Just replaced the top motor mount, driver side dogbone and transmission mount in the Saturn. Can't get the passenger side dogbone out without a right-angle impact or something similar to take off the shield below it.
Driving after that was pretty interesting; shifts are smoother, with a lot less fighting to get it into first, most of the noise I'd been attributing to the paper thin swaybar mount bushings (the ones on the frame, not the ones at the control arms, which have been replaced) is gone, and I can actually see lights in the mirror instead of wild patterns of lines that look like a psychedelic Spirograph picture.
The transmission side of the old mount moves freely 3/4 of an inch vertically and about a half inch to either side. The top motor mount was worse. Apparently, keeping stuff within an inch or two of where it's supposed to be helps the car work better. I'm calling that $33 well spent. Unfortunately, I also found what may be the start of a failing radiator flange. (One drop of coolant on the floor after two hours, and it was damp under the flange, so found pretty early.) That will be another $60-75, but will give me the excuse to drain the cooling system so I can swap in the water pump and thermostat I've had sitting around for a while. Might try to time it all for a head gasket change, just because I know that can't be very new. Maybe even spend the extra hundred bucks or so to replace the hoses and the radiator mount that I know is flexed a bit. (Which could be the cause of the flange failing if that's stressing it.)
