This is a response that I posted earlier today. It is geared toward doing them on an SC, and I'm sure the n/a engine is twenty times easier to work on. Hopefully the mounts on my 92 n/a aren't broken (although after 213,000 miles I'd be shocked if they weren't). Not sure if the 96 3.8's had a knock sensor or not. If not one major headache can be avoided in this repair. Also, I think the regular 3.8's only had two mount to crossmember bolts on them.
"Oh, boy let's see if I can remeber everything. I got mine from mn12performance, but shop around for the best price AND QUALITY. There are a couple of poser solid rubber mounts out there. I couldn't find the real deal at any local parts stores so I ordered mine on line. The tip off was when they only cost like $20 for a pair at the store (I can't remember the brand name, but AutoZone and Advance carried them). Installation, well, I started by raising the car very high and supporting it with jackstands. Drop the front part of the exhaust (off of the manifolds) and get it out of the way. You will also want to disconnect the steering shaft just past the rag joint (mark the two shaft's relationship to each other so you can properly reinstall it). You can push the steering gear back into the passenger compartment quite a ways. I did not remove, but I did loosen both plastic windshield cowls. It would probably save some trouble to take them off, but it looked like too much of a bother to me at the time. As for the mounts. On the driver's side there are three bolts from the mount into the block, one mount through bolt, and three (I believe somebody correct me if I'm wrong) bolts from the mount into the crossmember. I used a bottle jack with a piece of 2X4 under the oil pan to lift and lower the engine. It takes up less space and it's easier to actuate, but if you don't have one a floor jack will do the same job. Raise up the engine slightly before you start removing the mount bolts. There is one rear bolt from the mount to the block which will be easily accessible. Also from what I recall all of the mount to crossmember bolts were easy to access as well. The buggers are the front two mount to block bolts and to a lesser degree the thru bolt. Note that I did not take anything off of the front of the engine. This would probably help on those three, but again I didn't want to bother. You will have to use a creative assortment of extensions and u-joints to get the front two mount to block bolts out. I got the thru bolt out with a long extension on a ratchet. The difficult part was getting the extension up in to where I needed it. After you get all of the bolts out you are ready to remove the mount. I'm guessing yours will come out in two pieces (upper and lower) as most do. I did not have much trouble getting the old mount out or the new assembled mount back in. It looks like it will never fit back in there, but keep wrestling with it and twisting it and it will go in. You may have to jack the engine up fairly high to get it in. Keep a very close eye on your windshield cowls if you did not remove them! The inlet plenum gets very close and if you're not careful you can break them. I loosely installed all of the bolts before torquing them down, otherwise you will have trouble getting them to all line up. I suggest starting with the front mount to block bolts as they are the most difficult to access. Button it back up and reinstall the steering shaft and you're good to go on that side. I know some people say take both out at the same time so you do not tear the new mount when you jack the engine up to do the otherside, but I did mine one at a time and did not have any such problems. The passenger side is easier and harder. The front two mount to block bolts are amazingly easy to access compared to the driver's side. The other bolts are fairly easy too (I think there are only two mount to crossmember bolts on this side). The difficult part on the pass. side is the knock sensor shield. It is right in the way when you go to take the old mount out and put the new one in. I CAREFULLY bent my shield down out of the way (you don't want to break the sensor!!) to gain access. I suppose you could also remove the knock sensor, but I think it is tapped into a water jacket in the block so all of the coolant would drain out of your block when you do. Putting the new mount in took the most time on this side. Just be patient and step away from the car if you start getting hot. I was on the verge of throwing wrenches several times and swore the new mount would never go back in but it did. Again keep an eye on the cowls when you are jacking the engine up. Bolt the new mount back in and you should be all set. Remeber to hook up any ground wires (some have them on both, my '94 had one on both sides while my '89 only had it on the pass. side) . Check ALL of the bolts and then put the exhaust back on and let it down. The first time you do it you will think it is the worst job in the world, but hang in there and take a break if you start getting ticked off when things aren't going well. Overall it is a very doable job. I would budget one day if you have never done this before. Good luck!"
