Engine/trans feels like its gonna fall out

[FPGT24]

i have a 99 sport 5 speed. when you hit a bump or a dip in the road the engine and trans feel like they are going to fall out of the truck. you can feel the engine and trans shudder like crazy when you hit a bump and you can visibly watch the shifter move up and down when that happens.

I have checked the truck out really good underneath and i cannot find anything wrong. I had a mechanic take a look at it, he put it on a lift and drove it, and couldnt find anything wrong with it just as i couldnt. he said the shocks were bad and that would probably cause it. ive driven a ton of explorers with bad shocks and none of them did this. its getting really bad now, the shaking is more violent when i go over dips in the road or hit just the slightest bump.

I'm getting irritated over this its so annoying. I had thought it was a bad transmission mount, but its not. Grabbing the driveshaft and putting force on it will cause the transmission to move a little, but im pretty positive a very small amount of play is normal. Anyone know what this is? Is it really bad shocks that can cause this? or is this bad motor mounts or.....??

 

[FPGT24]

...

 

[XLTrunner]

If it's that severe, I'd be looking at the motor mounts...and, double-checking the tranny mounts. Seriously doubt it's bad shocks...although, if they are shot, you need to go ahead and replace them anyway and then see what you get for a ride.

 

[Highflow50]

Engine and or transmission mount definitely. When the transmission mount went in my cameo the shifter would jump up and down.

 

[FPGT24]

Engine and or transmission mount definitely. When the transmission mount went in my cameo the shifter would jump up and down.

Trans mount seems ok. trans moves a little bit when you get underneath and put force on it but it looks like its the normal amount of play that ud expect a mount to have and the mechanic i took it to said the same thing. the U joints are good so it cant be that either. the motor mounts also look good and the motor does not move at all when you let the clutch out i left the hood up and drove it around my driveway and i did not see the motor move at all.

 

[colintrax]

If it feels like the motor and transmission are falling out, then it'd be what's supporting them. Motor or trans mounts

 

[cyrax99]

Trans mount seems ok. trans moves a little bit when you get underneath and put force on it but it looks like its the normal amount of play that ud expect a mount to have and the mechanic i took it to said the same thing. the U joints are good so it cant be that either. the motor mounts also look good and the motor does not move at all when you let the clutch out i left the hood up and drove it around my driveway and i did not see the motor move at all.

The best way to get a good idea of how worn the mounts are is to visually inspect the rubber for cracks. If you don't see any, feel the rubber itself to see if it is hardened and dry rotted. Everything about your problem sounds like an issue with the mounts. Your bell housing bolts are all tightened down too correct??

 

[Flash]

I can't imagine that a mechanic couldn't find bad mounts if the thing was on a hoist.

Have you tried bleeding the power steering?
I know it sounds unlikely but do a search for it on this forum you'll see that bad shakes from air in the power steering happens a lot.

You bleed the air by cycling the steering left to right with the engine running.

Find a big empty car park and do a few figure 8s.

 

[FPGT24]

The best way to get a good idea of how worn the mounts are is to visually inspect the rubber for cracks. If you don't see any, feel the rubber itself to see if it is hardened and dry rotted. Everything about your problem sounds like an issue with the mounts. Your bell housing bolts are all tightened down too correct??

I never thought of that. It could be bolts loose on the trans. I'm going to check on that. When it was on the lift i watched the mechanic go over it pretty good and he didn't find anything out of line. Hoping this is something stupid that is simply being over-looked i can't afford any major repairs.

 

[FPGT24]

I can't imagine that a mechanic couldn't find bad mounts if the thing was on a hoist.

Have you tried bleeding the power steering?
I know it sounds unlikely but do a search for it on this forum you'll see that bad shakes from air in the power steering happens a lot.

You bleed the air by cycling the steering left to right with the engine running.

Find a big empty car park and do a few figure 8s.

Theres just no way that air in the power steering system is causing this. It doesn't just do it when hitting a dip or bump from the front, it does it when hitting a dip in the road or bump from the rear as well. Its not just a shake its a side to side and up/down movement of the transmission and everything its attached to. I'm a small independent used car dealer that deals with different cars on a daily basis but when i had issues with cars like this it was always a motor mount. This though, is just strange.

 

[Flash]

Theres just no way that air in the power steering system is causing this.

Couldn't hurt to try.

 

[swshawaii]

Remote chance it could be BODY mounts? 2001-03 Sports and 2001-05 ST's
have very serious MCU foam body mount issues, not sure about earlier Sports.

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/183

 

[FPGT24]

Remote chance it could be BODY mounts? 2001-03 Sports and 2001-05 ST's
have very serious MCU foam body mount issues, not sure about earlier Sports.

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/183

Good call, a few hrs before seeing your post i was underneath it once again looking at every centimeter of everything. I still could not find anything much besides a rusted/dry rotted body mount on driver side right behind the wheel where the door opens. all the others look good. having someone bouncing on the rear and front of the truck while im underneath it nets nothing out of line, trans mount is strong and nothing shakes or moves. i give up. i think im just gonna sell it as a mechanics special.