Installing Solid Offroad Motor Mounts — pics and tips

I’ve had these mounts sitting in my garage for a while now. Yesterday, while getting a bunch of other things done on my truck, I popped off the splash shields inside my wheel wells to get a good look at the motor mounts. From what limited pics I’ve found on the two threads on this subject, it appears I have a lot less room to work with than some of y’all here.

Got a couple questions after a cursory glance.

1. Is it safe to support your 5.7 while swapping these in with a jack and block of wood under the oil pan?

The included instructions do not offer any info on jack points. After getting under my ‘21 and removing the skid plates, it seems there is nowhere else I can get a jack under the engine block. Seems to me that this is NOT ok. But I did find a video of a 4Runner getting new motor mounts, and the mechanic supported the engine with a jack and block of wood under the oil pan. So…

2. How did you get your hands in there with a wrench? It appears I may need to buy more tools…I’m thinking a swivel joint adapter may be required to get a socket on some of the bolt heads. I can’t find a way to get at them from under the truck; there is too much stuff in the way. It looks like I’ll have to remove the wheels and splash shields and go through the wheel wells. Even then, it looks like there is less room to work with than some of the post-install pics I found on the forum.

Any tips/experiences from those who have installed these—particularly as it relates to extra steps/hassles on a newer 2.5 gen truck—would be greatly appreciated!

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PS: there are no vids of removing/replacing even the OEM mounts out there, either. I’ll add pics and tips to this thread when I get to it.

 

I went the jack and wood route. Working one side at a time, the engine is technically supported by the other mount so the jack/wood was there to support the other half of the engine. It appears to be a tight fit, and it is, but tools will fit...just expect your hands to look like you were punching a wall by the end of it. 25k miles on my truck with them and just as happy as day 1.

 

Awesome. Yeah, it seems like kind of a pain but will be helped by some swivel joint tools.

I thought I’d go one side at a time as well. Where did you place your wood block and jack under the engine?

Thanks!

 

I used a jack and a 2x4 to support the engine at the oil pan. Definitely get some swivels to use. I had so many extra pieces out when I did mine that it’s hard to say what else would need to come out to get the job done. I did have to install the driver side in 2 pieces due to lack of space, but that could be because of my long tubes.

 

Oil pan with a 2x6. It'll be like playing tetris but it'll get there.

 

Been using the block of wood under the oil pan method since 2003 to do motor mount installs. Perfectly safe. Never had an issue of any damage occurring and have never had a customer tell me otherwise. Remember you are just supporting it a few inches higher than normal, not bouncing it up and down with force. The oil pan will not cave in or anything like that. Obviously an engine hoist is preferable and a vehicle lift is the best method. But for the garage DIYer, the floor jack method with wood block (or thick phone book) is fine.

Most customers do one side at a time, that way the motor is still held on by one mount. others do both at once, its personal preference.

As far as fitting your hands in there, the 5.7 2nd-2.5 gen is the easiest truck to do the installs on. The V6 trucks are tight (I know a girl who did her own install on her 3rd gen tacoma 4wd in her driveway at night) So its just a matter of having an assortment of gear wrenches, long box wrenches and socket extensions. The average time I have heard from people over the last few years is around 2.5 hours.

I try to get on here as much as I can remember to log on, so happy to answer any questions or attempt to provide tips.

 

For more space to get at the block and frame mount bolts, jack up your truck, put it on jack stands, and remove the wheels and wheel well mud guards...then you can jack up the engine using a block of wood to remove pressure off the mounts to make them easier to remove. Do one side at a time, obviously.

 

Great advice - taking the tires off allows you closer access to the inner fender area.

 

That’s what I did. And I got stuck and had to admit defeat. I got all 6 bolts off but could not get the big 19mm nut that holds the factory mount together to budge. My hands were bleeding, and after 5 hours, even after shooting penetrating oil onto that nut and waiting, I had to put it back together and put my wheel back on because I ran out of daylight. Here are some pics. This wasn’t too bad:


I had to come up from the bottom on a couple of them:


I put all those bolts back in, thinking that maybe the big 19mm nut that holds the mount together should be the first thing I tackle. I just didn’t have any room to turn my wrench between the block and the UCA mount. I had like an inch. There was too much give in the mount to get it to break loose. Here’s a pic:


I am going to buy some ratcheting socket wrenches that have a joint near the head. Maybe that will allow me to turn the wrench far enough to break that 19mm nut loose.

I also just want to say, I can do my front brakes in an hour or less. This has been a massive pain in my ass. But I haven’t given up yet.

 

Your theory is probably correct, if there are no block or frame bolts to hold the mount tight, the mount will just twist due to the soft rubber flexing when you try to take the main 19mm nut off. I'm still surprised it gave you that much of a fit, penetrating oil usually works awesome.

On the few installs I performed, I never separated the 2 halves due to what I thought was adequate room to pull the old mounts out. On the V6 trucks, I separated the mount halves on the driver side only (much tighter working spaces than the 5.7 engine bay)

 

What exactly do you fix by installing solid mounts?

 

Hopefully I will be going through this install some time soon before it gets too hot

 

https://solid-offroad.com/tech-info

All the facts

 

Anything as far as a video for the install? Just trying to see what I am up against having 3.0’s and a secondary shock in the front

 

I have had these for quite a while and hope to do them Saturday.

Have mercy on my soul!

 

The 5.7 kit is by far the easiest install. The V6 kits are really tight. But, I have known girls that have installed them alone

 

how many band-aid do i need to prepare for this kind of work? planning to install mine today.

 

The last female customer that installed these said she only needed 2, so theres your baseline to meet or exceed

 

Wait, you’re telling me she didn’t tear up her most likely far smaller arms and hands?

 

Like beers, I recommend a 30-pack.