screen capture showing (sheared) Fiat engine mount, courtesy of Redline Auto Parts
I got a question today regarding our engine mounts, and started my research using Redline’s great video comparing 124 Spider components with those in the ND MX-5. First off, although our engine mount “perches” with the rubber isolator are Mazda castings (with Mazda logos in-fact), do not order these parts from Mazda! They need to be the Mopar versions (part numbers are shown below).
I think Redline may have mislead some people stating the lower mounts were the same as the Miata’s. Although the castings are the same for both vehicles (and have the same casting part #), until you compare the actual assembled mounts side-by-side, you won’t realize that the bolt protruding from the rubber isolators in the MX-5 mount assemblies are about an inch too short (thanks caineroad for pointing this out!).
Fiat right side engine mount perch ↑
Miata engine mount perch (photo courtesy of caineroad) ↑
The top engine mount “brackets” that are supplied with our engine are Mopar castings. I noticed that mtnghost commented “Good thing the bushing piece (isolator) as it’s called is the only part that should ever go out!”. Well, in the tear-down video, Redline pointed out (as shown in the top picture) that both the Miata and 124 Spider were involved in collisions, and it was the bracket(s) that sheared in both vehicles (by design; the isolator is encapsulated in a longitudinal collision).
Good thing to inspect for when buying these vehicles used, as unlike the replacement of body panels to hide evidence of involvement in an accident, the engine mounts could easily be ignored or “overlooked”.
The Mopar part #s…
21ˢᵗ Century Fiat / Abarth 124 Spider 