98 V70/T5: Reflections on Installing Lower Hydraulic Motor Mounts Topic is solved

Post by **sleddriver** » 22 Sep 2016, 14:55

I closely followed RBaratt's post herehttps://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... tor+mounts as he struggled with removing his PS rack. I was going to be replacing both lower hyraulic motor mounts as they were now 18yrs old, and had collapsed, leaving the the transmission sitting on the sub-frame. I meant to start a new post and forgot. So here they are below:

This post was very helpful: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=21457

Waded into the hydra's den yesterday. Pulled the fan shroud. Encoutered great difficulty removing the front mount's top 15mm nut. Broke a swivel socket on it. Soaked with ATF/Acetone and it finally gave with a loud CRACK! Really jack the motor up high getting the new one back in. The rear though was (and still is) a RPITA.

Top nut on it was also a bear + complicated by weird angles of both nut and turbo intake location. Wasted more than 1-1/2 hours just on this nut. Soaked with ATF/Acteone, went at it with two U-joints, separated by short extension + 15mm socket. Finally yielded, but felt very gummy wrenching it off. Discovered the lower mount bolt was missing! (Indy must have forgotten it when rack was replaced ~ 85,000mi?) The three 14mm bolts were also very, very tight. They CRACKED when they let go. Unable to remove the last (getting tired). More PITA getting the mount out, so out came the Sazall. I cut the stud off, then pried, swiveled, then something moved and it turned sideways and I was able extract it! By then I'd had enough for one day, plus it was 76°F and 100% humidity. Cold shower never felt better.

Car's still on jack stands & just one hurdle remains: Getting the new mount in.

Update:
Just finished wrapping up the rear mount install. Geeze Louise....working from jack stands, on your back for this, is quite frustrating. I'm going to write up my experience on a new thread. Lots of things I learned. One point for Sawzall owners is to just cut the stud off to make getting it out easier OR just cut the thing in half across the equator BEFORE you loosen it. Makes removal easier, no fussing with "stuck nuts", allows one to "get on with it", not waste your time nor patience. You'll need both just for putting the new ones back in!

I did measure the new ones before installation. Quite a difference between new & old. The drvr side had really collapsed, torn & leaked out the bottom. New one was probably around 1.75 - 2" taller! The radiator mount was at least an inch, maybe 1.5", taller. Though shrunk, it hadn't collapsed to the degree the rear had. Needless to say, the sled engine is now sitting MUCH higher in her mounts than previously. She should be well clear of the port (drvr) side xnsmsn bumper.

Tomorrow will be a short day of reinstalling the intake, the fan/shroud, right wheel and cleaning off the grease marks.

Lowering the subframe was a rather frustrating experience. I loosened a pair of bolts on the front at first, and nothing happened. I was expecting it to drop. Nothing. So I gave up on it when working on the front mount.

Tried it again in the rear since I was having trouble reinstalling the mount/bracket/heat-shield all at once. I had a jackstand on each side of the car, a few feet behind the triangular sub-frame mounting bracket and a bottlejack with a wood block uder the aft end of the xnsmsn. I backed out the rear sub-frame bolts about 3/4" and it didn't move either. So I started prying between the body/frame and the mount top. Finally got it to move a bit. Note I was rather hesitant about doing this, having never ventured into this task before. Further, I'm quite adverse to sudden, unexpected displays of gravity!

I found the most frustrating part of my rear job was removal of the three 14mm bolts holding the rear motor bracket in place. Not only were they torqued down really tight, but access just gets worse as you move from bottom to top. Made the worse by doing this job from laying on your back, with arms mostly folded up. Those with shorter arms will have an easier time.

Definitely the most difficult job I've done on any car i've owned in 35yrs. No doubt access would be easier on non-turbo cars. I can't imagine how the V70XC guys do this without a lift. Wow.....

Post by **98v70dad** » 22 Sep 2016, 20:29

I've been thinking about doing this for my car which is a NA, but your comments aren't encouraging. I don't particularly love working on cars but I do it for the volvo because I'm driving it for nearly nothing. This gets me one step closer to my new 2019 Ford Ranger crew cab diesel 4x4. Hopefully it comes out in about 1 year or a little more and the volvo cooperates. Ford dropped the ball discontinuing the Ranger in the US..

