I'm going out on a limb, and attmepting to fix our problems.....by solidifying them!
I want to thank Longboard for sending me his bad motor mount. I will be drilling two holes in the bottom, flushing the glycol/water goo out of the bottom, and filling it with window urethane (3M Window Wled part# 08609) . This is not uncommon in the Honda community with blown out mounts. They become a little stiffer, and last forever. I will be doing a step-by-step with photos, and possible video so others may do this to their car. It'll be an alternative to a $200 full poly mount, and continuing to buy $80 mounts. Before I officially post this writeup, I will test it on the wifey's car to make sure it doesn't fail ;D

So wish me luck as I try to help the community in solving this rediculous problem.

With that said, does anyone have one more mount I could cut in half to see if there is anymore pockets I may have to fill? It must be the 2005+ style mount.

Here's the projected phases of the job. this isn't directly our mount, but the average internals of a hydro-mount:

Step one:





Step Two:

 

I'm fairly certain that applies to the one from my 2004 MCS. Let me know if you want mine to test on. I replaced it some time ago, and kept the old one (I think.)

 

I changed up tactics. I noticed the bottom bolt hole is not solid, so I drilled right through to the baffle, and Aluminum damper. It was quite a pain, but it looks like the inside is simple enough, so I can begin to fill. Actually the hardest part was washing out the fluid, just when you think it's done, more brown crap come flowing out!! Once it came out clear I let it sit over the weekend to dry. I used a 5/16 drill bit, and a 5/16 piece of brake line to shove down in it to guide the urethane into the gap. After I fill the bottom, the last thing I have to do is drill two holes on the top of the metal housing where the top of the mount is, and fill the void around it with urethane to prevent back and forth movement. If this is a success, I wil certainly do a write up with my wifes mount, I didn't want to make one and it turn out to be a failure... wish me luck everyone, so far so good!!!

 

Is this still happening with new mounts? I was told they had fixed the problem a few years ago. My third one is one of the "new improved" and it's been fine for about 50K miles.

 

damn, I just threw my old blown mount out a couple weeks ago or I would have gladly sent it your way. Sounds like this could be a good alternative to the solid poly mount and something I'll consider doing when my new one blows... cause we all know it eventually will.

 

You can redesign hydro mounts, but the problem is rubber can flex and compress...fluid doesn't. They blow because weak spots form in the rubber from bending, and having fluid press against stretched areas. Think of it as a water balloon, you can squeeze it and compress it, but eventually the walls of the balloon give. You can make the walls thicker, but eventually, the diaphram, or sides blow out.
This isn't my first experience with having a hybrid Poly/standard rubber chassis part. My lower control arms on my Camaro have stock rubber bushings with a poly ball in the inside, which prevent binding when turning, and almost no back and forth motion when accelerating. This would give the same benefit of a stock rubber engine mount. the stock rubber inside would absorbing small vibrations, but will be stiffer when rocking motion to the mount is performed.

 

UPDATE: So far, it's turning out perfect. I drilled 6 holes in the top of the mount, and injected the urethane, you can barely budge the mount now, and this is before the inside was filled ( I let the mount sit over the weekend to fully cure, so word to the wise, if you need the car everyday, or the mount done ASAP...pass)

I did run into a problem, trying to fill the inside from the mount hole didn't work, it's too tight for the urethane to flow properly. So today I drilled a hole on the side, just below the connection point, and filled it up till it literally blew out. It's grown some weight on it, and about 3/4 of a tube is all it took to fill it up. Now I play the waiting game for it to cure.

 

UPDATE: So this weekend I replaced her mount with the urethane filled......works like a charm, a little too well if I may say. The old one that came out was destroyed, and wobbled like no tomorrow, not to mention it puking out the fluid when I loosened the bolt. it does act like a poly urethane mount, there is more vibration from it, which makes my dash squeek a little and the rear view mirror's reflection vibrates at a certain RPM range, but the engine doesn't rock anymore, and is more firm when the vehicle shifts up or down. I personally like it, but my wife is on the fence wheither to keep using it and live with it, or to break down and buy another $80 OEM mount.

