Procedure for replacing trans mounts

Removal should be easy. Throw a jack stand under the trans so it doesn’t try to sag. The tough part is when fresh new rubber is in place probably it’s a lot harder to fit back together. I just did them on the goose and found the re-assembly is where you need an extra pair of hands to fight with the new bushings.

Jan, getting late model ZF mounts off the transaxle is difficult because the three studs per side interfere. Some guys bend the sheet metal mount tabs down with a hammer, then pound them back up into place, while others use a 6 ft long 2x4 as a non-marring pry barn sideways against the ZF case. For this one area of the Pantera, I remove the studs and replace them with gr-5 metric bolts.

Bolts make removing the ZF from the car simple and in your case, should allow the mounts to slide right back in place. BTW, you'll likely find the ZF rubber in your mounts are perfectly OK except around the exposed edges. Wipe a little silicone grease around the exposed edges to keep them looking fresh. Works for rubber shock absorber bushings too.

Yeah I've been looking it over and it seems if you removed the bolt that slides through the bushing and then raise the trans to a height over the metal mounts then the 3 nuts on the trans bushing arm could be removed and then slide the arm out. Then for putting in new, just reverse the process. However that process seems too easy so I suppose there are reasons not to raise the trans that high such as engine tipping hitting firewall or half shafts preventing that height, etc.

When you replaced the trans studs with the metric bolts, that seems you have to get into the trans internals, no?

Yes thanks for the tip on silicone grease on the exposed edges, but I may soon be getting beyond that point if not already. About a year ago I put some liquid tape on those areas (which basically turns the liquid substance into a hardened rubber), but that is now squeezing out as shown on the photo. As another temporary fix I was thinking of trying some roof flashing to see how that works. They also make some putty epoxy that I could mold and push down into that area, but that substance may be too stiff and possibly a bit more difficult to get out later since its epoxy. Anyway, pain in the crotch nonetheless. Just another encouragement for anyone having their trans removed for any reason to then replace those bushings if needed or not so at least brand new is in there. I am thinking when Hall built the car maybe brand new were not put in. All my other cars bushings are still perfect.

I would use the black stuff that’s on that chick’s bikini!  That’s silky smooth!

(Seriously though)  most roofing stuff is really nasty, and can make a huge mess.  Unless you’re familiar with its properties, I’d be careful...  I’m doing a metal roof now, and that stuff is hard to deal with...

Rocky

Jan, I suspect that owners simply didn't want to stress the motor mount bolts or the engine mount castings by jacking up the rear of the powertrain enough to clear the steel ZF mount tabs. And they probably didn't want to climb underneath once again to loosen the bolts.

Plus its hard enough to slide that 160-lb lump of metal (the ZF) back onto the bellhousing & into the pilot bearing when its all horizontal; trying to wrestle it in at a 60 degree angle while a foot in the air makes my back ache even thinking about it! And a few rear windows have been broken by Weber velocity stacks while getting creative with powertrain angles. Good luck & let us know how it runs at the end.

Thanks guys, I may go with that roofing stuff and see if that gives me more life until I can get some help with it. Should be easy, just tape off the edges and stuff some in roofing gunk with my finger & glove. I already put some between some beer lids and it seems to hold pretty good and still flexible. Yeah Boss, that car had everything out when it was built so new would have been easy to put in back then rather than trying to do it now...ugh. Or could be he put in new back then but they just went bad. By the crumbly captain crunch appearance maybe the bushings are even polyurethane rather than rubber. I not sure how they come rubber or other?