92 manual transmission in a 91 saturn

Johninca · 06-18-2007, 02:19 PM

I just put a 92 manual transmission in may 91 saturn SL and noticed a few differences in the transmissions between the two model years. In the 92 they took out some bolt holes on the lower back support, the bottom support on the transmission has a steel bottom plate, and the theres a big lever on the left side of the transmission on the upper front. The engine definitly moves back and forth and I was wondering if anybody has some ideas on how to effectively brace it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.------------John

Blue00SL2 · 06-19-2007, 01:35 AM

The 5 Speed Trannies are interchangable for the years '91 - 02. There should be 2 Motor Mounts and a TAM Engine Mount. The Factory ones have Hard Rubber.

If the Motor Mounts and the TAM Mount are broken or just old, they will create the engine to move any time you press on the gas pedal.

You can locate the 2 Motor Mounts & TAM Mount over at SDA:
streetdesignauto.com (Mike is the Owner).

SZP Racing use to have the 2 Motor Mounts (they are the Factory Metal Mounts but have Polyurethane Bushings instead of the Hard Rubber).
szpracing.com (Joel is the owner). I juet went into Ebay and into the szpracing store, but I don't see that Joel has any of these available.

**Ssicarman** · 06-19-2007, 03:24 AM

From what I have heard (we didn't get the 91's up here) 91 was a year all unto it self. Completely different motor and trans mounts. I believe that the 92 trans has remnants of the mounts from the trans to the frame on it still.
So part of the reason your engine moves so much may be the way the engine and trans mounts worked or it may be due to missing mounting pieces that you didn't get with the 92.

PurdueGuy · 06-19-2007, 04:25 AM

+1 for '91 having odd mounts. Sorry, I don't know more than this, just wanted to confirm that it is different, and you'll have to take that into account.

the Shaolin UWP · 06-19-2007, 09:47 AM

I had the first response but my computer exploded and I never made it back...

Yes, the 91 had odd mounts. Make sure you have 4 mounts, it kind of sounds like you're missing the top mount on the transmission.

Johninca · 06-19-2007, 04:48 PM

A little historical prespective----when the 91 was debut the critics said the engine was rough so Saturn modified the engine mounts to lower vibration from the engine and drive train (History of Cars). It has four mounts 1)front-top-left [TAM?],2)right-bottom-right, 3) back-bottom-left/mid-bracket, 4) left-bottom. The changes all appear to be to the mounts on 92 manual transmission. The front support was changed to a lever that attaches on the left side, the bracket support they removed two bolts (so it swivels on the the one bolt), and the bottom-left support had a metal plate added. At first I was going to drill, tap and put in the missing bolts in the bracket to transmission. But drilling aluminum is difficult because it gauls and I wasnt sure if they left enough aluminum to drill anyway. Last night I drilled a hole into the left engine compartment side and bought a piece of 3/8 all-thread, bolts, washers, and tubing to fit over the all-thread rod to reinforce it. I will run the rod through the old engine support, new lever support, and side wall. I will use this until I can get over to the salvage yard to look for the real left side bracket. -----i will take some pics to show you all what it looks like-----john

Joeybagodonuts · 06-19-2007, 04:58 PM

very good john, heres an exact breakdown how it went down in the states
the early 91-2s were heavily cristsized for engine and road noise as john wrote, in 92 and a half they did away with the first style mounts, early 91-2's had NO UPPER engine mount, but on that tranny they had a bracket that went to a shock aborber style mount, very costly about 300 bucks new at saturn if you had to replace it, interestingley enough saturn STILL continued to use up some of those old housings so even though in 93 they added the upper motor mount youll still find some leftover housings that were used from the factory in 93 and even some 94 models!
now, as far as the posters questions YES you can absolutley set yours up with the upper mount, pretty siumple job and if needed we have all the parts to do so, simple, the timing cover and valve cover get replaced which have the holes for the upper mount and proper clearance, the upper mount will bolt right to your inner frame, so for a half days worth of work and about 120.00 in parts from us you will have A MUCH SMOOTHER ride and we only sell mounts in as new condition.
interesting thread, i love history on cars espcially ones ive specilaized in like when we restored nissan z cars for the first 15 years of my career, i learned so many freak things that even most z enthusiasts didnt know it was awesome, same with saturns...check this out, another massive change , and this happened in 8 of 93, they changed the engine cradle completley, in 8/93 the cradle, the radiator set up was changed and to this day all s series use the same cadle and rads from 8/93 up to now.
john, if your still into your conversion let me know, i can sell you the parts so theres no drilling and its a factory bolt on set up as described. and kudos for your accurate hisotry on early saturns !
ps, our motor mount would come with the bracket your still looking for, if needed i caqn sell you any one of the parts by itself if youd like.. Joey

Johninca · 06-26-2007, 11:02 PM

I took a 93 automatic transmission bracket and attached it to the front of the engine compartment and attached the lever arm on the transmission to that. I also put in a new wheel bearing and my car runs smoother than it has in years. Thanks for the help--------

GoldieGoldie97 · 06-26-2007, 11:51 PM

i didn't know people still drove 91's lol..

Johninca · 06-27-2007, 09:32 PM

It drives great after ~300k miles. I bought it new January 4, 1991 at Galpin Saturn in the San Fernando Valley. It was the eighth one sold by that dealership. At the time it was the only one in Los Angeles. The guy who sold it to me is now the Saturn sales manager at that dealership. Its crazy but the car has a spell on me and I can't sell it. I think its because it was GM's attempt to make the best car in the world. Of coarse they fell short and have since lost their mission in my opinion, but it was a courageous effort.