I don't post much, but there is very little on the board about motor mounts so I am sharing my experience.
I have a 2006 XLE AWD with 122,000 on the clock and am the original owner. My dad had me wrenching with at 2 or 3 years old--imprinting mechanical stuff on the brain--so I like to do my own work. I am also not impressed by most stealership workmanship, although you can find the rare gem of a tech.
I've had all kinds of cars, from a stock 1937 Chevrolet coupe inherited from the old man to MGBs to Subarus--but never had to replace motor mounts until today. My Sienna was starting to make some crunching noises upon throttle application, and I eventually found that the front lower mount was totally blown, allowing the V6 (3MZFE) to bend the entire driveline and exhaust. The last clue that I had a problem was the rocking engine allowing the exhaust gasket in the spring joint just in front of the catalytic converter to break apart and fail. This car has lived its life in Vermont and Maine on very tough, potholed roads, shortening the life of the mounts.
I ordered Beck Arnley mounts from Rock Auto. I got the lower front mount (attaches to front lower crossmember, the one you floor jack from), the RH mount (engine belt side) and the LH mount (transaxle case side). I did not replace the top "banjo" mount above the serpentine belt--which was in good shape--or the AWD-specific lower rear mount. The lower rear mount is not weight-bearing; it is a D-ring that surrounds a rubberized stud and limits the range of motion of the AWD transfer case to protect the propeller (drive) shaft and other driveline bits.
I believe Beck Arnley makes the OEM mounts; the front mount had the correct Toyota part number on it in the form of a red-and-white decal, and the Toyota "rings" symbol had been removed from the decal with an razor before it was shipped to me. The Beck Arnley mounts via Rock Auto are about 60% less expensive than OEM MSRP. They appeared to be of very good quality. They are made in Taiwan.
I was under the gun to get the job done today, so no pics. About a week ago, I jacked the car, cleaned the one top and three lower bolt studs on each mount with a wire brush, and hit all the nuts with PB Blaster. Yesterday, I did this again. Takes maybe 20 minutes, but at age 40 or so, I have learned this is time well spent.
I removed the upper and lower air intakes, the battery, loosened the bracket that anchors the air-filter box, and removed the top "banjo" mount by removing the two bolts that pass through the rubber bushings at the head and tail of the banjo.
With the car jacked and on stands, I pulled the front wheels and removed the plastic side panels that protect the engine and transaxle from the wheel wells. Each of these panesl (L and R) have two 10mm bolts and one plastic plug-type clip. The clip on one side was missing and the other shattered due to brittleness and age when removed. I did not sweat replacing them. The two bolts per side are good given the age of my Sienna (shooting for 10 yrs or 200,000 miles before I give up).
Each of the three mount's top bolts came off with ease. The lower front mount's three bottom bolt did too. The side mounts were tougher--the exposed bolt on each came off easily, while to two hidden bolts per side (those inside the front sub-frame, under plastic dust covers) needed lots of penetrating oil and back-and-forth wrench work but all came free. The rear D-ring needs to be freed as well--take out the two bolts that mount the D-ring itself--they are above the rubberized stud and came loose with a 17mm socket and a very long extension with no problem. You can just let the D-ring dangle, but it need to be unbolted to let the engine move freely to replace the three weight-bearing mounts.
Using a floor jack and a 10 inch 2x4, I first jacked the engine/transaxle under its center and was able to clear all of the studs on the front lower mounts remove and replace the old mount with the new (leaving it unbolted). I moved the jack and wood to the driver's side, jacking under the tranmission oil pan and replaced the LH mount in the same fashion. When letting the jack down, I used some wadded shop towels to raise the mount enough to keep the mount studs threaded as the engine came down, then pulled the towels out before I let the jack all the way down--this allowed the mounts to seat properly. Then I moved to the engine oil pan with the jack and 2x4--again careful to spread the load on the delicate pan--and replaced the RH mount.
From here, it was a simple reverse operation. Find your torque values in the shop manual via this site, but they are all between 55 and 70 lb. ft., (check the the banjo mount). I then replaced my cat converter gasket and bolts-with-springs, getting the old bolts out after loosening with a hammer and a MAP gas torch. With bolts removed and laying under the van, I simply put a foot on the muffler (again AWD so inline muffler) and pushed the tailpipe towards the rear of the van, opening enough gap to clear the old gasket remnants and seat the new gasket, and then threaded the shoulder bolts and springs (also Rock Auto, AP Exhaust) and closed the exhaust leak. The AP Exhuast springs were much more compressed than the OEM ones when tightened FWIW.
All in, it was maybe 4.5 hrs of work at a moderate pace. The key was knowing in detail the guts of the front end of the car (through long ownership of the same vehicle) and soaking all of the motor mount studs a week or two ahead of time--multiple times in possible--with penetrating oil. Made removal of all the the nuts possible without breakage.
Next project is full front suspension renewal: struts, strut bearings, mounts, isolators, sway bar bushings, end links, and lower ball joints. Will post about that later this month.
