Did you know that the average car engine weighs about 350 pounds? And there are some that weigh a whole lot more than that. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise to hear that there are special engine mounts inside of a car that are specifically designed to keep your engine steady. These mounts need to be in good condition to ensure that your engine doesn’t rattle around and cause problems for you when you’re out on the road. If you ever have bad engine mounts in your car, you’ll need to pay the engine mount replacement cost right away to have them fixed. Find out more about the importance of engine mounts below before learning about what the engine mount replacement cost will be.
What Is an Engine Mount?
It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to figure out what engine mounts are and how they work, but just to make sure that we’re on the same page, let’s kick things off with a brief breakdown of engine mounts. Most cars have somewhere between two and four engine mounts in them. These mounts are usually either bolted to the subframe of a vehicle or bolted right to the actual frame of it. In some cases, these mounts are also used to support both a car’s engine and its transmission to some degree. It really all depends on the specific configuration of the car and the location of the engine mounts.
There are a bunch of different styles of engine mounts that are found in most modern-day cars. But more often than not, today’s cars have engine mounts that are made out of composite rubber with liquid inside of them. These types of mounts have been shown to cut down on the vibrations that an engine produces better than other types of mounts, which is why they’ve become so popular in recent years. They’re also great because they don’t allow the metal from an engine to come into contact with any other metal parts when they’re installed properly.
Why Are Engine Mounts So Important?
Now that you know what the engine mounts found in cars are, let’s talk a little bit about why they’re so important in the grand scheme of things. Engine mounts are, first and foremost, designed to hold up the weight of an engine and provide it with the support that it needs at all times. Without the necessary engine mounts in it, your car would have a tough time keeping your engine elevated and secure. But engine mounts are also important for another reason. They cut down on the vibrations that an engine produces when you start up your car and begin driving it.
As you can probably imagine, car engines create quite a few vibrations when a car is turned on. These vibrations can make it difficult for people to get comfortable in a car. And in extreme cases, they can also cause a lot of other parts to vibrate and break down sooner than they should. It’s a big part of the reason why you’ll want to pay the engine mount replacement cost to have bad engine mounts replaced as quickly as you can when they begin to break down on you. It’s going to be the best move for you to make for the good of your engine and for the good of your car as a whole.
How Often Should Engine Mounts Be Replaced?
The good news when it comes to engine mounts is that you shouldn’t have to worry about paying the engine mount replacement cost more than once or maybe twice throughout the life of your car. That’s because engine mounts will usually last you for anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 miles before they’ll need to be replaced. They don’t tend to break down on people very quickly as long as you don’t do anything to cause them harm.
That being said, there are some things that you might do that will cut down on how long your engine mounts are going to last. You’ll need to prepare to replace your engine mounts more often than you would have to otherwise if you:
- Drive your car very aggressively when you have it out on the road
- Store your car outside where it’s always exposed to the elements
- Live in a climate that gets very dry throughout the course of the year
- Get into a motor vehicle accident that does damage to your engine
You should sneak a peek at the owner’s manual for your car to see what your auto manufacturer has to say about replacing your engine mounts. They’ll usually suggest inspecting your engine mounts whenever possible and replacing them when they look like they’re cracking, separating from your engine, or leaking fluid from them.
What Are the Signs of a Bad Engine Mount?
Unless you spend a lot of time poking around under the hood of your car, you’re not going to come into contact with your engine mounts very often. This can make it difficult for you to tell when they’re starting to give out on you. But fortunately, there are some surefire signs that you should look out for that will let you know that you have engine mounts in your car that might be on their last legs.
For example, do you feel vibrations in the cabin of your car when you have it turned on? This could indicate a number of different issues with your car, but many times, it’ll be a clear-cut sign that your engine mounts aren’t doing their jobs. You’ll need to get ready to face the engine mount replacement cost in the near future when this is the case.
You should also keep an ear out for any strange sounds coming from underneath the hood of your vehicle. If you hear a clunk every time you’re driving around in your car and you can’t figure out what in the world it is, there is a decent chance that bad engine mounts could be to blame. Rather than simply turning the music in your car up to try and drown out these sounds, you should spring into action and arrange to have your engine mounts replaced. The engine mount replacement cost will get rid of the sounds coming from your engine and provide you with peace of mind.
