Motor mount replacement tips: Lower entire sub-frame vs. Factory Procedure

[S4Gibbs]

Looking to replace my factory motor mounts to 034 Street density and was wondering what the current preferred method is. Below is a pros and cons list from my research so far. My opinions are in (parenthesis).

034 Procedure - Lowering entire subframe at once(Clickable link):
PROS:

1. Can replace both mounts more quickly. (Is it easier though?)
2. No need to remove vacate/replace refrigerant to remove AC compressor
3. No need to remove drain oil to remove Oil Cooler

CONS:

1. Need to get an alignment after job, to correct camber.
2. 3-point engine support recommended. Harbor Freight support might not cut it.
3. (Lowering the entire subframe may cause increased stress elsewhere in drivetrain)

Factory Procedure - Replace one mount at a time(Clickable link):
PROS:

1. No need to get an alignment afterward
2. Can use Engine support bar

CONS:

1. Need to remove AC compressor (unknown procedure and replacement bolts)
2. Need to remove Oil Cooler (Gasket + bolts needed)
3. (Takes more time?)

Also, Audi recommends replacing the motor mount bolts and subframe bolts. Is this necessary? Any other tips and tricks from experience? Thanks All.

[B7TitaniumA4]

I did mine in roughly 4 hours.
Harbor freight engine bar.
Put a jack under trans mount and remove bolts, this will give you the ability to lower the trans and lift the engine to get it angled to provide room to work.

Get the engine bar and jack under the trans set up. Remove the center mount bolts and the side mount bolts (go through subframe) lift engine and lower trans just enough to gain access to the 2 triple square bolts behind the oil cooler. Then work the mount and “bracket” out.
Passenger side is a breeze, driver side is a bit more tricky but can be done without removing the a/c compressor. (Which can be removed and swung out of the way without removing any lines.

I replaced the center mount bolts only per the manual, the lower bolts and subframe bolts were reused.







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[Corydms7]

Lol. Thanks bro! I just stumbled across this and screenshot your response. Will come in handy when it’s time to do mine.

I did mine in roughly 4 hours.
Harbor freight engine bar.
Put a jack under trans mount and remove bolts, this will give you the ability to lower the trans and lift the engine to get it angled to provide room to work.

Get the engine bar and jack under the trans set up. Remove the center mount bolts and the side mount bolts (go through subframe) lift engine and lower trans just enough to gain access to the 2 triple square bolts behind the oil cooler. Then work the mount and “bracket” out.
Passenger side is a breeze, driver side is a bit more tricky but can be done without removing the a/c compressor. (Which can be removed and swung out of the way without removing any lines.

I replaced the center mount bolts only per the manual, the lower bolts and subframe bolts were reused.







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[S4Gibbs]

I did mine in roughly 4 hours.
Harbor freight engine bar.
Put a jack under trans mount and remove bolts, this will give you the ability to lower the trans and lift the engine to get it angled to provide room to work.

Get the engine bar and jack under the trans set up. Remove the center mount bolts and the side mount bolts (go through subframe) lift engine and lower trans just enough to gain access to the 2 triple square bolts behind the oil cooler. Then work the mount and “bracket” out.
Passenger side is a breeze, driver side is a bit more tricky but can be done without removing the a/c compressor. (Which can be removed and swung out of the way without removing any lines.

I replaced the center mount bolts only per the manual, the lower bolts and subframe bolts were reused.

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Awesome, thanks for the detailed post man. Extremely helpful!

How do you lift the engine while lowering the trans though? I assume there's plenty of clearance for the driveshaft and exhaust flex joint?

[djn876]

There is room and it doesn't have to move a ton. I have an SQ5 so a little more room, but we lifted the engine and loosened the subframe bolts to lower it a little as well.

Do yourself a favor and take the oil cooler off on the driver's side, it's a couple of volts, you'll lose maybe an ounce or two of oil, and it makes it so much easier to get in and out. No need to disconnect the hoses, just unbolt it from the engine.

