North American Motoring - R50/R53 Grandpa's R53 Upper Hydraulic Engine Mount Replacement

2006 Mini Cooper S (R53)
Automatic Transmission
Current Mileage: 76,586
Use: Daily Driver

Task: Replace Upper Hydraulic Engine Mount

Manufacturer: Lemforder
Part # LEM-2990101
Purchased From: FCP Euro
Cost/Tax/Shipping: $53.79
Warranty: Lifetime

I chose the Lemforder OEM style engine mount because this vehicle is primarily a daily driver. The cost was significantly less than Competition or Road/Track rated mounts and I do not plan on racing or taking this vehicle to the track. It is a Daily Driver that gets me back and forth to work, to the store and on my road trips to see family.

Well I installed the new upper hydraulic engine mount today. Straight forward and easy. It took approximately 1 hr with cleanup. I did watch a YouTube video (

) prior to starting the task. Experience has shown me that watching someone else complete a task (who is competent) can save head-aches, time and most of all money. I have to say that my old engine mount was worn out. The rubber had flattened out to the point were the engine bracket was sitting on the engine mount almost metal-to-metal. When I removed the bottom bolt, no fluid ran out because all the fluid had already seeped and stained the engine bay. Sorry no pictures. Prior to reassembly, I did take the time to clean all the hardened fluid with Acetone, a nylon brush and rags. The results are substantial! I had never really noticed the shaking with the old mount however; after I installed the new engine mount I realized how much quieter the cabin was and how little the vibrations were in comparison to before. In my opinion the replacement of the engine mount should not scare anyone who is handy with a wrench. Grandpa.