Here is an article a buddy sent me on making motor mounts for an ION
Enjoy:
I don’t mind sharing knowledge to a fellow tuner at all, at least you have the courtesy to ask and not just shoot the idea down.
Basically I looked at it this way: I infrequently talk to Bill Gude over at Gude Performance about new parts and such, the guy actually is also really cool and will help out anyone with a good attitude. Anyway, his company makes 4-1 equal length headers, a full turbo kit, cat back exhaust, and a polyurethane insert for the stock lower trans mount (the one below the driver-side headlight on the bottom if you are looking in the engine bay.
Anyway, we were discussing how wheel-hop is a big problem on the Ions because of how much torque you have off idle. He explained that they noticed that when designing and testing the turbo kit, and came up with an insert, which is great! Except it’s about 110 bucks, and you can kiss the OEM mount goodbye since you have to remove it. Did a little research and turns out that construction grade urethane is about the same density as what Prothane uses, just a touch less heat resistant, and since you’re working with un-cured substance needs time to dry and harden. Make sure you have a spare mount, or plan on having your car down for at least 2-3 days.
The stuff I used was in a red and black tube, said something one it along the lines of “construction grade polyurethane sealant” or something. Had a very high strength rating and was good for all weather and pretty high temp. Was also tan in color. I have a sample here with two nails in it to show people how hard it cures. It’s about rock solid, and after inspecting the mount today while changing my oil, it’s in perfect shape since when I put it in.
You can take off that trans mount without jacking up the car or engine actually, most of the weight is supported on the other 3-5 mounts still in there. Just make sure to remove the bolt going through the center of the mount first, then you can get your socket to the bolts that go into the trans housing. Take a minute to note how flimsy the design is too with all the open space, haha. Clean off the rubber with a decent solvent, even soap and water, and let it dry out. Then proceed to fill the holes in the mount with the polyurethane. I highly suggest using a few pairs of rubber gloves, since it takes forever to get that stuff off your hands. I made the mistake of doing it and then having to go to a dinner later that week. Nice looks from the help, haha. Also, be careful you don’t overfill the mount. That stuff expands ever so slightly, and will need to be shaved off and then persuaded (read: hammered) into the bracket that holds it. Not impossible, but might make life easier if you don’t.
Now comes the hard part, waiting for the mount to dry and cure. I hate waiting, but don’t rush and throw it on before it’s ready, or when you put it on the stuff will come out like toothpaste (happened to someone here who tried it after me and didn’t wait long enough). Thanks to Hurricane Charley, I waited about 3 days, and it was perfect then. Debating on the relative humidity and temperature by you, you may want to give it more time, but 3 solid days is usually more than enough.
If you want, paint up the rest of the mount with some high-temp engine enamel. I did mine, but then had to shave it down, so most of it is gone, but it makes it blend in nice. Here are some pictures of the finished mount:
http://www.sixthsphere.com/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=359
http://www.sixthsphere.com/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=360
http://www.sixthsphere.com/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=361
Kinda looks like black oatmeal in the mount, haha.
Here comes the fun stuff, getting the mount back in. If you somehow managed to get it to fill perfect and not overflow, my hat is off to you, and it will slip right in. Tighten everything back up and you’re good to go. If not, and you did like myself, grab the hammer and “tap” it into place slowly. The hard part is getting the hole in the center to line up. Keep a long screwdriver with you that can afford to be bent to straighten out. Keep at it with the hammer and you’ll get it, took me roughly 20 min, but works great now. Might be a good time to reset the ECU just in case. Normally I wouldn’t say to, but this damn computer monitors everything, so it might note the lack of wheel spin, or recalibrate for knock, who knows. Something else for ya: if you reset the ecu, you don’t have to take off the battery terminal. Take out the two fuses in the underhood box with ECU or ECM in the title. I think they’re 1 and 9, and one of them has TCM in the name. Leave them out for 30 seconds or more, I usually smoke a stogey and then it’s ready. It will almost always stall afterwards too, which is normal so don’t freak out on me.
1st thing you’ll notice is vibration. It’s there, and it’s probably there to stay. Only thing I noticed was my hood by the latch, the headlights will vibrate but not make noise if you stab the throttle or are at a low rpm, the back deck cover, and whatever is in my cup-holders or door pockets. To stop the hood noise, I took electrical tape and went around the hook on the hood a few times on the flat part facing down. Took a little effort to close the hood after that, but works great now, no noise. On the upside, double check the bolts and go drive the car. Much more solid feel, even in the shifter. I also noticed that when you shift, it feels like the car is jumping out from under you. Also, wheel-hop is all but gone, and not nearly as bad as before. I’ve launched at 4400rpm to demo the part to someone, wow that was a smoke show to remember.
My 60’ has dropped from around a 2.5 to a 2.3 on street tires. Only reason I can’t hit 2.2 yet is that my local track doesn’t take pride in their prep work, so we all suffer. With some drag radials, be prepared to have 2.0-1.9 60’ times consistently. Feels like a bus rear ended you at a stop sign.
Hope this all helped. If you run into any problems, let me know. My AIM is Schizzo941 or Schizzo97SC2 or SaturnTunersClub.
Let me know how everything goes, and take some pics, I like to see my ideas work out for others.
Vinny
