Tempo/Topaz front motormount / swaybar help please

Greetings,

I am doing my first '89 Tempo/Topaz motor mount replacement. It's the one under the battery/airbox on the drivers side. I have removed the rubber part, but cannot get a good grip on the three 13mm bolts that hold the top metal half to the automatic transmission. My tools are all either too big to fit in there or too small to get any torque on. Any tips for getting those off?

I think I can get better access if I drop the big plate that the bottom of the motor mount and the sway bar bracket bolts to. Is it safe to remove that, or will the sway bar under tension a) break my arms in the process and b) make it impossible to reinstall the plate?

For a visual, see this picture as viewed from underneath the radiator looking towards the drivers side:

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The red bracket is the one I need to remove. The green one I'm not sure if it's safe to remove.

Thanks for any advice...

Reply to
tylernt
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Ok, Yes you have to remove the big plate that holds the sway bar. With the wheels hanging, most of the pressure will be downward. If you support the wheels (bring them up a few inches) this will take the pressure off of the plate. It helps to loosen both plates (Right and left) to take pressure of of the sway bar. While you are doing motor mounts, do the rear trans mount, straight back across the trans from the one you are replacing. It's the one that takes up the most torque while driving. It's the one that fails the most often. That front one usually doesn't go bad.

Reply to
Tom Adkins

Awesome, just what I was looking for, thanks! From what I can see the back one mught be bad also, but what would happen if I only replace the front? Will my new front mount be quickly destroyed by a bad rear mount or will it last for a long time?

These puppies are $38 so I'd like to only replace one unless I really need both...

Thanks again!

Reply to
tylernt

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