Replacing motor mounts M30

E28 technical advice asked and given! Troubleshooting, modifications and more.
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Dana in Reno
Posts: 92
Joined: Jul 06, 2008 5:00 PM
Location: Plumas County, California, USA

Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by Dana in Reno »

My 535is recently started making a clunking noise somewhere in the front of the car on hard left turns. This was after a 1000-mile drive down the California coast without this noise, or any other incident. The cause appears to be a broken motor mount on the right side. Makes sense: turning left pulls the broken mount apart, causing noise.

I'm going to replace the mounts on both sides for good measure. The way I've done this on other cars is to unbolt the motor mounts and use a jack to lift the engine from underneath so the mounts can be pulled out and replaced with new ones. It looks like that would work on this car, too, but people who have done this repair on an M30 E28 probably know some tricks that make a difference. Suggestions appreciated!
BDKawey
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sep 15, 2011 11:05 PM
Location: Carrollton, Ohio

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by BDKawey »

its extremely straight forward, ive jacked it up by the ac bracket. one side has a ground wire. maybe you wanna replace that but certainly dont forget it.
Dana in Reno
Posts: 92
Joined: Jul 06, 2008 5:00 PM
Location: Plumas County, California, USA

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by Dana in Reno »

Thanks, really helpful. Were you able to replace the motor mounts with the car on the ground, working from above? Or did you need to get under the car?
jayjaya29
Posts: 188
Joined: Jul 30, 2014 12:53 AM
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by jayjaya29 »

You do most of the work from under the car.
BDKawey
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sep 15, 2011 11:05 PM
Location: Carrollton, Ohio

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by BDKawey »

yeah definitely need to be under it. mount has a stud going up and another going down on each side of it. one side will sandwich with a nut to the front subframe and the other will sandwich the actual motor mount arm with a nut.

get all 4 nuts loose, jack up the motor as much as you can to the firewall and you'll be able to snake the rubber mounts out. especially the one that's already broken.

mounts also have a tiny little tab probably the size of a tic tac that helps locate them square on the subframe. you'll see what I'm talking about.
Dana in Reno
Posts: 92
Joined: Jul 06, 2008 5:00 PM
Location: Plumas County, California, USA

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by Dana in Reno »

Another note on this: the factory motor mounts seem to be NLA from all of the usual US-based suppliers. I didn't even find substitutes by Uro, Febi or the like. In the end I ordered a pair made by Hamburg Tech, which I've never heard of, from Pelican Parts. I'll let everyone know how they work out.
austin8753
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Joined: May 16, 2010 1:37 AM
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by austin8753 »

Dana in Reno wrote: Sep 23, 2022 10:25 AM Another note on this: the factory motor mounts seem to be NLA from all of the usual US-based suppliers. I didn't even find substitutes by Uro, Febi or the like. In the end I ordered a pair made by Hamburg Tech, which I've never heard of, from Pelican Parts. I'll let everyone know how they work out.
OE 535i/M5 mounts are NLA from BMW, with no expected ETA. it's suspected that Hamburg Technik was the manufacturer of the OE mounts, for the last several years. the quality is not awesome, but if it's all we can get.... not much ado about that.

that being said, i've ran them, and as long as you understand they will probably only last a couple years, they'll be fine. the rubber likes to break down and either collapse, or tear, generally on the exhaust side.
Dana in Reno
Posts: 92
Joined: Jul 06, 2008 5:00 PM
Location: Plumas County, California, USA

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by Dana in Reno »

The old motor mounts were in there for as long as I've owned the car, so at least 15 years, and they have BMW roundels on them, so they could be original. The one on the exhaust side was broken into 3 pieces. Will be interesting to see how long the Hamburg Technik replacements last.

Thanks everybody for help and advice!
thrty8street
Posts: 577
Joined: Feb 21, 2011 1:13 AM
Location: Maryland

Re: Replacing motor mounts M30

Post by thrty8street »

Dana in Reno wrote: Sep 24, 2022 5:49 PM The old motor mounts were in there for as long as I've owned the car, so at least 15 years, and they have BMW roundels on them, so they could be original. The one on the exhaust side was broken into 3 pieces. Will be interesting to see how long the Hamburg Technik replacements last.

Thanks everybody for help and advice!
Any feedback on how the Hamburg-Technic motor mounts are holding up? I need to replace my mounts and am looking into what options are currently available.
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