I've noticed lately that my upper dogbone engine mounts have been getting progressively looser. They're not in danger of coming undone, but there is a fair amount of free play, especially with the larger of the two.

I dropped by Midnite Auto Repair and my guy told me that (A) they were 156 bucks apiece from GM, and (B) they both needed replacing poste haste.

Hell, I figured at least they could be tightened up a bit, you know? Fer Chrissakes, with the labour, I'm lookin' at 5 bills and the car is going back into storage at the beginning of October.

So, is he shittin' me and can I get away with just tightening them up for the next month or so? Those 5 bills could be put to better use right now paying for the aforementioned storage and also going towards the tune-up of the '88 to get me thru another brutal winter up here in Frost-Back County.

I can get new dogbones as part of the Spring tune-up in April/07.

At each end of the dog bone is a rubber bushing. That is what starts to pound out with miles and years and heat. Pretty common and expected for an isolating bushing like that. That is how it works. Nothing to "tighten up". If the bushing is developing a lot of play then it indicates the rubber in the joint has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. Nothing really bad will happen with the dogbone bushings deteriorating but you will notice more clunking and banging on shifts and driveaways, etc. The dog bones only come into play reacting to engine torque when it is under load. Just sitting still they are under no load.

Change them yourself. There is only one bolt at each end. Take the bolt out and put it back in. The dogbones are not under any load when the car is sitting still with the engine not running (unless you have it parked on hill against the parking pawl in the trans) so you don't have to do anything but unbolt the old ones and bolt in the new ones. Just make sure you put the parking brake on and leave the trans in neutral so the mounts will be totally relaxed. You don't have to support the engine or anything, especially if you do only one side at a time. Exactly how much is he charging you to change them??? It is about a 20 minute job to do both.......

Nice looking engine ya got there Frost. Chevelle hit it.

I did mine, got them from gwpartsdirect, they came with the front bracket attached. Take off the old install the new.

Could not find them at rockauto. gmotors you have to email them a parts request for a price. gmpartsdirect has them for $103 including shipping for the set of 2. Like Chevelle said, they are easier to change than spark plugs.

I am going to paint an even brighter picture than the previous two posters. In this case, there is no need to buy OEM. Just get whatever is available at your local auto parts store or go to rock auto; they are 10.71 and 11.54 each. I recently did mine and they took less than 5 min each. Assuming your engine mounts are in good condition, you have no problem at all.

Now about your mechanic, of course he is trying to screw you, that's his job right? Well maybe not, but no matter what, they need to make some money for the things they do. Also, it may be likely that they will want to only use OEM. In many cases, that is a good thing, but here, no way. It is good that you asked first, because some things will cost a crap load of money and will be quite easy to do yourself.

My final advice would be to try and befriend a mechanic. I don't mean that you should try an take advantage or anything, but often times they would be more than willing to do some side work outside of their normal working hours (for a lot less money). A had a neighbor that did just about everything for me for 50 bucks or a case of beer (for smaller things). You may even be able to work out a barter.

Sorry for the double post, I just read rangers post and I figured I would put in the link for the "dogbones." Here it is: 1998 CADILLAC DEVILLE 4.6L 281 cubic inch V8 MFI (Y) Torque Strut Mount (http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1313773,parttype,5556)
By the way, they can go by many names: dogbones, upper engine mounts, torque struts, torque braces, engine struts...I probably left out a few, but you get the idea. Some people only know them by one of the names, so when you try and pick up a pair, it may be helpful to know all or many of them. In fact, some stores have them listed in their computer with different names.

Good luck

Well I'll be dipped. I could not find them at rockauto, though I was pretty sure they had them. Those are the ones I'd go with.

Many thanks for the bon mots, guys. Looks like child's play once you break it all down, eh? My SM ain't all bad - I was there when he made the call for the price and even he was a bit flummoxed by the $$ quoted.

