Good motor mount test?
Namely, I need one. My Spirit has developed a thud in the front end, over SOME bumps. Different from the pop/bang that my strut mounts were causing, this sounds like someone hitting something with a rubber mallet, which makes me think that there's some bushing or rubber mount getting whacked. There's no pulling at all, and the car has stayed in very good alignment. Struts are Monroe and very fresh, less than 5k, and the car handles surprisingly well, so I assume everything is kosher there. Letting off the throttle at highway speed (cruising to closed) is best described as violent, and it doesn't feel at all like the '91 I was using while my '95 was laid up. There's no noise that I can hear though. The sway bar bushings look pretty mangy, but I thought sway bars rattled... anyway, I need a test for the engine mounts, any good ones?
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Visual inspection first, look for bits of rubber and cracking, then push on the engine side to see if there is movement, and if that isn't enough, then a floor jack under the oil pan (board between the two), raise the engine a bit to see if there is separation. If there is a problem, you will see it. And yes, any worn bushing will cause a thunk and bang when taken to their limit, replace them either way, bushings are there for a reason.
Get someone to help you. Open the hood and observe the engine as someone in the car switches between reverse and drive and give it just a little throttle in each position. If you see the engine move much during this, it is time for motor mounts. This works pretty well because it is often hard to see the actual mount.
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