One other thing you might notice when your car’s engine mounts go bad is liquid leaking from the area of your engine. This liquid could, of course, be the sign of a more serious problem with your car’s engine. But it could also just be the liquid leaking out of your engine mounts. You should set aside some time to have them inspected by a professional as soon as you possibly can.
Is It Safe to Continue to Drive With a Bad Engine Mount?
When one or more of the engine mounts in your car go bad, you should be able to continue to drive your car around like you normally do. You should, of course, arrange to have your engine mounts replaced. But you’re not going to do too much harm to your car by driving around with bad engine mounts in it.
You are, however, going to do damage to it if you don’t get it to a mechanic sometime in the not-too-distant future. You should be especially mindful of getting your car to a mechanic if the sounds coming from under your hood seem to be getting worse. You could eventually have a tough time getting your car into gear if the situation deteriorates and gets a whole lot worse than it is now. You’re going to have no choice at that point but to bite the bullet and shoulder the engine mount replacement cost.
Where Should You Take Your Car to Have Engine Mount Replacement Done?
Since most vehicle owners don’t have to deal with bad engine mounts very often, they’re not always sure where to take their car when they suspect they have a problem with their engine mounts. You can take your car to an engine specialist if you would like to, but you can also get away with having engine mount replacement done by a regular old ASE-certified mechanic in most cases. They’ll be able to take your old engine mounts out of your car for you and replace them with brand-new ones.
Whatever you do, don’t try to replace an engine mount or multiple engine mounts on your own if you don’t know what you’re doing. You might be tempted to do it to bring your engine mount replacement cost down. But you’ll be playing with fire if you take this approach to replacing engine mounts. You could hurt yourself badly or do serious damage to your car if you don’t know the first thing about putting new engine mounts into place.
What Is the Engine Mount Replacement Cost?
Anytime that people hear that they’re going to need to have their car’s engine worked on, they almost always start to panic. The belief is that any engine-related repair done to a car is going to cost a small fortune. But in the case of engine mount replacement, this shouldn’t typically be true. While replacing engine mounts is going to require an investment on your part, it also isn’t going to break the bank for most people.
On average, those who have to replace engine mounts in their cars find that the engine mount replacement cost usually falls somewhere between $430 and $490. That includes the price of parts, which often range between $210 and $220, and labor, which comes in at right around $250 in most instances. There are also some taxes and fees that could make the average price a little higher than what we just mentioned.
You should also be aware of the fact that a mechanic could potentially uncover other problems with your engine while replacing engine mounts. It’s why you should make sure that you work with a mechanic that you can trust and be mindful of the possibility of you having to pay for more than just the engine mount replacement cost.
Is the Engine Mount Replacement Cost Worth It?
The engine that you have in your car is the most important part of it. You need to do everything in your power to make sure that it’s firing on all cylinders all the time, and that includes replacing the engine mounts in your car as necessary. It makes the engine mount replacement cost well worth it for those who want to make sure that their car’s engines last for a long time. If you’re planning on keeping your current car for the foreseeable future, you won’t have any choice but to replace bad engine mounts if your mechanic tells you that’s what you need to do.
The only time when it might not be worth it for you to pay the engine mount replacement cost is when you know you’re not going to keep a car around for very much longer. If you have a car that’s on the older side that has bad engine mounts and other issues, you should think about selling it rather than paying to have the engine mounts replaced. It’ll prevent you from having to spend hundreds of dollars on a car that’s likely not going to be around for more than a few more months, if that.
Can You Sell a Vehicle With a Bad Engine Mount in It?
If you have a car with bad engine mounts in it, you might think that it would be worthless to buyers. But you’re going to find that this is not the case. Many private buyers might scoff at the idea of paying for a car with bad engine mounts in it. But most junk car buyers would be happy to make you a strong cash offer for your car, in spite of its bad engine mounts.
If you would like to see what we mean, we invite you to reach out to Cash Cars Buyer to obtain an offer for your old car. We’ll pay cash for your car and help you steer clear of having to cover the engine mount replacement cost. Contact us today to find out how our process works.