Hi NAM--

Thanks in advance for anyone/everyone’s help with this.

In a nutshell, I was in fender-bender (not at fault ) and had some repairs done to repair a small dent and repaint the bumper/hood. As far as I can tell from the invoiced labor that breaks out the costs/process by line item, the repairs only touched the inside of the engine bay to replace a radiator support piece that attaches to the bumper (happy to reply with the line item breakout if anyone thinks it would help).

Shortly after, maybe a week or so, I noticed the infamous clunking sound that we hear when the motor mount is worn out. In your[s] opinion, could a repair process for removing/replacing the bumper have, in anyway, touched or altered the position of that mount?

Sorry in advance for what may be a real novice question—it really shows my knowledge of how things are organized in our engine bays…

Thanks again!

 

The radiator support is a huge piece of plastic and costs around $175-$200. Lots of labor to replace. The front subframe crush tubes would have to come off. Still, nowhere near the motor mount. Take it back to whoever did the work and have them determine what's clunking. May be related...May not.

 

Maybe them dropping it off the lift had something to do with it.

Unless something extreme happened, ditto what trackrat posted.

 

Thanks so much Trackrat and Greg--

Exactly what i needed to know--it's comforting to know that there's still folks who can help in the forum.

Would you guys happen to know, cause no mechanics are really able to answer this, but the lifespan of the motor mount? Also, does terrain have an affect of the lifespan too? (I recently moved to LA where there are more potholes and rough roads than there are people).

Would the bumpy roads/potholes speed up the wearing down of the mount?

 

We need to clarify that there are two motor mounts, one on the passenger side inner fender, the engine mount under and to the rear of the engine and then the transmission mount on the lower driver's side. The one on the passenger side is the most obvious and easiest to spot because it ooozes a black hydraulic fluid. Sure, rough roads, age and mileage all have a detrimental effect on the mounts and suspension components. Clunking noise could be any number of other things: Ball joints, lower control arms, tie rod ends, worn shocks/shock towers, sway bar drop links, etc.

 

@TrackRat – thanks for filling me in on that.

Seems like it was premature assumption to think it was the engine mount. I just automatically associated it with that because I had experienced issues with the mount before. I guess I was just hoping it would be a clear path to getting that fixed, because (1) hardly have time to drop the car off (2) the entire process of someone pin pointing the issue is never an easy one.

By the same token, one more quick question: if I am not noticing any leaking of fluids as you described, is it safe to rule that mount out?

Quick forum searches don’t yield much, but I’m sure it’s been discussed here.. has anyone ever come up with a solution in which the mounts would not have to be periodically replaced? I remember some years ago, folks on NAM were saying this is simply the nature of Mini’s design and a crutch we owners just have to deal with.

Thanks so much, guys.

 

Yes, you can rule it out. Failure mode would be the dreaded black crap oozing down from the base of the motor mount. There are other, albeit somewhat expensive, alternatives but they are permanent. Because of their design, they do tend to create a bit more noticeable vibration due to the engine being held more rigidly. A search for "motor mounts" or with some of our Forum advertisers will produce some choices.

 

My stock 2006 S upper motor mount (passenger side - the one that usually pops) just crapped out at 55,000 miles. I've seen average life expectancy range from 30,000 - 50,000 miles for the OEMs (and OEM-equivalents). Terrain will definitely affect its longevity.

Greg

 

When we bought our 2005 MCS @ 71k last December the upper motor mount was shot. +1 for bargaining chips!

 

I seem to get about 30,000-35,000 from my upper motor mount.....some do less...
The part is $75-100....my local guy will install an oem one for about $180 total...parts and labor.