An engine mount (motor mount) is a part of the car that holds down the engine in its compartment. It also absorbs the vibration that is given off by the engine so that you don’t feel all of that vibration in your car.
However, when a motor mount is broken, what happens? Can you drive with a broken motor mount?
You cannot drive a car with a broken motor mount because it is not safe. When the motor mount is broken, the engine is not properly held down leading to excessive vibration which may damage the engine and other parts of the car.
What is Considered a Broken Motor Mount?
A broken motor mount is a mount that is broken and hence, failed to hold down the engine and causes excessive vibration from the engine.
Normally, the metal part of the motor mount’s appearance would not change because of the material, but when you start to notice cracks or warps on the metal part or any evident sign of corrosion, there’s a high probability that the other parts of the motor mount would have been worn out excessively.
Signs of cracks or flaking on the rubber part are an indication that the motor mount is wearing out and its performance is getting limited. How bad the motor mount has gotten is dependent on the severity of the cracks.
Can You Drive with a Broken Motor Mount?
You cannot safely drive a car with a broken motor mount because of the excessive vibration that will occur.
A motor mount is supposed to hold an engine in its place thus preventing excessive vibration from the engine, if the mount is broken, the vibration can be unsafe and can spoil other parts of the car.
The more you use a car with a damaged motor mount, the more it gets damaged and inefficient at absorbing the vibrations and keeping the engines together.
At some point, you’ll start feeling the vibrations in your car, and there’ll also be loud unpleasant noises from the engines.
When you’re driving with a broken motor mount, you won’t enjoy the luxury of having a smooth ride because the engines are no longer being held in place again.
They’re shaking and they can even make the car start shifting to the side because the weight of the engine is no longer held evenly by the mounts.
What Happens if you Drive with a Broken Motor Mount?
Driving a car when the motor mount is broken is very unsafe considering that the motor mount holds the engine together. Now the engine is not properly held together, it would cause the engine to keep shaking and making loud noises.
Also, the motor mount is made up of rubber and metal parts, the rubber parts of the engine mount wear off before the metal parts, when the rubber part is worn out, the metal part still does its job of holding the engines down together but there’s nothing to keep the engine’s vibration from getting into your car. Therefore, your car will continue to vibrate until you replace the motor mount.
How Long Can You Drive with a Broken Engine Mount?
Engine mounts usually last between 5-7 years and they could get worn out before this time so you should always get them checked out every time you go for service repairs and also replace them if need be.
If you are experiencing only the minor symptoms of a bad engine mount you can keep driving your car for thousands of miles until you start noticing more serious signs, then you have to replace the motor mount.
You should not drive your car after major signs that the motor mount is broken because the other mounts will be stressed as they will be doing the work of carrying the part where the broken mount is supposed to hold together.
Should I Fix or Replace an Engine Mount?
Engine Mounts cannot be fixed once they’re broken, you have to buy another one to replace the worn-out engine mount.
Engine mounts don’t get worn out easily and when they are eventually worn out, they get so bad because the rubber material that absorbs vibration is already cracked and there are signs of corrosion on the metal parts also.
Fluid-filled mounts start leaking once they get worn out and they cannot be replaced, once an engine mount is worn out, there is no remedy or way to go about it other than to get a new one as a replacement.
Meanwhile, you should replace your motor mount as soon as it gets spoilt. Trust me, you don’t want anything that will cause you to get a new engine for your car.
How Hard is it to Replace Motor Mounts?
Motor mounts are usually not so hard to replace just that you need technical know-how before trying to replace your broken engine mounts with new ones.
They are not very easy to access in vehicles that have three to four mounts because before you can replace a mount you need to support the engines.
If you would be replacing the motor mounts yourself you should check the user’s manual before you start so you’ll have an idea of where to touch and where not to, that way, you don’t spoil something else in the process of trying to fix the mounts.
How Long Does it Take to Replace a Motor Mount?
Replacing an engine mount usually doesn’t take too long, it just depends on who is doing the replacement. If you are taking your car to a professional for repairs, it shouldn’t take them more than an hour or two.
However, if you want to replace the engine mounts yourself, it would take you up to three hours to replace the engine mounts.
While you’re at it you should be careful not to place your jack directly under oil vessels or any other fluid container so they don’t get damaged. The jack should be directly under the engine mounts.
Can You Drive Without a Motor Mount?
Cars without motor mounts can be driven, but not for a long period because these types of driving conditions may cause damage to the vehicle and safety hazards to the driver and anyone around the car.
Motor mounts are used to hold the engine down to prevent it from constantly moving around as the vehicle moves.
The engines may hit other components in the car and damage them or themselves in the process, even the body of the vehicle could get damaged in the process too.
All of these damages are caused by the absence of motor mounts that keep them in place.
Hoses, connectors and other components going into the engine can get damaged as a result of the repeated tossing from left to right because there are no engine/motor mounts to hold the engines in place
Conclusion
The motor mount is a very important part of the engine and proper usage and maintenance of your car would mean you shouldn’t drive around when the mount is broken or damaged.