[BrendanP]

I replaced the left upper engine mount at the weekend. Not too hard. First raise the car high enough to get underneath to remove the plastic tray under the engine. Place a trolley jack under the gearbox to take the weight. Disconnect and remove the battery, and unbolt the battery tray. It's a swine to get out because of all the wiring clipped to it, I held it out of the way using a bungee cord.

Unclip the top of the air filter and leave it out of the way. Unplug the cable looms from the ECU then remove the bottom bit of the air filter box, so you now have access to the engine mount. The bolt marked A is hard to get to because of the wiring loom that sits over the head. Remove the 2 screws holding it on, plus the screws holding the bracket that support the thick wiring loom running vertically. This gives just enough movement to get a ring spanner over the bolt head to loosen it. Bolt B under the mount is hard to get to as well, but using ring and open-ended spanners it is possible. Fortunately, once they're loose they were easy to undo using fingers. These 4 bolts are all 14mm AF.

The two 17mm AF bolts holding the mount to the gearbox were very tight, I had to borrow an impact wrench to break them free.

Next job is the mount at the front of the engine. I managed to undo all the bolts but couldn't manipulate it out of position past the clutch master cylinder and radiator fan. I reckon if I take the cooling fan out I can extract it.

[BrendanP]

Here's an update on replacing the lower engine mount, the one at the front that controls rocking backwards and forwards. First step is to lift the front of the car on ramps or similar so you get underneath far enough to remove the plastic tray. Then, drain a couple of litres of coolant from the radiator, catching it in a bowl so it can be put back when finished.

Remove the air intake ducting by undoing the two bolts holding it one and pull the hose away from the air filter box. Remove the radiator fan by first undoing the bolts that hold it in each top corner, and the bolt in the middle that attaches the hose clip. Disconnect the electrical plug, and pull the top-up hose off from where it attaches to the expansion tank and the radiator. Pull the radiator fan upwards whilst holding back the clips in each bottom corner. The radiator fan can then be lifted out, holding the top-up hose and big water hose out of the way as you pull it up..

With the radiator fan out if the way, it's much easier to get to the engine mount. remove the long bolt that goes through the middle of the mount, then the two bolts which can be seen from above. There's another bolt which has to be done from below. All bolts are 14mm AF

Fitting the new mount is just following these steps in reverse. Don't forget to refill the coolant tank.

I didn't buy an OEM part, and had to file out the holes for the upper bolts in order to get the bolts back in. Seriously guys, it's 2023, is it too much to ask to have holes in the right place?