Alfa Romeo - How to replace a V6 top engine mount/stabiliser

Okay so I was bit bored today and remembered that I had a small 20 min job to do in the GTV. I needed to replace the top engine mount and bought one a while ago but never got around to completing the job. I dug up the spare part and toolkit and decided to document my process for all prosperity.

First things first, get out the brewskis for when the job is done.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010001edit.jpg


Get out the old tool kit and removed the required tools:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010027edit.jpg


This is what the replacement part looks like, slightly different to the part on my car but it fit well anyway:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010002edit.jpg


I opened the bonnet and stood back for a moment, admiring the beauty of the V6 engine:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010004edit.jpg


This is what the damaged part looked like:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010007edit.jpg


Right, down to business: Undo the first bolt holding the engine stay in place:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010005edit.jpg

Undo the next bolt:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010009edit.jpg


This is what the bolts look like once removed:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010010edit.jpg


The mounting in position with bolts removed:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010011edit.jpg


That pesky mounting was a little bit tight so I used the 13mm spanner to slightly release one corner of the mounting bracket like this (only a few turns are enough):

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010013edit.jpg


I used the 13 spanner to lightly prise the bracket upward to allow the mounting to be freed, like this:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010016edit.jpg


The next two images show how the old and new mountings compare with each other:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010015edit.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010014edit.jpg


New mounting installed:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010017edit.jpg


All bolts tightened again. Be carefull with the bolt that goes into the bracket on the engine, so as not to spoil the aluminium threads!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010023edit.jpg


Stand well back and admire a relatively simple job well done, you've saved yourself a few quid in the process! It really is that simple!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...010024edit.jpg