got the rear mount in finally.. absolute royal **** of a job.
there is a bit of improvement with the rear in.. but not a huge difference after the other three..
so if you plan to do this and are lazy, just do the other three.. most likely the rear will still be in ok shape anyway
the mount i got was said to be off an EF9 (and i trust the guy). Unfortunately it was slightly different to the mount in my car (i hear dc2 rear mounts are the same as well). I think it was just mine was a newer revision (it was wider and one piece). The mount that was in there only had 2 of the 3 bolts in as well.. so maybe someone replaced it? here is a pic of the difference
The one i put in had the yellow dots.. You may see the rear has like a wall inbetween the two mount holes.. i predicted this would make it harder to install so i grinded a bit off this mount to give better access to bolts, i am sure there was no structural loss due to this.. because i didnt hit any of the welds.. and the previous mount was missing a bolt anyway..
now onto the tips for install I hear some people might be doing mount swaps so hopefully these tips are handy
As i said it is a bitch.. The rear bolts are pretty much right against the firewall and impossible to access.. Some have said they have gotten to them using a universal joint etc.. but i bet they are shit talkers or had ED crx's. Most people say to dump the subframe.
Firstly jack up the car and make sure everything is safe, i removed the wheels and put them under the car for extra safety and use stands etc etc
Secondly, i removed the plastic shielding around the steering column and marked the spline on the column with some paint on a few spots so i could realign it later.. I then undid the spline to the clamp part of the column/rod.
Then i removed the splash tray in the drivers side wheel arch, i then got a couple of extensions and a universal joint to remove the bolt through the rear mount.
Now it is probably best to remove the secondaries on your headers and move them out the way for access.
Now you want to loosen the mounting bracket from the block, so undo the 2 bolts facing the passenger side and remove them. Now remove your intake pipe and loosen the bolt facing the drivers side, i did not remove this to make it easier so you dont have to fiddle trying to get it back in. It is a little tricky, but extensions etc are always good. You should now be able to jiggle the rear bracket.
Now this may be optional, but i did it. I undid the fork to LCA bolts and loosened the LCA's to subframe.
Now lower the exhaust a bit down and undo the heatshield for the exhaust so u can access the bottom of the shift linkages.. Firstly undo the stabiliser linkage to the gearbox and the one shift linkage under the shifter so that both linkage rods can be dropped.
Now basically undo the front sway from the lca's and the subframe.
Now undo the 4 bolts from the subframe/crossmember (some people even say the steering rack :/) itself.. to let the subframe drop.. Mine probably dropped around 8cm. This is why you need to undo the steering column.. you need to drop the subframe to access the rear bolts on the mount.
Hopefully your rear mount is the same as mine.. the 1 piece and not the 2 piece like i put in.. (if it is 2 piece i dont know how you could undo the bolts from the rear)
Now you should be able to undo the rear bolts using the ring side of a spanner.. not much room and a bitch if they are on hard.. This is why u needed to undo the sway and linkages as well.. to give some room.. it is worth spending time removing them for the easier access..
So you should eventually remove the rear bolts.. now for the front u can just use an extension and a ratchet to remove it from the top side (under your intake mani). You should then be able to jiggle the mount out, like twist it out on its side..
Now for reinstall, connect the mount to the subframe tight. Then get a friend to jack up the subframe while you align the column spline back in... you may need to lower it again and align if you dont get it right first go. Then tighten the spline up.
Now do up the subframe bolts loosely. Get a friend to put the bolt through the rear mount, you may need to lever the subframe a bit to get the bolt to go through to align the holes.. this is why it needs to be a bit loose.
now do up the the bolts for the bracket to the block.. again some levering may be needed.
Basically do everything up now.. and make sure everything is ok.. Maybe grease up a few things like shiftlinkage and swaybar bushes with some white lithium grease.
Bookmarks