Replacing transmission torque mount

[prwood]

I'm going to replace the transmission torque mount (aka transmission torque rod, lower engine mount, etc) on my 2001 V70 in order to fix the "thud" I get when pressing the accelerator while the transmission is in drive and the engine is idling. I'm also hoping it will address the violent side-to-side thudding coming from underneath the car when I accelerate on the highway while at high speeds. I have an OE Hutchinson mount coming from FCP this week. The procedure looks pretty simple from the descriptions and videos I've seen online - jack the car up, remove four bolts, remove the old part, insert the new part, and reverse the procedure. That being said, a couple small questions came up in my mind:

1. One HOWTO I read said to jack the transmission up a bit when reinstalling to get a better fit for the mount. Another said to actually have someone shifting gears while you tighten the bolts down to get the best fit (seemed like a really dangerous suggestion to me). Would anything like this be necessary or helpful, or can I just remove and replace without any additional lifting or adjustment?

2. While I am under there, are there any other components I should inspect or service in the general vicinity of that mount?

[vtl]

Mount can be easily removed without everything mentioned in 1. One of the easiest jobs on this car.

Inspect everything Leaks, boots, tie rods play, rust on lines.

[mrbrian200]

No. No! And everything else in the immediate vicinity 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' rule applies with maybe one exception: Check/inspect the condition of your lower main engine ground wire that's right there. I'm a proponent of soldering the terminal crimps on this. But being a heavy wire this must be done with it pulled off the car with a torch, larger spool of lead free solder and paste flux.

[Georgeandkira]

Look at the oil cooler and its hoses. I think they're very hearty but just in case.

Reach up and feel for leakage where the oil return pipe goes into the block. Bring a small mirror if you like.
The right side axle will impede direct sight.

See if your steering stops are there and have the dab of grease. Inspect the condition of your brake hoses.

Make sure all 8 (2 per caliper) of your glide pin boots AND THEIR CAPS are in place.

I'd put a drop or two of penetrating oil onto the fuel filter's couplings. When changing the filter I give a judicious smear of silicone paste to the filter's nipples.

Yo mrbrian200, Where exactly is that ground? Mine's 10 years old and I'd like to give it a squint.

[mrbrian200]

Engine ground cable jumps between the side of the lower engine block to the subframe. Larger (like a battery cable) wire with ring terminals secured on each end with a bolt. Shine up from below with a nice bright flashlight you cant miss it.

My cable looked 'ok' visually. After I soldered it the starter cranked noticeably faster. I also did the one at the firewall. Between the two the starter cranked almost twice as fast. I was having issues at the time, not specifically with starting - but more generalized electrical 'annoyance level' issues. Mine's an '06 and I did this last year when it was 10 years old.

The one at the firewall uses fine copper strands that begin to rot from the inside out. At 10y you can still salvage them without replacing the entire cable back to the trunk. But you need to cut a couple inches of extra length off the end to get workable/solderable wire. Volvo sells the ring terminals by themselves. They're heavy gauge terminals with an anti corrosion plating you don't want to use the cheap terminals from auto/hardware stores.

There's a good way to solder/recondition existing cables when you don't need to cut the wire and replace the terminal borrowing from copper pipe/plumbing solder techniques. I should probably make a video of it. But my on-camera presence is way too dry to expect anyone to sit through. Matt (FCP) or RobertDIY would be much better for that. I wrote it out in a thread on here several months back. I can find and copy/paste it here if you're comfortable using a torch and decide you need to do it.

[Georgeandkira]

Reminds me of my friend's 1989 K1500 (Chevy pick-up). He was plagued by odd/rough running, balky starting even weird interior lighting.

The cause was corrosion under/within the lead of the battery clamp right where the cable entered it. A stout additional wire was also in the same swag to power the vehicle's nascent electronic controls. Back then it lived in a hole in the firewall and bulged halfway into the glove compartment and halfway into the engine compartment.

[vtl]

My cable looked 'ok' visually. After I soldered it the starter cranked noticeably faster. I also did the one at the firewall. Between the two the starter cranked almost twice as fast. I was having issues at the time, not specifically with starting - but more generalized electrical 'annoyance level' issues.

Bad contact can be diagnosed with a simple multimeter. Also I would not use tin solder for any high-current contacts as they prone to crack/melt.

[rolvo]

I just replaced the transmission torque mount yesterday, along with the engine mounts and upper engine torque mount. The transmission torque mount is a very simple job. I believe on mine it was 2 x 18mm bolts on the chassis and 2 x 13mm bolts into the transmission. It will take more time to put the car up on ramps and get out your tools than do the actual swap.

[mrbrian200]

I use solid core lead free silver bearing solder intended for copper pipe and flux applied with a brush. It has tin in it, but I believe it's only around 15%. Mostly aluminum and 5% silver. High melting point around 475F. Unless the wire itself or the terminal is under sized/too small of gauge soldering largely takes heat out of the equation: less heat is generated because solder increases the conductive surface area between the strands of wire and the terminal by a large factor. But only if you do it right. On an existing connection that already has some amount of corrosion present the key is LOTS of flux. The tiny bit of flux inside flux core solder won't do it.