Installing Woodhouse Transmission mount on a gen II

Jack B

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Question, I installed these and they went in without issue, however, the oem mounts must have hidden a minor engine vibration. With the new mounts I noticed a low rpm harmonic (vibration), it starts at 2200 and disappears at 2700. Does anyone else with rigid mounts notice a similar vibration
 

2000_Black_RT10

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Question, I installed these and they went in without issue, however, the oem mounts must have hidden a minor engine vibration. With the new mounts I noticed a low rpm harmonic (vibration), it starts at 2200 and disappears at 2700. Does anyone else with rigid mounts notice a similar vibration

Hello Jack - I can say that there are many challenges designing mounts from work experience, and yes there are advantages and disadvantages which you probably are aware of. To babble a bit... there will be more vibration issues, that is for sure, as surely Woodhouse didn't evaluate mounts or have the capacity to do so as we did at Chrysler. The benefits of a more rigid mount can include better shifting (less bushing compliance) and a slightly stiffer chassis, yet there will be some issues with vibration, heck even the headlamps vibrate.. and perhaps a risk of other issues on other components and electronics.

For something to share how in-depth engine mount development can be, as my name is noted on the last slide of this doc.. back when I worked at Chrysler (sorry.. when it was DaimlerChrysler..) in engineering if it's of any interest.

http://support.mscsoftware.com/cgi-...e=ri/1-13/1-13B2-2703/DaimlerChrysler_Sui.pdf

To comment about any aftermarket component supplier, they mostly don't have the resources to complete the full analysis of the entire system, as what may make one thing better, it may cause other issues. I did chose to use Woodhouse mounts on my Gen2, I am fully aware of the potential negative impacts that it could cause long term, but I really don't drive the car much and I prefer the result of having stiffer mounts regarding performance, whereas the shifting is more crisp and the powertrain feels more connected to the chassis.

I haven't had any issues and enjoy the performance advantages of Woodhouse mounts (the manufacturing quality is excellent), yet if I really cared about the longterm impact (i.e. if I drove the car for the next 100,000 miles) then I would not have used Woodhouse mounts due to NVH, but in this case, my decision was based on performance which outweighed longterm durability. It's like race cars, they typically have rigid mounts, even for suspension, but the life of a race car is much shorter compared to a street car, and the life of my Viper is somewhere in the middle. There is a risk, and just something to consider.

Best regards,
Mike
 
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ulllose

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I had the same vibration issue when I installed the trans mount. 2000-2800 rpms. I got annoyed with it after 500 miles and took it back out and put the factory one back in.
 

2000_Black_RT10

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I had the same vibration issue when I installed the trans mount. 2000-2800 rpms. I got annoyed with it after 500 miles and took it back out and put the factory one back in.

You are an example of the typical majority civilian / buyer that the OEM likes to make happy regarding NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness), and it is completely understandable (being sincere and not joking or being sarcastic). It is a challenge.

Cheers,
Mike
 
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ulllose

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Lol....yep I am. I didn't mind the feel before but I found after I installed the trans mount I noticed I had a broken motor mount..(which was the cause of the trans movement) ..so I replaced that and switched out the trans mount back cuz that vibration was annoying. The cars slammed with kw's and on forgelines 19/20 so the ride is already compromised , no reason to vibrate the fillings out of my teeth..:)
 

Viper #53

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Has anyone simply changed transmission mounts to Woodhouse and left the engine mounts stock? I have a broken transmission mount and contemplating only replacing that mount and not the engine ones for my '96 GTS
 

Garron

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Viper #53 If you have an engine mount go it will break the transmission, I have seen it happen. Do the engine and transmission together.
 

ulllose

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Has anyone simply changed transmission mounts to Woodhouse and left the engine mounts stock? I have a broken transmission mount and contemplating only replacing that mount and not the engine ones for my '96 GTS
I did just switch out the tranny mount....(engine mount was broke but I didn't know it). It did make it feel very firm/stiff.etc and that was with a broken drivers side engine mount...lol
The vibration would be there either way I'm sure.
 

ulllose

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Viper53---

Did you drop the underbelly pan and visually c the tranny mount?
I didn't when I changed mine and I just thought the movement I was feeling was from the trans mount. So once I went to change it I noticed it wasn't broke but I put the wood house mount in anyways and just caulked it up as normal tranny movement. Months later I figured out it had a Broken motor mount
 

Viper #53

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I'll pull the motor mounts to inspect them. I prefer not to have increased vibration but it seems the stock mounts tend to break. Mike's presentation is very interesting. I understand the research by Dodge regarding mounts was extensive, but it seems the compromise between reduced vibration and longevity of the mount in stressed environments (performance driving on street, not track) over taxes the OEM mounts.
James
 

MoparMap

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The aftermarket mounts tend to soften up after some good use I've found. Put Woodhouse mounts in a few thousand miles ago on my car when I found out one of my stock motor mounts was completely shot. The first start up and couple of drives to work were definitely a little on the buzzy side, but it's since calmed down quite a bit. The rearview mirror still shakes a decent amount at certain rpms, but I don't seem to feel it in the seat quite like I did before. 500 miles is probably on the verge of when they start to change a little, but I also daily my car, so they broke in pretty quick. I can understand people that only use them as weekend toys having a hard time adjusting.
 

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