Thinking about changing engine mounts.
 

I have a '93 ES300. It's got about 120k miles on it. No problems yet with the mounts however I noticed that the dogbone mount looks like crap. In any case, I wanna change all 4 of the major mounts on the car. I know I can change the dog-bone, front mount, and tranny mount on the driver side without much difficulty myself. My major problem is the rear engine mount, my brother has a '97 ES300 and he tried changing his mounts but realized that the rear engine mount is not something he could change himself so he took it to a mechanic to change for an increased cost. He did say that he heard that it's a lot easier to DIY on my first gen ES. I'm not too sure so I would like some advice from you guys that have done that sort of thing; how it's done, is it easy, etc? I wanna get the set of all 4 mounts off ebay for like $200 but I would prefer genuine OEM parts. What do you experienced ES owners think?

Its the same thing. Not sure why it would be considered easier? A first gen ES is an ES250 btw.
The passanger's side axle runs through the rear enine mount. To change the mount, you have to pull that half-shaft off. That's why it's a pretty big pain.

Thanks for the correction on the gen Pheonix. What would you say if I said I wanted to just change the 3 mounts that I can access myself (dog bone, front, and transmission mounts)? and not even worry about the rear mount?

For me the best way to check the rear mounts is on the highway, jsut cruise at a steedy pace then give it more gas and let go and feel a slight bump. If you dont, dont worry about it. When your axle goes out then change it later on.

lets us know how the intall goes if you diy. I also noticed that my "dogbone" mount was deteriorated and dryrotted. The dogbone mount is the torque strut mount and I got one for $25 on ebay w/ shipping. Dealer wanted twice this amount.

This is really something I've been putting off. I've noticed a slight bump when releasing pedal on the freeway. Does this mean I should change my rear engine mount? I'm probably going to goto Autozone to get the mounts cause they offer a core exchange and they have reasonable prices.

I'll attempt some pics with my digi to help out you other DIYers.

Well there's always a tiny bump in Lexus/Toyota/Scions in the high gears from a cruise. It's the torque converter unlocking. (In our case 3 & 4) Is it always, or just sometimes?

Engine smoothness is enhanced through the use of an active engine mount, it uses a solenoid-controlled diaphragm to produce pulses that are equal-but-opposite to those of the engine, canceling out vibration with every power stroke. Because of this I would imagine that it would be harder to replace and more expensive. I haven't even looked at it just read but it sounds quite the engineering feat.

Toyota techs explained to me that if you're in the position to change your torque mount, then you should also change your front mount. They said the stress on a new torque mount without changing the front would make it very likely to deteriorate the mount before it's time should come. How long have you been driving with it?

Cv axel passenger 1998 es 300
 

The mount can be removed with the axle still attached but it's not easy. Next try to hammer directly on the bearing (don't hit the carrier assembly) an air chisel is especially useful here.