To be specific, a while. I've had my current mounts about seven years or 40,000 miles. Looking at the driver's side last weekend, it looks more compressed than it used to. Probably, the passenger side is worse. So, I am expecting to replace mounts in the next 12 months or so.

 

So the newer rubber only last 5-7years?

 

The quality of aftermarket parts is variable and rubber parts seem to be worse than average. If there is more than one manufacturer of mounts then you can bet that there will be quality differences and you can also bet that the cheapest will not be the best.

 

get Paul sprell motorpunts. with the aluminum caps

 

I read up on those mounts and they said it would make the ride harder basically they are for track cars. I use mine as a daily driver.

 

Engine mounts will not affect ride quality. I suspect there could be some additional vibration with stiffer mounts but I have no experience with the Spruell units. Bianch1 has reported good results on several occasions. A durability of seven to eight years and 40-50k miles for $80 worth of mounts doesn't seem like much of a problem. I drive my '88 to work, about 120 miles a week.

 

I agree that $80.00 over the of 7-8 years is not bad, but it is the labor! Once you do motor mounts, I think most would agree that it is a job one never wants to repeat!

 

Once you do motor mounts, I think most would agree that it is a job one never wants to repeat!

It is not the most difficult of Alfa jobs. I have a minimalist Spider - Webers and no AC. The engine mounts are easy to get to. If you leave the old ones on too long the rubber can swell and make access to the nuts more difficult. If you want a tough job try rear wheel bearings, steering rack or starter on a GTV6.

 

The Spruell mounts/reinforcement cups CAN, and HAVE in my case affected engine/trans. NVH, and this possibility is mentioned on their website.
In my case of my strictly street driven '74 GTV they were fine, or at least not noticeable, for about three years. Now I have a persistent, annoying vibration as engine revs pass through a 2300 to 2500 rpm band under any/all conditions of engine operation and driveline loading. I am assuming this is just the result of natural aging and change of durometer of the rubber of undetermined origin. I may delete the metal cups and/or order new mounts and go for another three years.
A simple test I have performed on my car and others as I have had the opportunity is to simply reach over and grab the cam cover and give it a good vigorous shake from side to side. Oil soaked and aged mounts will often yield a surprising amount of movement, sometimes to the point of causing clanking as the engine and exhaust system move about and contact car body parts.
In a conversation w/ an Alfa racer and experienced mechanic he stated he made his own tuneable version of the Spruell round mounts by making a split collar of exhaust tubing to snugly fit over the mount and adjusting its stiffness by varying its length then securing it with appropriate sized hose clamps. Not elegant but effective. FWIW...

 

i have paul sprell motor mounts with an alumuiumn cap and a friggin' massive polly trans mount to my tranny, and i have not noticed any harshness.. just more tq going to the back wheels, as compared to my friends 83 spider( mine is a 84 spider, with a WC/T5 tranny) i will try to post a photo of the trans mount, you can see it at energy suspension website, type in ' ford t5 manual trans motor mount' you will see how big it is, but again very smooth,just opened my hood my car and watched.the motor as I started it,not a bit of shake,very solid,but not harsh,also I use as one ppiece aluminum drive shaft,about 15 pounds less weight than the oem drive shaft,so I guess less vibration than the stock one

 

which mounts to get?

Since I will be dropping the gearbox in my S3 Spider soon and plan to disconnect a number of items in the engine compartment to allow the tilting of the motor, I thought it would be good idea to replace the motor mounts at the same time.

Below is a photo of my current LH mount. Looks pretty sad doesn't it?

Anyway, I began searching for new motor mounts today and was surprised to find them advertised anywhere from $35 to $75 each. Aside from the Spruell reinforced units with aluminum caps, they all look the same.

Is there a way to distinguish which seller's mounts have the best rubber? Is there any merit in purchasing new Alfa Romeo mounts over any of the aftermarket ones out there? Any reason to think the OEM mounts would have a better compound than the unknown stuff being sold by several of the usual vendors?

What about the steel weldment sections? Has anyone found any objectionable variations in size/fit of the metal parts or is the rubber the only concern?

Thanks,

 

What about the steel weldment sections? Has anyone found any objectionable variations in size/fit the metal parts or is the rubber the only concern?

The steel sections can be of concern, although I don't know which suppliers might be better than others. As described in this thread, my exhaust-side mount broke on the steel section. I was using the Spruell caps, which I have now removed.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spider-1966-up/298665-broken-driver-side-motor-mount.html

 

I hate to knock vendors but I stopped buying anything made of rubber from IAP a long time ago. As you are on the West coast I would first call John Norman at Alfa Parts in Berkeley.

 

What issues have you had with IAP rubber products? I picked up a set of motor mounts for my '73 Spider during one of IAP's sales about 3 years, and they've been sitting on the shelf waiting until I get to the point of re-installing the engine/trans; hopefully sometime in the next 6-8 months. If there's a issue with their mounts, I'd just as soon eat the cost and purchase from another vendor.

Best regards,

 

It's more difficult to install a Spruell mount with caps as the mount will not flex as much. However, I feel the Spruells are well worth it as I had very little space between the exhaust and the steering box. In heavy corning they would meet. Now, no problem at all. The whole car felt tighter after the installation, which was a very good thing.

 

Whoa! You are definitely ovderdue for a change.

I'm surprised your rad fan hasn't bottomed out.

Having the tranny out will give you room underneath to work but its still a right of passage.

I think the mounts from earlier spider's are considered "heavy duty" mounts.

I havent had any issues with mounts from any suppliers.

Rad hoses are a different story, but that's for another thread.

Good luck, especially on that passenger side.

Vin

 

When I first got my Duetto - new in 1967 - Every time it was in the dealer for service I was told that then motor mounts needed replacement....

Last time I replaced them, I took the steel brackets apart and seam welded them - never had a problem with those since.

The rubber pillow have been in square (with rounded corners) or round at random since then. Since they are rubber, these have a sorta-5-year lifetime in the high ozone of LA. The Spruel covers do nothing but contain excess lateral vibration, and have no real effect until the rubber begins to fail itself. For racers, their major advantage is that the motor will stay in about the right location and not come totally loose if the rubber fails in a race. Seems like that's a great belt-and-suspenders issue even for a street car.

Besides the mounts and the trans bushing, the drive shaft center bearing support is important too. The early Duetto one was pretty soft; later cars had a much stiffer one.

Robert

 

What issues have you had with IAP rubber products?

They are too numerous to post. Cheapest is rarely the best.

 

Original

Our '85 Graduate with 12k miles still wears the original mounts (as far as I can tell) without cracking or delamination from the steel, maybe good for another 30 years.

 

I have had the same engine mounts on the '88 Spider for seven years (45k miles) without any issues. They either came from Centerline or IAP who appear to sell the same or similar mounts. Unless you have a particularly strong motor, I doubt there is a significant difference between commonly available mounts. This is not to discount Ed's good advice, "cheapest is rarely the best". Quality is subject to change and certain vendors seem to pay more attention to cost than quality.

 

The last rubber part that I bought from IAP was a rear motor mount for a V6. It was so out of tolerance that it jammed while I was installing it and I had to destroy it to get it out. I had done the job before and I was doing it right - mount in the freezer for a few hours and tail casting heated with propane torch. You normally get about 10 seconds after the mount has slipped in to orientate it before it sticks. I bought another one from DiFatta Brothers and it fit perfectly. From memory the useless one cost about $60 and the good one cost $90. They were clearly not from the same manufacturer.