10 Attachment(s)
Replacing rear engine mount - Saab 9-5 4-cylinder 2.3 (top removal)
Hello everyone,
This will be my first tutorial post here, so if anyone has an easier way of doing this please post below. The main reason I am posting this is because I couldn't find a truly detailed, step-by-step guide on how to replace rear engine mount on 9-5. I found things like "the rear mount is a bear" on several different forums, so I wanted to give it a try and it was a success :D
I have a 1999 9-5 SE with a 2.3 liter engine and manual transmission. The engine had weird vibrations and it felt like strong jerks every time I went from 1st to 2nd gear, or when I released the gas pedal fully. I went to a mechanic and he put the car in first gear (on the flat ground), left the emergency brake off and then started pushing the car back and forth. The engine was pivoting back and forth too much and he said that the rear mount (rubber part) became too soft and must be replaced.
My friend and I removed and replaced this mount from the top, although I read somewhere it could be done from the bottom. Below are pictures that explain each step we took in order to accomplish our task.
I got the mount from Eeuroparts:
SAAB Engine Mount - Rear - Hutchinson 538780 (SAAB OE: 5239173)
Tools needed:
- ratcheting socket wrench with multiple extensions (including a joint extension as well). I think it's 13mm, but you should try anything from 12-16mm. I forgot the exact size. I think that the biggest one you'll need is a 16mm and that's for the top nut. That's a piece of cake to remove.
- Magnetic pickup tool. Trust me, it's the only way to get the bolt out once it has been loosened up all the way.
- Hydraulic jack with and a wooden block in order to lift the engine. We lifted from the bottom of the oil pan, so we used the wooden block to prevent any damage to the oil pan.
- Ramps to lift the front of the car. You could also use two additional hydraulic jacks or jack stands, however I believe that ramps are the safest and most reliable solution.
WARNING: The engine must be cold when you do this. You will have to reach behind the engine block and your arm will almost certainly lean on it, and your face will be only a couple of inches away from the top of the engine most of the time. You definitively don't want the engine hot when you're doing this.
Replacing the engine mount is not too difficult, however it does take about 2.5 hours. I did it with a friend, and I don't believe that one person can do this. The most difficult part of the job is to find, reach, and remove one of the three screws. One screw is on the passenger's side of the engine bay, one screw is directly in front of the firewall. These two are easy to see and remove. But the third one is facing the driver's side of the engine bay and cannot be seen from any angle. We spent about an hour trying to find that screw. I finally reached down with my hand and touched the screw.
This is the ratchet with extensions that we used to reach all three screws, plus the top nut.
Attachment 12856
and this is the magnetic tool that helped us take the bolts out, after we unscrewed them.
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Let's begin.
- The red arrow shows where the rear mount is located. The blue arrow shows the location of the lower front torque rod mount which needs to be loosened before you start lifting the engine. It has two screws that are visible and easy to remove.
Attachment 12851
- When you lock in the back, this is where you'll find the mount. Blue arrows show where two "easy" screws are located. You will be able to see both of them and easily remove them. However, the red arrow shows the third screw (driver's side) which is impossible to see. I found it by reaching under with my hand. I touched around until my fingers recognized the screw.
Then I realized that there is a hole right above it and if you get a socket wrench through that hole - it will fall straight down to your screw. The problem is you can't see that hole so you have to do it by trial and error. You need to get the ratchet will all the extensions (I think we had 4 or 5 total) and lower it down between all the hoses, wires, and metal tubes. I kept my finger on top of the "invisible" screw while my friend lowered the ratchet. After a couple of minutes I felt the ratchet touch my finger so I knew we hit the target. I took my finger out, and the ratchet fell straight down and locked on to the screw. After that it was pretty straight forward job of unscrewing it. This is the most difficult part of the job.
Attachment 12850Attachment 12859Attachment 12855
- After removing all three screws and the top nut, we then removed two screws from the lower front torque rod mount. This was a necessary step before we could lift the engine high enough to get the old rear engine mount out and the new one in.
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- We then lifted the engine. Make sure you put a wooden block between the hydraulic jack and the oil pan so you don't damage anything.
Attachment 12857
- Once you lift the engine high enough take the old mount out. The "hand" which holds it in place is U shaped (look above - note the picture of the old mount still in place), so you can slide it out on the side and tilt and pull it under the hand. Now reverse this procedure to put the new mount in and center it in place by putting two "easy" screws in their place. Make them go in just a couple of turns, and then use the magnetic tool to gently lower the "difficult" screw back in its place. Be careful with this part because I dropped that screw three times before I navigated it between all the wiring, down the hole and into its place. Once the third screw is in, you can tighten all of them up gradually.
- Now gently lower the engine until it's low enough to put the main (16mm) nut on top of the engine mount. Don't lower the engine all the way yet.
- Put back the two screws back in the lower front torque rod mount.
- Now lower the engine all the way and tighten all the screws fully. And you're done! :)