My '92 engine and transmission mounts are shot and I need to replace them. Is this a job that can be done in my garage? If not, can it be done by a general Mechanic or is it tricky enough to need a Factory Toyota mechanic to do it? I've had a bad experience with a non-factory mechanic before, but I also want to save a few bucks. These mounts aren't cheap! Thanks!

 

Motor mounts are a fairly easy job if you have a engine hoist. You shouldn't have to lift the engine up very far to remove the old mounts and set new ones in place. Hoist can sometime be borrowed from friends or can be purchased used for $100-300. Then you can use them and keep them if you have the room or resell them to get back your money. I like doing to work myself when ever I can. That way if something fails I am already familiar with the area and how to access it.

If the above is not an option for you call and get quotes from 3-5 different shops in your area. Also call any local dealerships as well. See how much more money the dealership wants to do the job. If your going to take it to a shop. Check online reviews of the shop. Yelp.com, Google reviews, ect.

I am sure a few others will jump on and give you there opinions as well.
Good luck hope this helps

 

I don't have an engine hoist, so I'm going to do some research and hand it over to a local guy. Thanks for your input.

 

Thing is I never used a Engine Hoist I just used a Floor Jack with wooden block under the oil pan.

Trying to say if it is a easy job with out knowing your mechanical aptitude is pretty hard.

Then if you live in the great rust belt it can be interesting your first time.

 

I've done both the transmission mounts and engine mounts using the jack-with-wood-block method. You don't have to lift it far to swap out the mounts.

 

I'll look into this.

 

Now that I'm thinking back to it:

For the transmission I actually held it in place, no lifting, and dropped the cross member to change out the mounts. The problem I ran into was my cross member had taken such a beating it had deformed, so I had a lot of trouble getting the bolts to line back up to put it back on. I ended up filing the bolt holes wider to get everything to line up again.

 

that motor is heavy; you can probably do it without an engine hoist but you would need to be very careful. remember you'll be sticking your hands in there. personally, i would NOT risk it. i'd borrow/rent an engine hoist but i'm old, cautious, and no longer fishing in the cracks of the sofa for beer money. rent one and you'll still be saving money vs the local shop. the job will go faster too with the proper hoist.

the trans is easier and can be done with a common floor jack and maybe a wood block for spacer depending on how tall you are. i bought a (Torin?) transmission adapter for my floor jack when I replaced my transmission but it sucks. if you use a floor jack then i suggest using cargo straps to secure it to the frame as a secondary support. my friend accidentally let all the pressure out of the floor jack and dropped it to the ground, luckily i had insisted on the secondary support straps and no harm was done. Or pick up a transmission jack at the tool rental place since you're already there and you'll knock out the job that much faster.

this may be a good time to upgrade to a better crossmember! i like budbuilt's.

 

^ Wise words.

I ended up getting a Budbuilt crossmember too, when I realized how beat up my stock one was. Of course it was beat up because I got hung up on it all the time.