Hi all,

The engine mounts in my car are SHOT, i've got to replace them and i'm obviously looking at the prothane mounts.

I've read heaps of threads about the extra cabin noise/vibration that these cause. This is all well and good for most of us on this forum, but i've been considering selling my car this last week (maintenance costs are just getting too high, in the past couple of months i've had an electrical issue that cost $300 in parts to fix, i've done front brakes and driveshafts, and now i've just had to replace an engine :rolleyes: ).

For those with prothanes, do you think that the vibration is too much that it could possibly hinder a sale? The car may not go to a "true enthusiast", and therefore the average buyer may think the noise is too harsh.

Please give me your opinions, I don't want to fork out for genuine Nissan mounts if I don't have too. If I was definately keeping the car I wouldn't even hesitate to go the prothanes myself.

Cheers :cheers:

If you are going to sell the car.... DO NOT put the prothanes in. No "normal" person in there right mind would buy a car that vibrated the way the prothanes make them vibrate.

And on that note... i have prothanes.. and i love them.

Just a side-note, my car is probably worth about AU$8000 - $8500, they are not as cheap as they are in the U.S. I mention this because somebody paying $2000 for a car may not worry so much about noise as opposed to a person paying $8000.

Thanks.

If you are going to sell the car.... DO NOT put the prothanes in. No "normal" person in there right mind would buy a car that vibrated the way the prothanes make them vibrate.

And on that note... i have prothanes.. and i love them.

That's exactly what I was thinking....damn. The genuine mounts cost a fortune!

Buy some from Fred, he had a crapload of mounts, some stock some ES last time I looked.

That's exactly what I was thinking....damn. The genuine mounts cost a fortune!
I've got them, I love them. Most average consumers probably would not.

Keep in mind, you may still keep the car. I hope.

However, you could put in the Prothanes for very little money. If you decide to sell the car, and the vibration is hurting the sale (it might just be another enthusiast), then switch back to OEM on the big liquid filled mount. That mount is the most expensive OEM mount by far, and it does not resist the rocking of the motor directly.

Dave Coleman at Sport Compact Car did this way back in the day utilizing Energy Suspension stuff, but the same idea. He was very happy with the compromise and greatly reduced NVH by utilizing that one OEM mount.

You're not out that much for a set of Prothanes if you decide later to throw one away.

R0b_ - importing used car parts into Australia would be very messy for customs and quarantine purposes, especially if the parts have rubber in them. I'm looking for some used ones in Australia aswell so your suggestion is still on track.

Shawn B - i've read some other posts about using some prothanes and some stock to reduce NVH, this may be the answer i'm looking for for an affordable compromise, thanks for your input.


The thing is, i've replaced so much on this car now that it *should* be reliable for another 100,000 km's!! It's a toss up whether or not I sell it. If I keep it and something else major goes wrong, i'll be PISSED!

You could also just put in the dogbone mount and keep the original rubber. With even just the dogbone mount, it will make a big improvement and you will be pleased. Then if you sell the car, you only have to swap out the dogbone inserts. That's easy. My .02

^ ^ ^ problem is all the mounts need to be replaced :(

I am just curious but, if you are selling the car...Why bother replacing the mount's?

I'd adjust the idle a little so it idles smoother with the mounts in. That's really the only time someone is going to notice.

Another option might be to buy the prothanes, and drill some holes in them to soften them up some. But you'd have to make a pretty good guess at what it'd take to do that since you don't want to ruin them and you don't want to be putting mounts in and out 10 times adding more and more holes until you get it just right.

You might also consider pouring your own mounts using a compound that's softer like the OEM. I'm not sure what that would cost you though.

I am just curious but, if you are selling the car...Why bother replacing the mount's?

The mounts are screwed and causing horrible vibration issues. The car would not sell as is, has to be rectified. They've got tears in the rubber, and have pretty much collapsed.

The mounts are screwed and causing horrible vibration issues. The car would not sell as is, has to be rectified. They've got tears in the rubber, and have pretty much collapsed.
Oh alright, well I guess you're going to have to put up the money for new OEM's or Prothane's(maybe something similar)?! Either way I hope you find a solution quickly and easily...

This took me about 60 seconds to find and should be a good solution to replace some or all of your mounts. Just don't go with really stiff material if you want to keep out the vibration.

Link (http://www.sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=74431)

If you try it, let us know how it works out...

going to Nissan is going to cost you $$, going to NAPA or whoever will be somewhat less, but they're not cheap. But hell, if you've already bought a motor, WHY didn't you put them in then???????????????????????????????????

Sounds to me like you've got the car pretty much glued back together - what else are you gonna need to do? Look at that vs. a car payment; my guess is you can keep the car.

^ I did DIY mounts on two of my SE-R's before prothanes were available. They vibrate much less than prothane because they don't contact the chassis directly.

Just make sure the steel case for the stocker is straight, and drill/scrape/cut the rubber out. Leave just enough to keep the pin centered. Tape one side shut, pour and wait. Very liveable.

If you go with prothanes I'd be inclined to shave 1-2 mm off of each side to eliminate the contact with the chassis that causes most of the vibration.

Junkyard and es inserts anyone?

When I had the worn stock mounts in my 93 replaced with new stock mounts the vibration goes MUCH better, almost completly went away. I'd stick with stock.

Chances are if someone doesn't know much about cars, they won't be worried about shot engine mounts... Mine were bad in the front and I didn't even know it. If you sell it and an enthuisiast wants to purchase it, I'm sure they will understand what your going through.

I don't think you should put any more money into it if your going to sell it... just make it look nice.

Hopefully I'm not reiterating anyone

^^Isn't that kinda immoral? If he knows the mounts are shot, he should either fix them or inform the buyer. And if its vibrating bad as it is, not fixing it could hinder the sale more than new prothanes would.
I would buy 2 or three prothanes(either dogbone and rear or dogbone, rear, and tranny), then wait a month or so to let them break in, then bump the idle to reduce the vibration...if you can't find decent used stock ones