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Car is a '94 TransAm that I swapped an LS3 into 1 year ago this month. Since day 1 it's had a chirpy noise at idle that sounded like it was near my pedals. Today I finally did a thorough investigation and pinpointed the noise at the driver's motor mount. I bought new stock LS f-body motor mounts and a UMI tubular k-member for the swap. It looks like the top of the motor mount is touching the k-member.
I'll contact UMI about this and see what they say. As far as I can tell if I want the noise to stop I'll need a different mount. Any suggestions? And when the time comes, how do I support the engine to change the mount? I bought a hoist when I did the swap but sold it once I was done. I have a transmission jack I was thinking I could put under the transmission to hold everything in place. I'll also do a search but interested to hear what people have to say anyway.
Got a prompt reply from UMI support. They said they've never seen this happen before. I feel like I hear that a lot when I contact companies directly. They recommended loosening the bolt and trying to pry the mount up to create space. I don't think that would work but I would certainly try throwing some grease in there to quiet the squeak.
It’s just kissing the k-member. Put the car on stands safely. Use a floor jack and a wood 2x8 block, directly under the oil pan. The 2x8 will distribute the weight of the engine safely on the floor jack. Get the engine up just enough to get the mount off the engine and grind the area where you have witness marks. Grind it lightly…won’t take much to clearance that. Hit it with a dab of black paint and out it back together.
It’s just kissing the k-member. Put the car on stands safely. Use a floor jack and a wood 2x8 block, directly under the oil pan. The 2x8 will distribute the weight of the engine safely on the floor jack. Get the engine up just enough to get the mount off the engine and grind the area where you have witness marks. Grind it lightly…won’t take much to clearance that. Hit it with a dab of black paint and out it back together.
your thinking like I would be, I was going to say a chain fall and a tree
It’s just kissing the k-member. Put the car on stands safely. Use a floor jack and a wood 2x8 block, directly under the oil pan. The 2x8 will distribute the weight of the engine safely on the floor jack. Get the engine up just enough to get the mount off the engine and grind the area where you have witness marks. Grind it lightly…won’t take much to clearance that. Hit it with a dab of black paint and out it back together.
Ah so the oil pan can safely support the weight if it's spread out. That was my question at this point.
Yessir, no problem. I’ve set countless LS engines on their pan, here in the shop floor, after they have been built. It’s a strong, structural oil pan.
What part of the oil pan?? The sump or just in front of the sump?? I need to change some mounts in my car as the turbo exhaust has melted the passenger side
What part of the oil pan?? The sump or just in front of the sump?? I need to change some mounts in my car as the turbo exhaust has melted the passenger side
The sump. It’s wide and flat in a lot of applications. But with the right support “cribbing” you could put the floor jack (or a bottle jack) anywhere under there. Don’t try to raise the engine up more than necessary, to get the mounts out. Remember that all the ancillary systems are attached to the engine and either can’t move with it, or don’t want to. A little dab will do ya.
Ok, dove in head first on this today. I had to loosen the k-member bolts, jack the engine up, remove the alternator and then the bolts came out easily enough. I did have to use a pry bar on the k-member to get the mount to fall out but I got it. You can clearly see where it's been rubbing. The mount was just resting on the k-member. Maybe UMI didn't drill the bolt hole properly? I'm going to first try smashing it with a hammer to see if it will dent inward. If not I'll start grinding.
The wood is a 2x12 piece from the Home Depot scrap bin and the padding is a Husky kneeling pad that I cut to fit, also from Home Depot.
Danggggg. It’s a wonder that this didn’t fool the knock sensors into pulling timing.
Yeah it looks bad. It never tapped or pinged though, they were smooshed together so it was a rub/squeak noise. Hammering the crap out of it seems to have worked. I'll have to see if it settles down lower after driving but for now there's just as much space between the mount and pedestal as the passenger side.
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Motor mount rubbing on k-member 
