Problem with engine mount 97 SC-2

I had a new engine mount installed in Aug 06. It's on the top left as
you look under the hood.
In Feb I discovered the bolts that hold the engine block to the engine
mount had stripped away and the engine was not being held in place by
the mount. I had noticed excessive vibration before I discovered the
stripped bolts.
I took it to the shop that installed the mount and the mechanic put
new bolts in and that held fine until two days ago when I noticed that
vibration again. Sure enough, the same bolts stripped out.
The car is in the shop right now but I just wanted to know if anyone
else experienced this problem. Could this vibration damage the a/c
compressor?
The car has 90,000 New York City miles on it.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

This vibration could damage a whole lot more than just the compressor. If
the engine is no longer restrained by that mount as it should be, the motor
itself stands the risk of coming in contact with other items in the engine
bay as it is now more free to move around. The easiest solution would be to
have the stud holes in the top of the timing cover fixed with a Heli-coil
prior to installing a new set of studs. Or, you can have the timing cover
replaced, but that is a whole lot more work.

Are you sure the correct studs are in use? Over the years, there were
several designs of torque-axis motor mounts, and the stud length differed
for each. More info is he http://www.evilplastic.com/mounts-a.htm (page
2).

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www.evilplastic.com


> wrote in message
ups.com...
>I had a new engine mount installed in Aug 06. It's on the top left as
> you look under the hood.
> In Feb I discovered the bolts that hold the engine block to the engine
> mount had stripped away and the engine was not being held in place by
> the mount. I had noticed excessive vibration before I discovered the
> stripped bolts.
> I took it to the shop that installed the mount and the mechanic put
> new bolts in and that held fine until two days ago when I noticed that
> vibration again. Sure enough, the same bolts stripped out.
> The car is in the shop right now but I just wanted to know if anyone
> else experienced this problem. Could this vibration damage the a/c
> compressor?
> The car has 90,000 New York City miles on it.
>
> Thanks for any light you can shed on this.
>

wrote:
> I had a new engine mount installed in Aug 06. It's on the top left as
> you look under the hood.
> In Feb I discovered the bolts that hold the engine block to the engine
> mount had stripped away and the engine was not being held in place by
> the mount. I had noticed excessive vibration before I discovered the
> stripped bolts.
> I took it to the shop that installed the mount and the mechanic put
> new bolts in and that held fine until two days ago when I noticed that
> vibration again. Sure enough, the same bolts stripped out.
> The car is in the shop right now but I just wanted to know if anyone
> else experienced this problem. Could this vibration damage the a/c
> compressor?
> The car has 90,000 New York City miles on it.
>
> Thanks for any light you can shed on this.
>
You might want to have someone carefully install thread inserts.
They are great for a lot of times when one does strip out
original threads. They are basically steel thread coils and are
quite strong once properly inserted. Should work for you if the
last repair has not already done this.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>I had a new engine mount installed in Aug 06. It's on the top left as
> you look under the hood.
> In Feb I discovered the bolts that hold the engine block to the engine
> mount had stripped away and the engine was not being held in place by
> the mount. I had noticed excessive vibration before I discovered the
> stripped bolts.
> I took it to the shop that installed the mount and the mechanic put
> new bolts in and that held fine until two days ago when I noticed that
> vibration again. Sure enough, the same bolts stripped out.
> The car is in the shop right now but I just wanted to know if anyone
> else experienced this problem. Could this vibration damage the a/c
> compressor?
> The car has 90,000 New York City miles on it.
>
> Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

Locktite (and new studs) may help, depending on how badly damaged the
threads are, but your real problem lies else where and I would search for
the source of the problem. If the top mount is failing I would suspect that
the lower mounts also need attention..