Uploaded September 2017 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
Hey everyone, let’s talk about motor mounts. One of the most common bushings that fail on the S2000 is the motor mount bushing. Some people have motor mount bushings that fail as early as 50K miles. Failed motor mount bushings can lead to poor throttle response, sloppy shifting, and even mishifts. Today I’m going to show you three easy ways to determine if your motor mounts need to replaced.
1. The first way to determine if your motor mount bushings are shot is to visually inspect them. It will be difficult to see if the motor mount bushings are actually split but what you can do is look for is signs that the motor mount bushing is split. The S2000’s motor mount bushings are fluid filled and when they split they leave distinct orange-brownish fluid stains on the motor mount and subframe. If you see something like this you can be confident that your motor mounts need to be replaced.
2. The second way to determine if your motor mount bushings are shot is to physically test them. To test the passenger side motor mount you can insert a large breaker bar under the timing chain tension and above the shock tower. If the motor moves more than an inch when you apply force to the pry bar your motor mounts aren’t doing their job and should be replaced.
3. The last way to determine if your motor mount bushings are broken is to observe the movement of the shifter while driving. If your shift knob leans over during hard cornering it is possible that your motor mounts aren’t holding the motor in place and thus the transmission in place. If you track your car this behavior can be especially problematic because it can lead to mis shifts and mechanical over revving. ZentRose did a really great job explaining this in his video which is linked below.
If your car has over 100,000 miles I would recommend inspecting your motor mounts. I recently replaced mine and the improvement in shifting feel alone was worth it.
Stay tuned for some more videos about motor mounts.
ZentRose's video: youtube.com/watch?v=JK5hzv5k6Uk&ab_channel=ZentRose
Hey everyone, let’s talk about motor mounts. One of the most common bushings that fail on the S2000 is the motor mount bushing. Some people have motor mount bushings that fail as early as 50K miles. Failed motor mount bushings can lead to poor throttle response, sloppy shifting, and even mishifts. Today I’m going to show you three easy ways to determine if your motor mounts need to replaced.
1. The first way to determine if your motor mount bushings are shot is to visually inspect them. It will be difficult to see if the motor mount bushings are actually split but what you can do is look for is signs that the motor mount bushing is split. The S2000’s motor mount bushings are fluid filled and when they split they leave distinct orange-brownish fluid stains on the motor mount and subframe. If you see something like this you can be confident that your motor mounts need to be replaced.
2. The second way to determine if your motor mount bushings are shot is to physically test them. To test the passenger side motor mount you can insert a large breaker bar under the timing chain tension and above the shock tower. If the motor moves more than an inch when you apply force to the pry bar your motor mounts aren’t doing their job and should be replaced.
3. The last way to determine if your motor mount bushings are broken is to observe the movement of the shifter while driving. If your shift knob leans over during hard cornering it is possible that your motor mounts aren’t holding the motor in place and thus the transmission in place. If you track your car this behavior can be especially problematic because it can lead to mis shifts and mechanical over revving. ZentRose did a really great job explaining this in his video which is linked below.
If your car has over 100,000 miles I would recommend inspecting your motor mounts. I recently replaced mine and the improvement in shifting feel alone was worth it.
Stay tuned for some more videos about motor mounts.
ZentRose's video: youtube.com/watch?v=JK5hzv5k6Uk&ab_channel=ZentRose
