2000 Volvo V70 FWD base rear engine mount help needed

[scot850]

I plan to replace the rear engine cane mount on this car and it is a lot easier to tackle with the RH axle out of the way.

I have read the warning notice on Vida saying not to raise the engine/trans by more than 30mm as it could damage the LH axle.

Looking at the new seal, the old one appears to have collapsed considerably, so I will have to assume they mean don't raise it above 30mm above the height of the new engine mount, as the threaded upper stud on the is 30mm long.

I'm concerned about damaging any more stuff on this car than the PO has already done (nearly everything it feels like!!), so is it easier to support the engine/trans and remove the lower mount bolt and then the upper nut, then remove the mount bracket? It looks like it has 3 bolts into the side of the trans housing that would have to be removed, and there is not a lot of room to work with. At least it may give more height to remove the mount.

2000 V70 FWD NA rear engine mount

2000 V70 FWD NA rear engine mount (2)

Can anyone advise on this please?

Many thanks,

Neil.

[scot850]

No one out there replaced the rear engine mount on a P80, or is the 5 speed auto different to the 4 speed?

Help or guidance is appreciated, if someone can tell me if it makes sense to remove the mount rather than trying to raise the engine and trans more than say 0.5" (i.e. <30mm) to allow the strain to be removed from the mount and make it easier to be removed?

Thanks,

Neil.

[scot850]

So I decided to tackle the rear mount in spite of no advice being forthcoming. As it turns out, Vida does not help much with this mount replacement other than saying not to lift the engine by more than an arbitrary 30mm which makes no sense unless you have a fixed datum to start with, and, as in my car's case the rear mount has collapsed by about 8-10mm this info was as useful as a chocolate fireguard!

What I ended up doing was using a long extension down the back of the engine (after removing the warm air intake pipe from the exhaust manifold) and loosening and removing the top mount nut (15mm)from the transmission and engine mount bracket and removed it with a magnet.

From underneath I loosened and removed the lower mount bolt from behind the steering rack (14mm nut). I had supported the transmission on a piece of wood on top of a floor jack before starting.

Next I raised the transmission and engine a few millimeters to take any strain off the rear mount bracket. Using a 14mm socket I removed the one visible and 2 countersunk bracket to transmission bolts and removes them.

The mount was now loose and still would not come out as there was not enough room even with the bracket loose. Be careful with the bracket as the 2 O2 sensor cables are naturally fitted to an in-accessible tie-down strap on the top of the mount. Also the front O2 sensor is very close by in a perfect position to get damaged!

I had to keep raising the trans a bit at a time until there was enough room to get the old collapsed mount out. The wire support that goes around these cone bushes just fell off!

Here is a picture of old and new mounts. A little hard to see but there is quite a difference in height between them:

New and old rear cone mount

The old one is to the left.

Wrestling the new mount in without losing the top metal plate and aligning the alignment pin in the mount when it is nearly impossible to see is a challenge but got it there. I reinstalled the lower mount bolt and tightened it to a snug fit but did not tighten and torque it yet.

Next I raised the engine a little more until I could get the visible middle mount bracket bolt back into the transmission (14mm bolt heads). Again I had to raise the trans a little at a time until I got the hole for the lower countersunk bolt aligned (using a bendy mirror) and fitted the lower bolt and then a little more raising to get the upper hidden bolt in. I then torqued them to 50Nm as spec'd.

Lastly had a fight to get access from the top of the engine to get the upper mount nut back on. Could not get it to go on from below, so jammed a little electrical tape between the nut and the socket and was able to get the top nut back on and torqued to 50Nm also. Torques the lower mount bolt to 50Nm also.

Climbing back out from under the car, first thing I notice is the top torque mount alignment is marginally better but still no enough to get the bolt in:

Torque mount alignment before rear mount replaced

Top torque mount alignement after new mount

So better but still not enough to get the bolt in without raising the rear of the trans/engine. I still have to replace the lower torque mount and the broken crank mount but can't see how these will fix the issue as the lower torque mount will do nothing to help and the crank pulley mount may rotate the engine slightly or tilt is slightly to the left, but it won't rotate the engine to align the top mount hole.

Any thoughts or suggesting will be greatly appreciated.

There may be a little movement in each mount and all can think of is to leave all the mounts slightly loose and try to see if there is enough 'slop' in them all to improve the alignment?

Neil.

[wizechatmgr]

I have a 99 V70 - I used a 3/8" ratchet's handle to pry the engine forward slightly between the upper torque mount and the metal brace. Then she slipped right in.

[wizechatmgr]

Also check the lower front torque mount (if your model/year is equipped) - likely has worn out as well, making that off by the 3/8" it looks like you need.

[scot850]

I have removed the lower torque mount as the rear bush had failed. I have a new one to fit but will fit it after the crank pulley mount has been replaced first. Not sure what the lower torque mount will do, but until I fit it I will hold comment, but having said that, I would have thought that neither of the 2 torque mounts should be under front/rear load. I would have expected the 3 other mounts to have a net zero back to front loading and the torque mounts I would not expect to be designed to be constantly loaded except when the engine is running and the twisting moment of the engine is twisting the motor rearwards. I have and can easily force the bolt into the hole, but that means that at least the upper torque mount is constantly under load as well as the rear upper torque rod mount at the firewall, which would explain why they fail so regularly I suppose.

Placing a piece of wood under the rear of the transmission and raising it slightly at that LH rear corner has the mount aligning nicely. Had me thinking that I had missed another mount at the back LH corner, but I know there isn't one on a FWD P80. There is on an AWD.

Neil.