I will make a step by step tutorial for anyone who would like to save $150 and make their own home grown poly mount in the coming weeks with photo's and possible video, or if you feel you aren't mechanically capable, or don't have a tools, PM, and we'll see if we can work something out. Either way, I'm very pleased with the results.

 

Great to hear this... waiting for your tutorial and photos/video :D

Thanks for sharing

 

this is cool - i kinda hoped a solution like this would prove doable

 

What about using something a little softer for the filler, such as silicone in place of the polyurethane. I use many different adhesive/caulks in the marine industry and I've noticed the silicone-based products are more flexible than the polyurethanes. Maybe worth a try with another trashed mount.

Eric

 

Eric, that's a great question. I thought a little bit about that myself. My only fear is since it's encaspulated within the Urethane-like stock rubber, and if major deflection occurs, I'm afraid it would bind too much and begin to tear. However, at the same time, the dampening may just be enough as well as the stiffness to prevent that. I'm not sure what the life of squirt tube silicone may be before it begins to stiffen and break down under high heat conditions, but like you said, it would be worth a try, what do I have to lose, 7 bucks? lol, I think I will be working on that next, but I will extend the testing time for a few months to see if it can handle the harshness.

 

The polyurethane will "mellow" a bit after a month or so of use if it's anything like the BSH lower mount I had installed last November. Dash vibration dropped off significantly by new years or so....

C ya,
Dutch

 

glad you put my mount to good use. If you ever get around to making more of these id be a buyer. The aftermarket poly piece I bought vibrates way to much.

 

Alright, so after a few months of driving around, the mount has settled down drastically. The vibrations are at a minimum, and really only show in very low RPS when taking off, but I will confirm that this setup is a success!! The engine doesn't rock at all and is stiff, yet is tolerable with the NVH.

Here's a simple write up on how to do it. I attempted to do a video of it using my wifes old mount, but there were more outakes then actual footage lol

1. Take a center punch, and make 4 dimples on the top of the mount where the stud is. Two on the side, and one front and back. Make sure they are in the center of the metal. (You'll have to move the rubber flap that overhangso n the sides)

2. Drill the 4 holes using a 5/16 drill bit. Do not drill into the rubber part of the mount, if you do, all the poly will come gushing out when you fill the inside.

3. Turn the mount on it's side, with the chassis bracket facing up. Center punch just below where the metal folds over to hold both pieces together.

4. Drill 5/16 hole into mount. Make sure you drill all the way into the rubber, and make sure the opening is clear of any rubber or diaphrams.

5. Turn mount around, and allow any additional fluid leftover in it to pour out ( WARNING, it's smelly and glycol based.)

6.Take an evaporation solvent ( 2+2, brake clean) and fill the inside. Swish the solvent around to get the remaining fluid out of it. Take an air hose and blow out the inside. Spray will go everywhere, so turn it away from you ,and make sure your wearing crappy cloths. Do this several times until the fluid is a slight brown, and doesn't smell of glycol.

7. Let the solvent dry over night.

8. Now the fun part. Buy 3M polyeruthane window weld (part# 08609) and let it sit in hot water for about an hour. Place in caulk gun. ( I highly recommend using a clamp to keep it in the slot it sits in becuase of how thick and hard poly is when it comes out, it will bend the assembly and not push it out right.

9. First fill in the top of the mount. This will help center it when you fill the inside. Place the tip inside the hole to push the poly through the cavity in the top. Also make sure you see the poly squirt out the the center of the top mount where the stud is at, and to the next hole. To get it to the next hole, I recommend angling the tip towards the next opening.

10. Clean up excess poly, and let it cure overnight.

11. Now turn the mount on its side with bracket facing up, and fill it up. You will have to press the tip into it so the poly can push its way into there, but be warned, it makes a seal, and air pressure builds up in it, so when you take the tip out, it will blow a bunch of poly back!!! You can overcome this by drilling just next to the hole to let the air escape.

12. Once you feel it is completely filled, let it sit for up to a week.

13. Install, and enjoy. For me the settling time was about 2 1/2 months. Depending on temperature, and driving, it could take longer or shorter.