It's been about a year since I had to replace the last one. What causes these transmission mounts to break so easily? My motor is basically stock so it can't be the power doing it. What is the problem?

 

The torque arm, being mounted to the back of the tranny, puts a lot of extra strain on the tranny mount. The only way to really fix it is with an aftermarket torque arm that relocates the forward mounting point to either the crossmember or the tranny tunnel. With the prices people want for torque arms, it's much more cost-effective to just replace the mount every year or two.

It may help to go to a polyurethane tranny mount. They deflect less and therefore don't tear as easily, but they transmit more road noise into the car.

 

What he said.

I'm running a Energy Suspensions poly mount.

 

I appreciate the help guys, my dad was grumbling about how that happened not even a year ago and he was saying all this bs about how i should drive my car right and not get on it at all and i was like that defeats the purpose of having a sports car.

 

Also, if you bought your tranny mount (rubber type) from any place other than GM you bought a cheap and I mean like made in Korea cheap part. There are some parts you just can't go economy on. I broke one bought from Autozone (made in Korea) in about a week. Went to the dealer, got a good one and no more problems. A poly mount is an excellent choice (tried one) but they can as in my case cause excessive drivetain vibration to be transmitted through the chassis, especially if you are using the factory driveshaft. I have since replaced my driveshaft with an LPE aluminum unit and no more vibration.

 

agreed! im currently running with a polyurethane mount for a few months now and im having no problems with it at all.

 

About how much for a new one? And what do you recomend? How easy or hard is it to do?

Im pretty sure mines broke...when I take off hard the tranny kicks hard, which is normal, but the BANG isnt, my whole center console jumps...And its only when it shifts hard, I can keep it from happening if I dont push it...oh and about how long can it go before it has to be replaced(as in, will it do damge if I dont fix it this week?) Cause Im broke with no job yet

 

the mount is fairly inexpensive, i forget exactly how much. and the job is very easy and can be done in your driveway as long as you have a jack and some jackstands. im pretty sure it is just 5 bolts holding the crossmember on and as soon as that is removed the mount should come with it. just make sure you have a jack under the tailshaft of the trans. good luck!

 

The transmission mount is a common problem with these cars, even in stock form and driven normally. Replacing the mount with a stock replacement rubber piece is just a temporary fix, as it WILL break again.

Energy Suspension makes a strong mount for "rear wheel drive GM vehicles". Unfortunately, they don't recommend it for the 82-02 Camaro/Firebird. Regardless, it will still work. Many people use them (me included) with no problems. Some complain about vibration, but that is usually caused from another component and is just more noticable with the stiffer mount.

83 Trans Am Girl's symptoms are the most common. That's how I know mine went. And it's not safe. Your trans and engine are mounted in a triangle configuration. 2 motor mounts on either side of the block and 1 at the trans. Having the trans mount broken means the driveline is bouncing up and down, smacking the floorpan!

The mount only costs $13.50 from Summit for the yellow and blue mounts, $20.95 for the black and red. Quite affordable even on a budget.

Easy install. Support trans by the pan with a jack and a large block of wood between jack and pan. Remove 1 trans mount bolt on crossmember, and remove 4 crossmember bolts, 2 on either side. Then just unbolt the mount and install the new mount with the plate. If after driving the car you have vibration issues, try removing the plate. I don't recommend this, but some have had success.

All you need is common hand tools. 14mm and 15mm sockets I believe, a couple of extensions, a rachet and a 12" breaker bar would definately help.