ENGINE CRADLE BOLTS/FRONT MOTOR MOUNT (Page 1/1) eti engineer DEC 05, 08:19 PM I noticed that some of the cradles in here have bushings where the cradle bolts up to the to body of the car. When I pulled the cradle on my '88, there were no bushings on the front bolts or the rear bolts on the cradle. The cradle bolted directly to the frame with these four bolts. I think the front bolts are ok as they are, as I see no other way for them to work, but should there have been any bushings between the rear bolts and the body? It just seems like there could be a lot of noise transmitted to the car body without something there. I know that the engine and transmission are mounted to the cradle via rubber mounts, so maybe this is where the noise absorption occurs and the cradle is mounted directly to the frame. Just asking as I don't know... FYI, for those of you who may be replacing the front motor mount. The original motor mount is a rubber mount filled with a viscous liquid that is supposed to squelch engine noise from being transmitted to the cradle. The exact replacement runs around 400 dollars, so I went with the alternate replacement which is not viscous and costs a lot less. Honestly, I couldn't tell any difference in engine noise in the passenger compartment, using the non-viscous motor mount. So if you are trying to save some money, you might want to use the cheaper one of the two. Just passing this along... Thanks... olejoedad DEC 05, 08:25 PM The 88 rear cradle is solid mounted to the space frame - no bushings. cvxjet DEC 05, 09:04 PM Yes- the 88 cradle is solid mounted; The 88 suspension does a better job of isolation from bumps and impacts, so the rubber isolation is not needed. Also, the solid mounting makes the subframe act as a stiffener to the frame...basically, the chassis is stiffer and stronger. Note; I swapped my 85 SE V6 to an 88 rear subframe- I can feel the difference in stiffness of the frame and better ride/handling. (20 years stock suspension, then 16 years and counting on 88) eti engineer DEC 06, 05:00 PM quote Originally posted by olejoedad: The 88 rear cradle is solid mounted to the space frame - no bushings. Thanks for verifying this. I appreciate it. eti engineer DEC 06, 05:11 PM quote Originally posted by cvxjet: Yes- the 88 cradle is solid mounted; The 88 suspension does a better job of isolation from bumps and impacts, so the rubber isolation is not needed. Also, the solid mounting makes the subframe act as a stiffener to the frame...basically, the chassis is stiffer and stronger. Note; I swapped my 85 SE V6 to an 88 rear subframe- I can feel the difference in stiffness of the frame and better ride/handling. (20 years stock suspension, then 16 years and counting on 88) CVXJET, thanks for the explanation, and I can see why you would want to put the '88 cradle in your car after looking at some of the other subframes on earlier Fieros. All I know is I can take 35 mph curves at 65 mph and the tires don't even squeal. It's like driving a 175 hp go-kart!!! I still have the original 2.8 in the GT, but I have had it bored a bit, had a mild cam put in, and larger valves with hardened seats. Based on what I have figured, I think I am close to 175 hp and I can still pass CA smog. I think that my thermostat may be too cool, though. I may have to change it out as I only see about 130-150 when running down the road. I am running a little close on one exhaust parameter that they check. I did some research, and it appears that it is because my engine is running very cool. I have a low-temp stat, a low temp fan switch and a new radiator. But the car was running upwards of 220-225 before I had the engine rebuilt and redid the cooling system. Those temps seemed too high for me.