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[S4Gibbs]

There is room and it doesn't have to move a ton. I have an SQ5 so a little more room, but we lifted the engine and loosened the subframe bolts to lower it a little as well.

Do yourself a favor and take the oil cooler off on the driver's side, it's a couple of volts, you'll lose maybe an ounce or two of oil, and it makes it so much easier to get in and out. No need to disconnect the hoses, just unbolt it from the engine.

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Thanks, I'll definitely take the oil cooler off. I'll do anything to avoid an alignment though.





I've read through a couple of pages of Motor Mount threads, but what wondering what current opinions are on 034 Street Density Mounts. I've read mixed reviews: some say 034 Streets are perfect for a 6MT daily, others say the NVH is definitely noticeable and passengers will complain...

[djn876]

Thanks, I'll definitely take the oil cooler off. I'll do anything to avoid an alignment though.





I've read through a couple of pages of Motor Mount threads, but what wondering what current opinions are on 034 Street Density Mounts. I've read mixed reviews: some say 034 Streets are perfect for a 6MT daily, others say the NVH is definitely noticeable and passengers will complain...

Can't speak to 6 speed as I have ZF8, but I had zero change in NVH.

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[S4Gibbs]

Can't speak to 6 speed as I have ZF8, but I had zero change in NVH.

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Interesting, I've heard DSGs have more NVH than and 6MT. What condition were your old OEM mounts in when you replaced?

[B7TitaniumA4]

I put in CTS mounts in my 6mt with my recent engine out refresh and so far at idle it’s smooth with no noticeable added vibration.

Have not driven it yet tho…


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[SteveYem]

Recently I had 034 Street Density engine mounts put in my 2015 S4 6MT. No significant increase in NVH to report. Unfortunately no significant decrease in driveline lash either. Bummer.

[hunter_killer]

I have 034 street density mounts and I have a slight bump in NVH but nothing to complain about. You want NVH try a set of BFI billet mounts lol that would rattle stuff in my cup holders.


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[djn876]

Interesting, I've heard DSGs have more NVH than and 6MT. What condition were your old OEM mounts in when you replaced?

Still overall OK, but starting to look a little rough. One was starting to crack (drivers side?) but hadn't lost fluid yet as best I could tell, the other was almost cracking but had a pretty good depression. Drivetrain definitely felt more solid afterwards. This was at about 60k miles.

Was surprised as well, figured something would get a little noisier but noticed no difference at all. The trans mount was more noticable.

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[TappaNuKegga]

034 street mounts and Eurocode mounts both use 50 durometer solid inserts, so should essentially be the same.

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[TappaNuKegga]

Anyone happen to have the part numbers for the stretch bolts I'll need to replace on the subframe and/or actual engine mount bolts?

All the motor mount bolt kits I find on ECS and FCP are for other model Audis...

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[B7TitaniumA4]

2-#10 (mount to subframe)
1-#11 (mount to engine)

Per side





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[TappaNuKegga]

2-#10 (mount to subframe)
1-#11 (mount to engine)

Per side





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You're the man! I'm guessing the 2nd #11 ok n each side goes into the subframe somewhere that's not shown in the picture?

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[B7TitaniumA4]

No, it actually goes through the center of the mount to the mount on the side of the block. There is an opening through the subframe that allows access…


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[TappaNuKegga]

No, it actually goes through the center of the mount to the mount on the side of the block. There is an opening through the subframe that allows access…


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Apologies! I meant second #10*, but after looking at diagram again after coffee I'm assuming the second #10(for each side) goes into the other/mirrored lower motor-mount hole in red below.



I may be wrong but I thought some of the other bolts we remove to lower the subframe we're TTY. Do the bolts you already mentioned include all subframe bolts I'll touch during this job?

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[B7TitaniumA4]

Correct on the 2 subframe bolts.

You have to remove the driver side rear subframe bolt to get the rear motor mount out, I didn’t replace this one. I also didn’t lower the subframe at all to do this work.


