2001 x5 3.0 replace engine mounts, experience?

[cn90]

I have done engine mounts on my 1998 528i M52 engine before.
I have learned some tricks and posted them in forums...

- Any rubber mounts will compress with time, recall that the engine is very heavy and with every jolt on the road, it will keep "hammering" down on the engine mounts.

- Below is a photo of my 1998 528i E39 with 115K. Nothing wrong with that car, I just replaced the engine mounts bc "people tell me I should replace engine mounts at 115K lol...". In retrospect, I should have left them alone and replace them at let's say 160K-200K range.

Old engine mounts on the left and is about 5mm compressed.
Again no big deal bc a brand-new engine mount will compress under weight anyway.




- Any engine mounts perform 2 essential functions:

1. Absorbing the weight on the engine, whether stationary or under load (pot holes on the road).

2. Preventing engine lifting underload. When viewed from the front bumper...
- Crank pulley rotates CW.
- Engine has a tendency to rotate CCW (Newton's 3rd law).
- When the engine mount's upper bolt and its rubber becomes separated from the rest of the rubber, the engine will lift upward under load.

Below is an example of an E46 3-series with broken L engine mount, the engine lifts upward underload...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtHem8KpFOw

[DriverX]

Originally Posted by Overboost

I would say you are due at 140K. Mine is really driven lightly and had a slight vibration felt in the steering wheel at idle at about 150K. That job is about an hour or so but make sure to get an engine hanger from Harbor Freight.

I did mine at around 115k, but it was in an effort to track down driveline vibration that turned out to be front CV axles instead. Inspecting the old mounts, they didn't look bad nor did they have any play.

The engine hangar was essential, one tip I have is don't do both at the same time. Loosen both maybe, but only unfasten and remove one at a time, otherwise you are going to have a hard time aligning everything again if you do both at once.