One quick one - rock auto parts - no probs? Good as OEM? There was a cautionary flag raised on non-gm equip as they apply to this application. Don't know why, unless there was a bad batch of repros that got into the food chain or sumpin',,,

BTW, I like to keep the engine and bay as sano'd out as the exterior of my car - the mechanics appreciate not working in a grease pit - and it also sends them the message that I care about my wheels.!

Take care,,,,,,,,,,

Like I said, there is no worry about not having OEM, but that price seened really low to me. So I just got some at my local auto parts store. It cost me something like fifty bucks or so.

I just did both of mine for 29 dollars CDN, believe it or not, these mounts are made in India, I asked my Dealer here in Barrie to show me one and he gave me the box, GM sourced, made in India...By the way Frost, where did you get the engine emblem that is on the top of the beauty cover? Is it for the D'Elegance models or is it one of your customizing one of a kinds.

GM is outsourcing this part to INDIA ! A lot of peole there speak english and microsoft.

My dog bones came from Auto zone and also had made in INDIA sticker. 25 % OF
Dealer list.

After marketwill serve you well on this type part.

regards,

Rockauto is great. Very fast shipping.

Whenever I am looking for a mechanic friend, I like to throw this phrase around as much as possible....

Now about your mechanic, of course he is trying to screw you, that's his job right?
:histeric:

I know what you mean though, those guys are out there.
Some of us do a thing I like to refer to as "recommending a repair that is reliable and safe". A lot of people think this is a crazy thing because it's usually expensive.
We don't set the prices for parts, GM SPO does that and even though I complain all the time I still can't get them to lower the prices.
Something about paying rent on all the warehouses and maintaining a huge distribution system... I don't know.

Anyway, regarldess of where you get the parts, if they are loosening up they should be replaced. Excessive engine movement can wear out other things and do fun stuff like crack radiators and tear up wiring.

GM isn't really in the parts manufacturing business anymore, they outsource almost everything to contractors and just design the parts, give the specs to the contractor and then have the parts shipped to plants and warehouses and distribute and assemble them into vehicles.
The UAW has helped make that happen, so next time you are so upset because of poor quality parts and high prices, send a thank you card to your local union rep.
:D

I apologize for all the sarcasm, I must be in one of those moods this morning.

No apologies needed , elwill3rd - for the longest time (almost 20 years) I had the BEST DAMN mechanic in these parts - then he up and retired on me and I've been searching for a suitable replacement since - and the quest continues.

He was honest as the day is long, fair beyond the norm and just an allaround great human being.. How many people can say that about the guy that fixes their wheels?

BTW, good people, I went out this morning to the local WE-BE-CAR-BITS ( Autozone) and ordered up both dogbones - at a cost of less than 50 bucks!

They're made by "ANCHOR AUTO" and the counter weenie swore they made 90% of GM's parts for them. We will see,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks again for all the good words - I plan on painting the 'bones the colour of the car before installing them - Silvermist Metallic. I have a pint of the stuff kicking around.

:tisk: That kind of sarcasm coming from an auto tech is well...priceless. I am glad when I encounter other people with the same attitude as me. Seriously though, is it worth it for an oil change to cost 50-100 dollars? No way! But those people who do it for you need to make some money off the deal for those reasons stated above. That is why you need to make informed decisions and then perhaps try the repair yourself.

About painting the struts, make sure you properly prep them. Sand the metal and tape the bushings off. Post some pics when you are done.


Edit: I forgot to mention how uninformed people can be tricked by criminal mechanics. This is just a joke, but if she had the money, she would have paid for it: http://media.ebaumsworld.com/mechanic.mp3

You should be able to change those things yourself. one of the cars that uses them you have to unbolt it and pull the engine forward to get to the back sparkplugs and theres a second hole you can bolt it to or a hook so that it will hold the engine up for you while you're doing it. Its been a while since I saw that but cars like Pontiac 6000s and Buick Centrys and a whole lot of other GMs have them. The transmission mount I put on one of my cars is made by anchor. It was in a white and red box. They're pretty crappy parts.

"pretty crappy parts?

Swell,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,