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[TappaNuKegga]

Correct on the 2 subframe bolts.

You have to remove the driver side rear subframe bolt to get the rear motor mount out, I didn’t replace this one. I also didn’t lower the subframe at all to do this work.


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Thanks man. The rear mount? As in transmission mount?

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[TappaNuKegga]

Do yourself a favor and take the oil cooler off on the driver's side, it's a couple of volts, you'll lose maybe an ounce or two of oil, and it makes it so much easier to get in and out. No need to disconnect the hoses, just unbolt it from the engine.

So to remove the oil cooler it's just a few bolts? Where is the oil lost from if we don't need to remove and hoses? Do I need to pinch or block any oil somehow?

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[B7TitaniumA4]

Thanks man. The rear mount? As in transmission mount?

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No, there are 2 subframe bolts that screw in vertically near the motor mount on each side. I can’t find a diagram. The rear bolt on the driver side has to be removed to access the rear mount bolt.

The oil will come out from the side of the cooler that connects to the pan. The hoses are for the coolant not oil.


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[djn876]

So to remove the oil cooler it's just a few bolts? Where is the oil lost from if we don't need to remove and hoses? Do I need to pinch or block any oil somehow?

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I lost maybe 2 oz of oil when I took the cooler off and yeah once you have stuff out of the way it's super easy to remove. It's not going to all dump out or anything. And yes, hoses are coolant and don't need to be removed at all, you can get it out of the way without touching them.

Also, there are just two mounts, one on each side. No idea what is meant by rear engine mount, I think he meant rear mount bolt.

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[fastboatster]

While on subject of mounts, what would be the effects of overly soft mounts? I.e., if for some reason you got sent a4 mounts instead of s4? Or if you got a4 trans mount? I’m pretty sure my engine mounts are fine since they were 034, but I think that I might have gotten an a4 trans mount, seems more easily “bendable” than the old mount. Wonder it that would cause an extra nvh due to extra drivetrain movement.

[TappaNuKegga]

While on subject of mounts, what would be the effects of overly soft mounts? I.e., if for some reason you got sent a4 mounts instead of s4? Or if you got a4 trans mount? I’m pretty sure my engine mounts are fine since they were 034, but I think that I might have gotten an a4 trans mount, seems more easily “bendable” than the old mount. Wonder it that would cause an extra nvh due to extra drivetrain movement.

I'm thinking softer mounts would lead to less vibration transmitted to cabin, but increased drivetrain movement. Could likely cause more of a lurch between gears (especially in a manual car). The increased play could likely also be felt when changing from acceleration <---> deceleration, in softer/worn mounts.

Are you getting some noticeably increased NVH with the 034 street mounts? I'm between those and buying OEM again

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[fastboatster]

I don’t think this is actually any of my mounts, swapped the old one in, no difference. It’s either my ac compressor or cooling fans. Probably fans rather than the ac compressor as the vibration sometimes starts when the ac is completely off. Will need to activate the fans manually and check. Oh, and the new trans mount I got turned out to be more or less the same stiffness as the old one, perhaps it got “broken in” or I just didn’t remember it correctly.

[bakedziti]

I lost maybe 2 oz of oil when I took the cooler off and yeah once you have stuff out of the way it's super easy to remove. It's not going to all dump out or anything. And yes, hoses are coolant and don't need to be removed at all, you can get it out of the way without touching them.

Also, there are just two mounts, one on each side. No idea what is meant by rear engine mount, I think he meant rear mount bolt.

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Lost 2 ounces of oil with the oil drained? Or did you leave your engine filled and only lost 2 ounces?

[hunter_killer]

Lost 2 ounces of oil with the oil drained? Or did you leave your engine filled and only lost 2 ounces?

You barely loose any engine oil as the cooler sits above the oil pan. Whatever residual is in the cooler or ports is what comes out. It’s pressure fed. You don’t have to drain your oil to remove the cooler.


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