Motor Mount replacement. 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon

I took my car in to my local shop to have them look at a shock, which they fixed, and they mentioned they thought there also was a motor mount problem.

1) How many motor mounts are there on a 2003 TDI wagon and where are they located?
2) What is a dogbone and is that related?
3) Are there any other mounts to replace, like transmission mounts.
3a) Are there any other parts you should replace instead of re-use.
4) There seems to be some kind of shock absorber mounted to the left side of the engine (left of the timing belt I believe) that has a bushing on its lower end. This busing seems very loose. What part is this? (dogbone?)
5) Last what parts SHOULD I definitely replace or seriously inspect when dealing with motor mounts?

2003 Jetta Wagon TDI. 110,000k. Biodiesel all the way. Bilstein springs and struts. Panzer Plater. Alligator Chiped. Bosio Injectors.

Thanks
Doug

PS. I did search for "motor mount" and just saw wingnuts broken engine block. Is there a write-up about this repair anywhere?

Not sure if you have the auto trans or 5-spd manual.
I'm going to answer as if manual. Not sure if the answers are different for auto.

There are basically 3 isolated mounts of interest.
The trans bolts to the engine in any case, so think of that engine+trans assembly as one piece.

There are two rather beefy mounts that hold the engine+trans assembly in the engine bay. The function of these two is mainly to hold the weight of the engine+trans as they (it) hangs in the engine bay. These two are called the:

Engine mount (on the timing belt side, I think is what you refer to in 4 above)
and
Transmission mount (behind the battery and under the air box, looks similar but not identical to the engine mount)

Next, because this is a front wheel drive car with the engine & trans mounted transverse, then when the engine tries to accelerate or decelerate the car, the torque reaction will attempt to cause the engine+trans to do somersaults in the engine bay. To keep that from happening there is a third mount, officially called the pendulum mount (Because it addresses the pendulum motion of the engine+trans, think of that as a portion of a somersault). This mount resembles a dogbone, hence its nickname. This mount is found underneath the car, just off center toward the drivers side. It connects from the transmission and rearward to the subframe.

The original large bolts that attach these mounts are one-time-use bolts and must be replaced if they are removed. You can read horror stories on this forum where people have replaced mounts but not the bolts, then had the bolts fail. This can lead to one side or the other of the engine+trans literally falling down onto the pavement below.

idparts.com sells the mounts and the bolts.

Sorry I can't tell from your description if you have a specific mount problem or if the shop is just trying to upsell. For things related to the timing belt and engine mounts especially, I recommend to look on this forum and find a service guru in your area, establish a relationship with them. At 110K miles, your timing belt should have been replaced very recently. Hope it was done by a guru as that's critical!

If your 2003 TDI wagon happens to be a 5-speed, it's a very desirable vehicle among "the cult". Enjoy!

Recommended TDI-specialist in the L.A. area: Leonard Harview of Wild Rose Motors in Whittier... (Make that Strongly Recommended TDI-specialist...) http://www.vwtdionly.com/

UserID "RobbieTDI" in Redondo Beach also does work and knows these cars... http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=70811

BTW, with regard to your "some kind of shock absorber mounted to the left side of the engine" - that's the serpentine (alternator) belt tensioner... If it's bouncing around a lot with the engine idling, it may need to be replaced, or else your alternator pulley (clutch-type) is failing...

Yuri

Sorry I left out: Its an automatic.

Yuri: Leonard is the guy who put the Alligator Chip and Bosio injectors in as well as rebuilt the Injector Pump which was leaking and a new timing belt. He is great, just very busy and a bit far.

As for the the thingy on the left, thanks for letting me know its the tensioner. The lower part rattle slightly like the busing is worn on it down there. (hard to see.)

If I want to replace all three motor mounts, how hard of a job is that to do? Any tutorials on it?

Last, so I don't have to replace the 'dogbone?'

Thanks
Doug

I would also want to know more about this. is the wagon the same as the sedan, motor mounts wise?

They are the same mounts