HOW TO: MS3 Engine Torque Damper Install

Captain KRM P5

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2002 BJFW, 2007 BK3P, 1979 SA22C, 2005 BK3P
Heard a few people say they were having issues getting this long delayed damper installed. Here is the how to for this damper, which we will be selling from this point on in lieu of Mazda3Mods. It fits easier and better than the WeaponR damper on the mazdaspeed3 and provides a nicer looking addition to the engine bay with all the benefit and none of the negatives from a full replacement mount.

First thing you'll want to do is support the engine. A jack underneath providing just enough tension and support on the oil pan (with a block of wood or other such spacer) will do the trick. Last thing you want is the engine to sag. Makes the install difficult if not impossible.

These nuts on the engine/mount need to come off. They are usually pretty tight so pack some muscle or pack some leverage;

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Next, the studs need to come out of the engine. You will be replacing these have no fear. Reverse torx socket is required for this;

damper3.JPG


Now, place the supplier spacer support atop the bracket;

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This is how the bracket and bolts will drop in to the mount;

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Tighten these bolts down TIGHT. I do not recommend an air wrench because you do not want strip out the threads on the aluminum.

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Almost there. Now we need to remove the three bolts from this plate on the passenger side strut tower and place the new bracket on top;

damper9.JPG


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Now we need to attach the damper to the two brackets with the supplied nuts and bolts as shown;

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Once everything is in, retighten and recheck everything. The silver nut on the shaft of the damper itself should be tightened all the way shut for the maximum effect.

Enjoy!

damper17.JPG
 
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Clearance on the oil cap seems to be pretty close, no interference right?

the angle is funny, but the cap in reality rises a hair above all of that assembly and unscrews / screws on as normal

What size reverse torx socket for the studs? And any torque specs, or "gudenteit" suffice?

believe it was E6 for the socket. the studs in the engine mount were hand tight honestly when we pulled them out :( so we simply cranked them down as tight as we could go

Excellent write up (as usual) -- about how long did this take?

about one hour
 
whats up with the mounting of damper one on top one on botom of bracket
this keeps the damper level, the strut tower bracket sits higher than the bracket on the engine. also keeps it clear of interfering with the hoses and lines.

the one above picture is not correct, i will delete it for clarity. the bottom image is correct.

holy s*** NO

those bushings are replacements for the damper...

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the bracket is supposed to be FLUSH against the spacer.

hmm, not the directions i got from M3M. i'll check with him again and check our install to be 110% certain. if i'm wrong, i'll make the changes here and have a mod clean up the thread
 
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believe it was E6 for the socket. the studs in the engine mount were hand tight honestly when we pulled them out :( so we simply cranked them down as tight as we could go

hand tight? holy crap, your engine was on the verge of dropping then.

the studs should be super tight, i think the torque spec for those is more than 80ftlbs...
 
ken, i already have the trz combo which i love. why should i buy this? sell me!!!

its one more piece of the puzzle to lock this engine in. all three corners are covered at this point and your engine simply will NOT move, anywhere. you don't have to pull the mount on the passenger side and do a full replacement. plus its engine bay eye candy at its finest.
 
Ha...what kind of noise

engine noise. kinda like having a stethescope on your engine with the earpiece connected to your strut tower, transmitting the sound into the cabin through the firewall.

some people will find the sound invigorating because the ETD makes the car sound really good while driving hard. but under normal driving it makes it impossible to use a speakerphone.
 
engine noise. kinda like having a stethescope on your engine with the earpiece connected to your strut tower, transmitting the sound into the cabin through the firewall.

some people will find the sound invigorating because the ETD makes the car sound really good while driving hard. but under normal driving it makes it impossible to use a speakerphone.

Does it really make it THAT loud? I was under the impression that the ETD didn't do all that much in terms of performance or NVH.
 
Does it really make it THAT loud? I was under the impression that the ETD didn't do all that much in terms of performance or NVH.

it makes a major performance difference on cars with just a rear mount or no upgraded mounts
 
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