I recently had my transmission fixed one of the main shafts had a gear that was still working fine but I noticed it when pulling covers off. The whole reason to this post is that I feel I should share what happened. I have no blame for the company that did the transmission work because if worked flawlessly for 1000 miles. Just before I was ready to go back to canada I took it out for one last drive and hit two quite bad bumps where one road crosses the other(was driving to fast on road I did not know). These impacts I believe made my motor mounts bottom out and fail this resulting in the actuator to contact the subframe and loosen the actuator. To make a long story short the transmission got jammed between gears with the actuator thinking it was in neutral. Big pain in the -ss to load car in my carhauler and take to dealer. Dealer after removing actuator could not get transmission out of gear and I wanted them to pull the tranny anyway just to ensure no damage inside. No internal damage, all checks were done, new motor mounts installed, everything went back together and car runs like it did the first time. The shop did mention to me when doing the transmission the first time that my motor mounts were worn and should probably be changed next engine out but they did not feel they were that bad. Moral of the story is if your mounts are not in good shape with a f1 transmission you risk a 2 thousand dollar fix or worse. Our cars different than the newer 360 where the system sits up higher out of harms way. Did not want to see any of the other brothers suffer!!!
Grant, thank you for posting this. The motor mounts will be the first thing I check when I put my car on the lift.
I had mine replaced at around 50k miles...they were pretty cracked. Car vibrated a bit more than normal while idling. Other than that, no other symptoms. Shop said if you wait too long, the shifting can get really bad, as the shift shaft/rod will be hanging up, from the engine and transaxle sitting too low..
That actuator sits awful close to that cross member. Others have posted that worn motor mounts will cause shift issues due to clearance issues. Thanks for the reminder. I'll add that to the watch list and a to-do on the major.
What I was trying to say is worn motor mounts on smooth surfaces may not cause any problems or symptoms hit a bad hole and instantly such as in my case 2500 bucks. Kinda risky so why bother or just be extra careful.
Not to mention the fact that the lower actuator mount isn't that far off the ground. Bad motor mounts really need to be replaced on them.
Sounds like a stupid question, but other than the obvious, is there any specific elements to look for when inspecting motot mounts Brian? Thanks in advance.
On the 355 mounts not really. You kind of need to know what a good one looks like to gage the degree of sag. On the snout of the trans where the shifter comes out, if the boot is rubbing the cross member, that is a pretty good indicator.
Mine is not an F1 but I think my mounts are finished and need to be replaced. Is it dangerous to still use the car? I live in Quebec, North America's pothole capital!
Thanks for sharing...I replaced my mounts, and made up some titanium heat shields too - I think the exhaust heat really contributes to the rubber failing.
Not really dangerous, mine were so bad that any time I would let off the gas in gear I'd get a big clunk as the motor shifted. I drove the car a thousand miles home in that condition with no issue, but it's not an f1. Be aware that the engine will sit an inch or so lower so bottoming out will be a very bad thing as it can mess up your oil pan. I replaced them with challenge mounts after I got the car home but 360 mounts may work and appear to be a more robust design. It's an easy DIY.
