I'm going to tackle the motor/transmission mounts in the next couple of weeks. The ones on the sides seem straight forward. The rear scares me a bit, but found this YT video


Anyone have thoughts on this? I've seen the hammer video, but feel like this is a better route.

 

it looks pretty good and its making me wonder why its been such a pain. that video and the hammer one was posted way later than I had problems so seeing those ideas after is just like wow lol. But just removing the airbox and undoing the bracket between the engine and mount is a good idea. Is you car not really rusty like his, the video you posted, or better? worse?
I'd say go for it. I hate removing the subframe.

 

My car has some rust, but it's not terrible. I'll spray the bolts this weekend and give it a go later this month.

 

I sprayed all the nuts and bolts with PB Blaster this weekend, but I saw some differences in the rear engine mount and bracket from the YT video above.


Other videos and images I've seen have a full bolt going through the mount into a flange nut on the other end. I seem to have a nut on the driver's side instead. There also a nut that looks like it's attached from the bracket to another part of the engine. Does anyone else have a mount/bracket that looks like this? When I go to a Toyota dealership website to see the diagram, it's different than what I have.


If it matters, I have one of the very first '04 xB's that was released for sale in CA. Mount is original and has never been replaced.

 

Weather was nice today, so decided to go for it today. Did the dog-bone mount on the passenger side first - only tricky part was the nut underneath the bracket. Tackled that from underneath after futzing with it for a few minutes up top. Very simple job. Then came the transmission mount. I took out the airbox, hoses and battery. Three bolts on the bracket, ground wire bolt and long bolt through the mount and the two 14mm underneath. All very straight forward. The mounts were shot. Tears and jiggly af. These two mounts took about 1.5 hours. Decided to eat lunch before tackling the rear mount. Came back out and like an idiot decided to change the accessory belt before changing the rear mount. First step was to loosen the 12mm on the bracket and wouldn't you know it - SNAP!



I was regretting life fully. Decided not to do the rear after this and put everything back together. The one thing I did do was change the three rubber bushings in the airbox with the Dorman wiper motor bushings (#49450). When I went to remove the original bushings, they pretty much disintegrated. I recommend everyone change these out at this point in the car's life. Once everything was back together, started the car and luckily the belt didn't fly off and wasn't making any noise. Took it for a spin and the shakes are 80% gone, even with the AC on max. I used to have to shift into N at red lights. Once the rear is replaced, I'm confident that the shakes will be nearly non-existent.

Anyway, the bolt underneath the alternator is the only thing holding it in place now and maybe it's rust welded in. But I need to address this sooner than later. I guess I can buy a new alternator (car is @ 190K with original alt), but the original is still working flawlessly. Anyone have any other suggestions here? Do I attempt to drill it out or something? I've stripped nuts and bolts before, but never snapped a bolt.

 

That top bolt on the alternator is the one that maintains tension...I'd keep an eye on it as, even though the bottom bolt is tight, you may eventually lose tension on your belt.

You could try drilling it or taking it off and taking it to a muffler shop and having them weld a nut on it and then try to use that to break it free. Sometimes the heat from welding will break it loose. Might cost you a few bucks but cheaper than a new alternator.

 

I'd look up what a price of used alt is but thats just me lol secondly would be to try and drill the bolt out. About the rear mount... the bolt can go in either way. The bracket has a heat shield to cover the rubber part of the mount and the upper bolt you circled is a shield for the axle

 

Thanks guys. Looks like any solution begins with removing the alternator from the car. I'll look around for a used one while I contemplate what I want to do.

I took a good look at the rear mount today, it's not a regular nut on the driver's side - it's the damn flange nut. There's almost no room to fit a socket or wrench on the bolt because of the exhaust. When I replace this, I'm definitely switching sides, if what mrrcom said is true. I'm wondering if I remove all the bolts holding the bracket and the three nuts/bolts underneath, would I be able to pull the entire unit out in one piece, leaving the mount bolt intact? If the bolt was facing the driver's side, I think I would have tried the brute hammer move.

 

yep switching the side of the bolt because of the exhaust. the pic is looking at the drivers side thru where the airbox would be. you can see some exposed threads of the nut uh haha

Honestly I mixed up bolts and yeah it looks bad. So just saying it can be done if I remember right the flanged nut has a little hook on it so it won't spin but it's not welded onto the bracket

 

Rust and aluminum corrosion is holding the alternator bolt remnant in. Soaking in ATF or solvents might work, but the aluminum thread is likely buggered, so just replace the whole alternator and when you put bolts back in, be sure to coat them with anti-seize or grease. I use motorcycle chain spray, but it depends what you have on hand

 

I replaced my alternator with a new unit (TYC). Chose this because Rockauto says it has a lifetime warranty. I gotta say, the car is running much better now. The shakes really went away. Still have not replaced the rear mount yet, but hopefully later this week.

