Tempo/Topaz front motormount / swaybar help please

Greetings,

I am doing my first '89 Tempo/Topaz motor mount replacement. It's the
one under the battery/airbox on the drivers side. I have removed the
rubber part, but cannot get a good grip on the three 13mm bolts that
hold the top metal half to the automatic transmission. My tools are all
either too big to fit in there or too small to get any torque on. Any
tips for getting those off?

I think I can get better access if I drop the big plate that the bottom
of the motor mount and the sway bar bracket bolts to. Is it safe to
remove that, or will the sway bar under tension a) break my arms in the
process and b) make it impossible to reinstall the plate?

For a visual, see this picture as viewed from underneath the radiator
looking towards the drivers side:

http://i5.tinypic.com/20hpk4j.jpg

The red bracket is the one I need to remove. The green one I'm not sure
if it's safe to remove.

Thanks for any advice...

wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I am doing my first '89 Tempo/Topaz motor mount replacement. It's the
> one under the battery/airbox on the drivers side. I have removed the
> rubber part, but cannot get a good grip on the three 13mm bolts that
> hold the top metal half to the automatic transmission. My tools are all
> either too big to fit in there or too small to get any torque on. Any
> tips for getting those off?
>
> I think I can get better access if I drop the big plate that the bottom
> of the motor mount and the sway bar bracket bolts to. Is it safe to
> remove that, or will the sway bar under tension a) break my arms in the
> process and b) make it impossible to reinstall the plate?
>
> For a visual, see this picture as viewed from underneath the radiator
> looking towards the drivers side:
>
> http://i5.tinypic.com/20hpk4j.jpg
>
> The red bracket is the one I need to remove. The green one I'm not sure
> if it's safe to remove.
>
> Thanks for any advice...
>
Ok, Yes you have to remove the big plate that holds the sway bar. With the wheels
hanging, most of the pressure will be downward. If you support the wheels (bring them
up a few inches) this will take the pressure off of the plate. It helps to loosen both
plates (Right and left) to take pressure of of the sway bar.
While you are doing motor mounts, do the rear trans mount, straight back across the
trans from the one you are replacing. It's the one that takes up the most torque while
driving. It's the one that fails the most often. That front one usually doesn't go bad.