Having a hell of a time with engine mount alignment, any help would be great

Ok so after my last timing belt job a month or two ago, I swapped both engine mounts and also the dog bone. I thought I had them All lined up right but when it was all back together I was having quite a bit of vibration from the engine. I’ve since tried to adjust the mounts and I seem to be making things worse. I think I’m pretty far out of spec now.

I’ve been supporting the engine with a floor jack and prying and pulling to get things lined up. Clearly this isn’t working, I think I’m kinda fighting the wheels on the floor jack. Would one of these be a better way to go?

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-engine-support-bar-96524.html

Is there a good way to start over idk. Would I be better off pulling the dog bone off to get the side mounts lined up? I’m just fighting way too hard to set the engine in place before I tighten things up. I’m seriously loosing my mind here, been working on cars my whole life, 2 successful ALH timing belts under my belt and a ton more. Why is it go effing difficult for me to set a couple engine mounts idk. Any help would be great, thanks in advance.

I'm surprised that this is an issue. I never thought much about the alignment of the mounts. When I've done them in the past I used that exact support bar and didn't have any issues. I'm wondering if something else is going on? Anyway, where are you located? I have that bar you can borrow if you're anywhere near NH

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Do you have the correct trans side mount for your trans (auto/man)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

sdominguez said:

Do you have the correct trans side mount for your trans (auto/man)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Its a 5 Spd, are the mounts different on the autos?

Sort of. ALH is the same for 4speed auto and 5 speed manual. The 5 speed auto (tiptronic) and 6 speed manual have different mounts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What’s your cars specs and where did you purchase the mounts, what’s their part number?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

sdominguez said:

What’s your cars specs and where did you purchase the mounts, what’s their part number?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

02 Jetta ALH 5spd

I can't find any info on the mounts I bought. They weren't expensive< I wanna say I got the set for about $140

It would be worth looking into and eliminating that chance before messing around with mechanics. What store or website did you buy them at?

I've found when R&R engine or trans mounts to micro adjust (jacking up or lowering) the supporting jack until the side of the engine/trans bolt I'm working on, until it backs out easy/installs easier. It's a "feel" thing, when you have it supported properly, you will feel just the tension of the bolt coming out. It won't feel like your are about to strip it. THAT helps with alignment BIG time...

Maybe the problem is not with the mounts, but unbalanced power from the four cylinders. Have you tried using VCDS and looking at measuring block 13 to see that all are within specs? Or the problem could be with a worn CV joint, sometime a worn joint does not show up until there is a slight change in the joint alignment.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk