As part of my prep for the track day later this month, I wanted to replace the engine mounts. How to do it wasn’t exactly clear though.
There is a bit of information out there for replacing the engine mounts, but mostly LHD and most of them say to remove the headers to do so. Being the stubborn guy I am, and not wanting to remove the headers, I thought there must’ve been a better way.
In my last RHDJapan order, I got a pair of uprated STI engine mounts. These have a stiffer compound rubber without being super harsh like the Cusco and similar with their polyurethane mounts.

With the car in the air I slid under, removed the two under trays and had a look at what I was playing with. The mounts were surprisingly accessible.


That bolt and nut are easy to access with a rattle gun and extension, but there is also one bolt above the steering rack which is a little harder

For that one I found it was best to start the bolt with an offset ring spanner as it is recessed, and then once loose, undo it with a ratcheting spanner


Both sides worked with the same treatment

To lift the engine, which has to be done otherwise the mount stud will not clear the crossmember, I used a floor jack on the sump. I’m not that happy doing this, but many people have done it before, and I used a rubber block to spread the load. I got away with doing this with no visible deformation of the pan. The hardest bit was just working around a big jack right where you need to be.
As a quick note, before lifting the engine you will need to remove the engine side of the air filter box, including the filter. The intake pipework can remain, but the engine needs to be lifted high enough that the box may get in the way.

I started with the RH engine mount as I figured this would be the hardest to remove due to the steering column/rack, and I was right. I completely unbolted the RH mount and loosened the centre stud on the LH mount so that I could use that mount to pivot the engine over (instead of just lifting it straight up and having nothing keeping it in place). Once the mount was free, I could move it around, but couldn’t seem to get it out. The trick was to remove the heat shield plate on the top of it (not captive like the STI mount, it just sits there) and unbolt the steering rack (mark or make note of the bolt positions before undoing them as there is some wiggle room). Without the plate on the top I had more room to move and rotate it, and lowering the rack gave me just enough room to squeeze the mount out towards the rear of the car and remove it. It’ll take a fair bit of rotating and wiggling to get it out, but it’s doable.


Refitting the new mount wasn’t too bad either. Because the heat shield on the top of the STI mount is captive and can’t be removed, I did get it stuck just as it went over the steering rack, but a little gentle pop with a pry bar got it free and into place. To bolt it in I lowered the engine slightly, so that the centre stud lined up, but I still had free movement to screw in the two bolts. Once the two bolts were done up hand tight, I lowered the engine down onto the mount, leaving the centre stud nut loose, and moved to the other side.
Comparatively, the other side was easy since there was more space to work (no exhaust or steering column)

Once the mounts are in place and the engine lowered down onto them, torque them to spec (45NM centre stud, 35NM for the two bolts, one of which has to be done to gutentight since a torque wrench won’t fit – in hindsight with the rack loose you might be able to fit a torque wrench on an extension in there). The steering rack needs to be refitted and bolts torqued to 120NM.
In conclusion, yes, at least on a RHD car, you can replace the engine mounts without touching the headers.
How are the STI mounts? Good. The driveline feels tighter, more like it’s part of the car. There is a small amount of extra vibration now, mostly at idle, but it’s barely noticeable (and nothing like the vibration the Alto had after the rear mount inserts went in). I probably wouldn’t bother replacing stock low KM mounts with them, but my 190,000km mounts were worth replacing.
Parts Used
ST41022AS000 – STI Engine Mount RH
ST41022AS010 – STI Engine Mount LH
Please note these parts are specific to my car and may vary. Please check before ordering.
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