I have a 2006 XLE AWD with 122,000 on the clock and am the original owner. My dad had me wrenching with at 2 or 3 years old--imprinting mechanical stuff on the brain--so I like to do my own work. I am also not impressed by most stealership workmanship, although you can find the rare gem of a tech.
I've had all kinds of cars, from a stock 1937 Chevrolet coupe inherited from the old man to MGBs to Subarus--but never had to replace motor mounts until today. My Sienna was starting to make some crunching noises upon throttle application, and I eventually found that the front lower mount was totally blown, allowing the V6 (3MZFE) to bend the entire driveline and exhaust. The last clue that I had a problem was the rocking engine allowing the exhaust gasket in the spring joint just in front of the catalytic converter to break apart and fail. This car has lived its life in Vermont and Maine on very tough, potholed roads, shortening the life of the mounts.
I ordered Beck Arnley mounts from Rock Auto. I got the lower front mount (attaches to front lower crossmember, the one you floor jack from), the RH mount (engine belt side) and the LH mount (transaxle case side). I did not replace the top "banjo" mount above the serpentine belt--which was in good shape--or the AWD-specific lower rear mount. The lower rear mount is not weight-bearing; it is a D-ring that surrounds a rubberized stud and limits the range of motion of the AWD transfer case to protect the propeller (drive) shaft and other driveline bits.
I believe Beck Arnley makes the OEM mounts; the front mount had the correct Toyota part number on it in the form of a red-and-white decal, and the Toyota "rings" symbol had been removed from the decal with an razor before it was shipped to me. The Beck Arnley mounts via Rock Auto are about 60% less expensive than OEM MSRP. They appeared to be of very good quality. They are made in Taiwan.
I was under the gun to get the job done today, so no pics. About a week ago, I jacked the car, cleaned the one top and three lower bolt studs on each mount with a wire brush, and hit all the nuts with PB Blaster. Yesterday, I did this again. Takes maybe 20 minutes, but at age 40 or so, I have learned this is time well spent.
I removed the upper and lower air intakes, the battery, loosened the bracket that anchors the air-filter box, and removed the top "banjo" mount by removing the two bolts that pass through the rubber bushings at the head and tail of the banjo.
With the car jacked and on stands, I pulled the front wheels and removed the plastic side panels that protect the engine and transaxle from the wheel wells. Each of these panesl (L and R) have two 10mm bolts and one plastic plug-type clip. The clip on one side was missing and the other shattered due to brittleness and age when removed. I did not sweat replacing them. The two bolts per side are good given the age of my Sienna (shooting for 10 yrs or 200,000 miles before I give up).
Each of the three mount's top bolts came off with ease. The lower front mount's three bottom bolt did too. The side mounts were tougher--the exposed bolt on each came off easily, while to two hidden bolts per side (those inside the front sub-frame, under plastic dust covers) needed lots of penetrating oil and back-and-forth wrench work but all came free. The rear D-ring needs to be freed as well--take out the two bolts that mount the D-ring itself--they are above the rubberized stud and came loose with a 17mm socket and a very long extension with no problem. You can just let the D-ring dangle, but it need to be unbolted to let the engine move freely to replace the three weight-bearing mounts.
Using a floor jack and a 10 inch 2x4, I first jacked the engine/transaxle under its center and was able to clear all of the studs on the front lower mounts remove and replace the old mount with the new (leaving it unbolted). I moved the jack and wood to the driver's side, jacking under the tranmission oil pan and replaced the LH mount in the same fashion. When letting the jack down, I used some wadded shop towels to raise the mount enough to keep the mount studs threaded as the engine came down, then pulled the towels out before I let the jack all the way down--this allowed the mounts to seat properly. Then I moved to the engine oil pan with the jack and 2x4--again careful to spread the load on the delicate pan--and replaced the RH mount.
From here, it was a simple reverse operation. Find your torque values in the shop manual via this site, but they are all between 55 and 70 lb. ft., (check the the banjo mount). I then replaced my cat converter gasket and bolts-with-springs, getting the old bolts out after loosening with a hammer and a MAP gas torch. With bolts removed and laying under the van, I simply put a foot on the muffler (again AWD so inline muffler) and pushed the tailpipe towards the rear of the van, opening enough gap to clear the old gasket remnants and seat the new gasket, and then threaded the shoulder bolts and springs (also Rock Auto, AP Exhaust) and closed the exhaust leak. The AP Exhuast springs were much more compressed than the OEM ones when tightened FWIW.
All in, it was maybe 4.5 hrs of work at a moderate pace. The key was knowing in detail the guts of the front end of the car (through long ownership of the same vehicle) and soaking all of the motor mount studs a week or two ahead of time--multiple times in possible--with penetrating oil. Made removal of all the the nuts possible without breakage.
Next project is full front suspension renewal: struts, strut bearings, mounts, isolators, sway bar bushings, end links, and lower ball joints. Will post about that later this month.