I'll be interested in hearing about how the ride quality improves with the new mounts, etc. At 18 years old and original parts, mine have to be shot. I was planning to do the transmission link next because its cheaper and an easy in and out. I dont expect that one will have dramatic effects though.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 22 Sep 2016, 21:20

Yes, this job is a hell of a lot harder than as depicted on FCP's Youtube channel...

Post by **cn90** » 23 Sep 2016, 08:15

I have 180K miles on my 98 S70 GLT and the mount "seems" OK for now.

@sleddriver,
- What is your mileage?
- Also what was the symptoms? Any vibration?

Post by **sleddriver** » 23 Sep 2016, 11:50

98v70dad wrote:I'll be interested in hearing about how the ride quality improves with the new mounts, etc. At 18 years old and original parts, mine have to be shot.

Results:

1. The harsh, sharp, "edgy" suspension feeling is gone, replaced by smoother, rounder, and more road isolation. No more harsh "crashing" of the front end when driving over bad roads either. Interior noise & vibration from such roads is greatly diminished. The ride feels more "refined."

2. Engine riding noticeably higher. Good separation between transmission and sub-frame bumper. I can easily move the engine around by hand now; It's no longer "rigid". Given this, keeping an eye on both upper & lower torque mounts will be required as I suspect they will now be pulled on more.

3. I strongly disagree with those who say these mounts don't need replacing, especially on an older car. Not sure why they would think this. The parts are not that expensive, however the labor difficulty is considerable. Particularly if you encounter stuck nuts & bolts as I did with no pneumatic rachets.

4. Pickup from a dead-stop is more pronounced: Unexpected, but welcome.

Post by **sleddriver** » 23 Sep 2016, 11:51

theWIFES_S70 wrote:Yes, this job is a hell of a lot harder than as depicted on FCP's Youtube channel...

You better believe it.....

Post by **sleddriver** » 23 Sep 2016, 11:53

cn90 wrote:I have 180K miles on my 98 S70 GLT and the mount "seems" OK for now.
- What is your mileage?
- Also what was the symptoms? Any vibration?

About 214,500 miles.

See description above.

BackRoadSeeker · Post by **BackRoadSeeker** » 23 Sep 2016, 12:56

Hoping I'm also okay at 121k miles, not looking forward to this! Being that the mount is hydraulic/liquid filled, I'm assuming failure presents itself in the liquid escaping from the mount as the rubber fails? I need to take a closer look at mine and see.... I recently replaced my "front" lower mount and the engine torque mount was done before I bought the car, and things still get a bit buzzy in the cab at idle/low RPM's.

Post by **sleddriver** » 23 Sep 2016, 14:36

I suspect removing & installing the rear hydraulic mount would have been MUCH easier if I truly understood the definition of "dropping the rear sub-frame":
[attachment=0]Volvo_Dropped Subframe Example.JPG[/attachment]
I didn't realize one could do such a thing without damage. Evidently. I'm assuming the jack is under the rear subframe crossmember to support/lower/raise it, correct? Do the front SF bolts need to be loosened as well? I also realize the reason it is down so low is due to the sway-bar end-links being removed as they would prevent this, correct?

Main point being that if you are able to truly drop the rear sub-frame down before attempting the rear hydraulic mount, then that task will be MUCH EASIER to both remove & install.

I now understand I made the task more difficult because I didn't work SMARTER, I worked HARDER!

BUGGER ME......

charleskennedy23 · Post by **charleskennedy23** » 23 Sep 2016, 17:50

Oh man... Ben from FCP is a magician if he really did those mounts that easily, lol. I ended up taking the brackets that connect the mounts to the frame off. Once I did that, the job got significantly easier. Rear mount took me over 6 hours because I was exhausted by the time I realized the bracket came out and I didn't pay attention how it went back in! Front mount was much easier as I paid better attention to what was going on when I removed the bracket.