22k mile garage queen and I am cleaning out some of the minor bugs for a pal. A thunking noise on anything but smooth roads and similar to bad sway bar links but a little manlier in sound. Also, no staccato action like bad links going over rough road.

I'll skip the learning curve adventures but find the bushing in the spring loaded transmission mount has disintegrated while changing the trans fluid and filter.

This has got to be a potential source of a thunking noise. However, if not, it still needs tending to.

My questions:

Should I replace the spring along with the bushing? Is is mandatory on a cream puff given the limited cycles experienced by the spring?

Is the tongue that bolts to the transmission pan under the mount saddle for added stiffness to offset the 12 cyl torque? Does it exist on 6 cyl models? It's quite a sophisticated arrangement.

Is this picture the mount bushing?

 

I do see on Jagbits where you should replace at least the spring seats when replacing the bushing. Maybe that is the simple answer.

Also confirmed the bushing is correct in my pic above.

 

The bush in the pic looks OK. (its a long time since replaced mine !!)

The spring doesn't usually need replacing, it doesn't get much of a hammering, it is the bush, and probably the seating that do with all the oil blown around that location.

 

Thank you Fraser. Appreciate your input.

PS: My daughter is "working" me for a Fiat 500. :-)

 

Lovely little car !

 

The spring works both ways in compression and tension as the Trans moves up and down. They rarely need replacing. The bush is actually a bump stop. You should also replace the rubber cups on each end of the spring. This is usually where the noise comes from. Johns Cars sell a polyurethane replacement for the rubber bush and spring seat isolators which is not so prone to deterioration when exposed to oil and Trans fluid.

 

Thank you so much. The ground side rubber cup "looks" ok but the chassis side cup was missing. It was not re-installed a few years ago at a repair shop that clearly was baffled by the whole set up. They bent the trans pan and did not put in a new bushing.

I have only one cup (I thought I was ordering two) so I will call John's Car's in Dallas tomorrow and order both.

Below is a picture of the old bushing and a picture of all the parts save the second cup.