Tips for 4.0 motor mount replacement

[jballard81]

Service manual isn't very helpful here. Essentially says to use a piece of wood to jack up the engine from the oil pan.
It is 4x4 if that makes a difference. I got under there to take a look and it does not look that easy

YouTube video I found had most of the front end taken apart.

Anyone that's done this job before have any tips they can share?

Thanks!

 

[superj]

can you put the 2x4 so its on a thin side and lift using what little bit of hte pan you get it to sit against?

thats what i do on 4x4 vehicles when its not easy to get a board under the oil pan. your other option is use an engine hoist and the lifting eyes on the top, like you are pulling the motor

 

[jballard81]

can you put the 2x4 so its on a thin side and lift using what little bit of hte pan you get it to sit against?

thats what i do on 4x4 vehicles when its not easy to get a board under the oil pan. your other option is use an engine hoist and the lifting eyes on the top, like you are pulling the motor

I will have to get into it to see if that's feasible. the service manual definitely doesn't show the whole front end coming apart to change them so there 'must' be a way. I saw a YouTube video where a guy had about 3 feet of extensions to reach the nuts from the top of the engine, then the nuts from inside the cross member should be accessible underneath.

Will give it a shot with the skinny side of a 2x4 and some pry bars. otherwise i will borrow a buddy's hoist or try to cobble some BS together.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Shran]

Pain in the ass. I would advise using the hoist and lifting from above. There is a lot of weight there so be 100% sure that it's secure when you've lifted it... if it shifts off your jack or whatever it's a great way to lose fingers.

Swivel/wobble socket and 18mm stubby flexible gearwrench are your friend here. Upper passenger side nut and lower driver's side nut are the two most difficult.

 

[jballard81]

Pain in the ass. I would advise using the hoist and lifting from above. There is a lot of weight there so be 100% sure that it's secure when you've lifted it... if it shifts off your jack or whatever it's a great way to lose fingers.

Swivel/wobble socket and 18mm stubby flexible gearwrench are your friend here. Upper passenger side nut and lower driver's side nut are the two most difficult.

appreciate the info! that's good stuff to know! will borrow a hoist in advance. sounds like a real treat of a job lol

 

[bobbywalter]

hopefully it goes well enough you dont have to make new cuss werdz.



i second hoist from above if you pop the hood off and have a gantry or cross bar...

a cherry picker will be a pia to move crawl around on...


otherwise
if it is a the 94 then i would take the two mains nuts off and jack it up as far as it will go and put blocks on the k in the center and ratchet strap it left to right so it cant plop over.

 

[SenorNoob]

I did mine while i had the engine out and used a 25ton crane to pick up the truck so the suspension drooped and still had a hard time getting to them. I seriously considered pulling the front axle just to reach the nuts on the bottom.

 

[jballard81]

I did mine while i had the engine out and used a 25ton crane to pick up the truck so the suspension drooped and still had a hard time getting to them. I seriously considered pulling the front axle just to reach the nuts on the bottom.

I keep putting this job off. Wonder what the book hours are for it... I hate to even consider it, but maybe I should get a mechanic friend to do it

 

[SenorNoob]

It's doable. Just seriously make sure everything is secure. I had to lay under the differential and reach around it into a blind hole to get the bottom nut off the driver's side. If anything had slipped, I wouldn't be able to make this post.

 

[jballard81]

It's doable. Just seriously make sure everything is secure. I had to lay under the differential and reach around it into a blind hole to get the bottom nut off the driver's side. If anything had slipped, I wouldn't be able to make this post.

Appreciate it, I think I'm going to borrow an engine lift from a friend. Will probably be a hassle to work around it, but I don't have a crane/gantry option available.

The service manual basically says lift it up with a bottle jack and block of wood. I imagine you could get it in there securely enough but seeing the replies here I will be more cautious.

 

[jballard81]

 

[jballard81]

@scotts90ranger - I found a post you made from 2008 with some tips for changing the passenger side engine mount on a 4x4.
one of the tips was to disconnect the driver's side axle pivot bracket. I know this is from 16 yrs ago , but wanted to make sure you truly meant the driver's side?
My 94 is completely stock, i was able to change out the driver's side mount relatively easily, but there is just NO access to the passenger side. I'm going to lift it some to see if the suspension will droop and give me anymore room.

Thanks!

 

[Shran]

I can't remember how I did it last time but it for sure did not involve removing any part of the axle.

It may have involved swivel sockets, extensions, crows foot wrench, flexible gear wrench... I just don't remember but I had all of those at my disposal at that time. I did not have a stubby flex gearwrench at that time.

I do remember that I thought it was easier than doing the same motor mount on a 4 cylinder 4x4 truck. That was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done.

 

[scotts90ranger]

@scotts90ranger - I found a post you made from 2008 with some tips for changing the passenger side engine mount on a 4x4.
one of the tips was to disconnect the driver's side axle pivot bracket. I know this is from 16 yrs ago , but wanted to make sure you truly meant the driver's side?
My 94 is completely stock, i was able to change out the driver's side mount relatively easily, but there is just NO access to the passenger side. I'm going to lift it some to see if the suspension will droop and give me anymore room.

Thanks!

I can't remember that far back, at that point I didn't have a 4.0L (did a year later but lost it in '12, never did a engine mount on either of the explorers I had). On the 2.3L's they have studs on both sides and you have to remove the frame side engine mount bracket not the suspension mounts as those are riveted on. To be convenient all fasteners are hard to get to inside the engine crossmember...