Bad engine mounts symptoms and their effects

The engine mounts serve to hold and maintain the position of the engine in the engine bay. It also functions to reduce engine vibration and makes the engine feel smooth when it runs. There are several numbers of engine mounts. It depends on the position of the engine and the drive system used in the car.

If you use the rear-wheel-drive system, engine mounts are generally only three — two on each side of the engine, and one on the transmission. And for front-wheel-drive cars, the number of engine mounts is generally had four, one on the right, left, front, and rear sides.

Because of its important function, bad engine mounts positively affects the car entirely. So, what are the bad engine mounts symptoms on the vehicle? Check this out about bad engine mounts symptoms and their effects.

I. Bad engine mounts symptoms

1. Vibration starts from the car body to the steering wheel.

The first bad engine mounts symptoms are vibrations that start from the car body to the steering wheel. Yes, when the engine mounts are badly damaged, the vibrations will spread to all parts of the car body.

We can feel the vibrations in all engine working conditions unless the engine is in a stable rpm condition and running on an even road. The following are examples of conditions where vibrations occur due to damaged engine mounts:

When the engine starts or at the beginning to start.
When releasing the gas pedal suddenly (deceleration).
When you step on the gas pedal suddenly (acceleration).
When releasing the clutch pedal after changing the transmission gear.
When the car is on a rough or bumpy road.

These vibrations arise due to engine vibrations that are not dampened by the engine mount rubber. These vibrations spread directly from the engine body to the steering wheel.

2. Impact noises coming from the engine bay.

The second bad engine mounts symptoms is impact noises coming from the engine bay. These noises can be heard as clunking, banging, clashing and other impact type sounds due to the weight of the engine shifting excessively to the point of contact.

Suppose the engine mount rubber is completely damaged, leaving only the fastening iron. In that case, the impact noises will hear louder even on a smooth flat road.

II. What a bad engine mount can do?

1. The damage can spread to other engine components

The engine mounts play a vital role in the engine. It becomes a buffer and holder for the engine in the engine bay. When one or most of the engine mountings are damaged, this can be affecting the other engine components positions. The engine becomes lower and changes the safest position of the other engine components.

Here is some damage that can occur to other engine components due to engine mounting damage.

The exhaust pipe is bent or broken due to being pinched by the engine and the chassis.
The radiator broke due to the radiator hose being pulled away when the engine shook.
The engine can overheat due to a damaged radiator hose that has fallen off.
The radiator fan degraded by shifting, so the blade rotation hit the radiator fan housing.
The drive shaft joint becomes worn and obliterated due to rotating improperly.

Yes, engine mounts malfunction significantly affects engine position and other parts position. When the engine's position moves, many other parts and components can be affected and become damaged, which will increase car repair costs.

Read also:

2. It is uncomfortable to drive the car.

The last effect of the damaged engine mount that we know is the car became uncomfortable to drive. The emergence of loud noises from the body and the vibration on the steering wheel in various working conditions is certainly disturbing the driver concentration while driving.

Not to mention the noises and vibrations that occur in the car body that can change the position of pressing the foot on the gas pedal or brake pedal to make the car feel choked while driving.

The discomfort while driving can certainly affect how to drive, leading to stress and hazardous to safety, especially for very long distances trips.