Street Unit Mount Story ... (Fail Inside)
 

A couple of weeks ago I started noticing a strange shhhhhh-type sound that was coming from the engine/tranny area when the car was moving. It wasn’t constant and was quiet to the point that i didn’t hear it at all with the music playing.

So yesterday, im on my way running errands, or i should say crawling errands considering that the average speed was probably around 30 km/h moving from one red light to another. All of a sudden i hear a knock. A LOUD knock. Praying in the back of my mind that it’s just some pop can that i ran over on the road, i turn off the music and start listening for new noises: there were plenty! Aside from the above mentioned knock that kept reproducing on every attempt to move the car forward, there was also some excessive shhhhhh-ing and other weird noises that you really don’t want to hear coming from your car. I pull into the first parking lot, stop the car, open the hood.... my engine sitting on an angle? a pretty sharp angle to the tranny side ... when my mechanic came down there and looked under the car we saw the engine sitting on the axle, the undercarriage ripped and the FMI pipe mount broken off. Called a flatbed, towed the car to the shop lifted it up:


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...1/DSC00455.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...DSC00459-1.jpg

...and pulled out this glorious SU side mount:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...DSC00453-1.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...DSC00452-1.jpg

It looks like it had been cracked for a while since it already started rusting inside the crack:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...DSC00454-1.jpg

Basically if it wasn’t for the CPE rear mount that held the engine in place and prevented it from dropping all the way to the ground while i was driving, cracking the oil pan and who knows what else.... the only damage sustained by the CPE mount was the ripped rubber bushing (which CPE instantly agreed to replace for me free of charge even though it wasn’t caused by a malfunction of their mount):

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...1/DSC00456.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e8...DSC00461-1.jpg

SU on the other hand had offered to issue me a refund for the mount and a $150 dealer credit. $150!!!! You gotta be kidding! After the towing, the new axle the undercarriage and other misc parts, plus labour my bill was in the $2000 zone. I guess I should be grateful that my SU rear mount had previously snapped 3 times after which i just gave up on them and went with CPE. Otherwise, chances are i would’ve been stuck trying to pay for a new engine with my $150 SU credit.....

Actually there is a Technical recall out for that engine mount to be replaced It Applies only to diesel engines not petrol engines but still you may want to get in touch with your local mazda dealer and inform them because it comes under the safety related recalls .