 

hey what do you mean when you say the "shakes" went away. Like at idle?

my alt has never given me any problems but I feel at idle the power may not be very steady and it causes some drag on the belt... but this could be a completely different thing just wondering

 

Yes, at idle, in D. When the AC is on, it used to shake unbelievably at a red light or stop sign. If I shift into N, it goes away. I believe a majority of these xBs suffer from the shakes and even with new engine mounts, they don't go away completely. Some say it's the torque converter that has an issue, but I've seen the shakes in manual transmission xBs as well. Who knows, but now I can have the AC on and not have to shift into N at red lights - no shakes, squeals, etc. Car feels stronger, overall much better running car.

 

One of the things that causes the shakes that you describe is a slight carbon buildup in the IACV - Idle air control valve.
My son just brought his XB over for an oil change and the shakes issue at 165K miles. previously fixed around 130K.
You can temporarily fix it by raising the idle speed a bit (screw and locknut on the throttle body) but that doesn't last long, and other problems ensue.
Here's a video that shows the steps - Best to take out the air box first

 

Interesting, mine doesnt really "shake" sort of shudders or purrs lol but I was kind of thinking it was a fuel regulator problem... like at idle its not keeping the rail full but that probably isnt the case? anyways. I've been thinking about upgrading the power/ground wires... couldn't hurt really.

I just got back inside from cleaning mine but also the maf and the whole TB so I can't comment on it now but I can say make sure you have the right size phillips cause the screw heads are really soft... i bunged one up and got it undone with some pliers lol

 

I serviced the IAC valve about 20K miles ago, along with the throttle body, MAF sensor and none of these helped with the shakes. Car idles fine. Towards the end of this video, you can see the shakes.

So far the new alternator is really helping with the shakes.

 

Not Philips screws... JIS. Tip of JIS screwdriver will not slip out of JIS screw and strip like Phillips. You can actually put so much torque on it, you'll snap screw-head clean off or snap screwdriver, but tip won't slip off.

https://www.outsidetheshot.com/jis-vs-phillips/

Note you'll want genuine JIS screwdriver that meets JIS-B-4633 standards. Not the newer "combo" standard DIN 5260/ISO 8764-1 that's supposed to work with both JIS and Phillips screws. As a compromised standard, it doesn't work at either as well as compared to pure JIS or Phillips screwdrivers. Still better than trying to use Phillips screwdriver on JIS screws though.

 

I finally had the last motor mount (rear) put in by a shop and the car feels great. There's no shaking at all anymore after replacing the three mounts and the alternator, even with the AC on full blast, sitting at a red light. Night and day difference. Now that I've replaced the mounts, I don't believe the shakes are manifested by anything within the toque converter. I've read reports of the shakes continuing after replacing the mounts with aftermarket parts, so if you can spare the extra change, get the original Toyota mounts. I was able to grab all three for $187 when the southeast Toyota dealers were having a sale. If you own one of these first gen xBs today and they've never been replaced, it's probably time. It'll make a huge difference. Good luck!

 

Oh man. Got to this thread late. RE: the rear mount bolt with the nut on the Driver's Side. That's the way it is on my car...which makes sense. If it's routed the other way (nut on Pass. Side), there isn't much "pull space" for the bolt to come out because of the Power Steering lines. I didn't know there'd be differences, but after I did mine, I helped a buddy and his rear mount bolt went from Driver's Side to Pass. side and we had issues pulling the bolt out.

I have a thread here somewhere with the sequence of bolt removal I was successful with when I did mine.

 

HERE IT IS:

I'm done! I finally finished this using the "remove the mount bracket" method described by AP. I tried videoing my tips, but my camera battery wasn't charged and, TBH, I just wanted to get done. Here's my input:

1) Car on jackstands, kinda high / front wheels removed (I did brakes earlier in the week & I just kept them off).
2) Removed battery and air-box for more room up top.
3) Floor jack with a chunk of wood to support the motor just forward of the frame subassy.
4) (under) 7/8" open end wrench: Remove O2 sensor and get the wire out of the way.
5) (under) 14mm wrench to remove the main center mount bolt. I broke it loose with a box end then removed with a speed wrench.
6) (under/passenger side wheel well) 12mm socket w/extensions to remove bracket from heat shield. I loosened it from underneath, but with the wheel off, it's easy to get to from the well.
7) (top) 14mm: remove top/center bolt from bracket (to the engine). Kinda tight...break it loose then you gotta get your fingers down there.
(top) 14mm: remove driver's side bolt from bracket ***this one is tough...the hardest part of the whole thing*** you can't get to it from underneath. I tried a socket with various universals and extensions, but in the end, I just used a good, 6 point wrench and put my weight down on it from the top. I did slide a large, deep well socket over the end of the wrench (and had on gloves) but that was about the only leverage I was able to obtain. G-R-U-N-T!!! Finally!
9) (under) 14mm: remove bottom/center bolt from bracket (to the engine)
10) (top) bracket comes right out thru the air-box area.
11) (under) loosen 3 ea. 14mm MOUNT bolt/nuts from the frame subassy, remove from the top.
12) Installation = reverse. (Mount then bracket)

Forgive me as I had planned on taking pix and/or video, but...you know how that goes. Just wanted to get it done. Like AP said above, use good 6 point wrenches.
Good luck and I'll check back if you have questions.