work the shaft downwards but its just not budging. If I hammer this thing anymore I think I am going to need a new steering shaft. Is there some trick to this or is just remove one 11mm bolt and the top, one 11mm bolt at the bottom, and beat the **** out of it?

7SEALS

Ok, I got the shaft out. I did some research and found out you are supposed to work the steering shaft towards the firewall, not down towards the engine lol...

So I got underneath and gave it a few taps and it slid off like butter. I got the entire K-member side mount unbolted, I got the heat shield out, and I got one bolt out of the clamshell. Just three more bolts and the mount should be out!

7SEALS

Just wanted to update everyone. After a couple busted knuckles I was finally able to get the driver side motor mount out. Everything went fairly smooth except for the last bolt which was the clamshell side, top bolt closest to the firewall. What a pain the *** that one was. Since you need a deep well socket because of threads sticking out of the bolt for the heat shield to bolt onto, it made things difficult. Getting a deep well socket into there was basically impossible because my headers were in the way. I spent probably two hours on that bolt alone.

I ended up unbolting the 18mm long bolt going through the clamshell so I could have some more wiggle room. Jacked the motor up as high as I could, and twisting the mount around until I could get a socket on it. I kept rounding the bolt over and over because I could never get a good angle on it. I almost admitted defeat. I could get an open end wrench on it, but just couldn't get any leverage on it to loosen it. After awhile of twisting and turning the mount, and jacking up the engine and lowering it down, I finally got the socket on there as best I was going to get. I gave it everything I had and it broke loose. Finally!

The mount slid right out after that. Stopping progress for today because I don't have a drill bit to drill the clamshell open yet, will stop by the hardware store tomorrow and pick one up. Spending the rest of the day picking up the garage. Today is warmest day we have had all year so far. In the upper 50's. This winter was brutal so my garage was neglected the entire winter and is filled with trash and dirt.

My question is, when I go to put this mount back in, should I bolt the clamshell back onto the mount and slide the entire assembly in and bolt it back together, or should I bolt the clamshell back onto the engine, then bolt the mount back to the k-frame, and then work the long 18mm bolt in? Which way will be easier?

7SEALS

Another quick update. Got the mount partially back in place. Drilling out the rivets in the clamshell turned out to be a bit more dangerous than I would have expected lol. I have a corded dewalt hammer drill I use for work so I used that. I started with a small drill bit and worked my way up to larger sizes. A few times the bit caught and the clamshell ripped out of my hands and started swinging around on the bit. I started using my feet to hold the clamshell down and that worked a bit better. I think a vice would have been much safer, but I don't have one.

After drilling the clamshell open, I used a small propane torch to heat up the clamshell. After about one minute, the rubber fell out in one piece. I got to work positioning the poly mount inside the clamshell. It was a tight fit, but after a bit of negotiation, I was able to get it into the clamshell nicely. Except when I went to put everything back together and realized the mount was in backwards. DOH! Make sure the tabs are up towards the top of the engine! Had to take it all back apart, and work the poly mount back into place.

Right now I have 3 out of the 4 clamshell bolts in place, and all four of the mount bolts started but need to be tightened. This last clamshell bolt is being a real bitch to get started since there isn't much room to work with. I put the long 18mm bolt in backwards so if I (or anyone else) has to do this again in the future, they will be able to do so without moving anything out of the way. Called it quits after working on it for a good couple hours yesterday. Going to try and finish it up today.

EDIT:
bad news, the last hole on the clamshell is not lining up. I am going to have to pull this mount back out and do it all over again. I don't understand how I can have three bolts in there but the fourth one doesn't line up. Getting frustrated already and about to call it quits for the day again and only an hour into the project today.