Cappuccino & Miatas

Project Cappuccino: Driveline Love with Monster Sport Bushings

As of 2023, every single Cappuccino ever made is a quarter century old.  In that time, rubber will harden, degrade, and fail.  This includes the bushings in all of the control arms as well as the bushings in the engine, transmission, and differential mounts.  Replacing these mounts will improve all sorts of aspects of the car: reduced wheel hop from reduced differential movement, better drivetrain response, and improved NVH as the mounts actually do their job of damping noise.

Monster Sport Cappuccino Engine & Transmission Mounts
Most of these mounts are still available from Suzuki, however we went with Monster Sport parts instead. Monster Sport’s engine and transmission mount kit are still rubber, but use a higher durometer rubber than Suzuki chose in the 90s. This should reduce driveline movement even further without a major increase of noise, vibration, or harshness (NVH). The kit you see here is Monster Sport’s Engine and Transmission mount set.
Monster Sport Cappuccino Differential Mount Kit
Monster Sport also offers a differential mounting kit in the same higher durometer rubber. These will reduce differential movement which should help with on-throttle traction.  Monster Sport is Suzuki’s official in-house tuning arm and finding the parts individually bagged, numbered, and with a lot number shows Monster Sport’s OEM level of quality.  We ordered both sets of bushings from Nengun which stocks all sorts of JDM aftermarket parts and has a good selection of Cappuccino parts.
Suzuki Cappuccino Transmission Mount
The Cappuccino’s transmission mount is at the very back of the transmission. We will be replacing the little rubber block that isolates the drivetrain vibration from the cabin. We performed this replacement when we were replacing our clutch so our gearbox was already out of the car. It is possible to do this without removing the transmission, though the exhaust will have to be removed and the transmission supported with a jack. You can refer to our clutch replacement article to see how we got to this point. It’s also important to check the hushings on the shift linkage at the back of the gearbox. If these are worn or aged, shifting will be very sloppy. Ours looked like they had been recently replaced.
Cappuccino Transmission Mount Lower Bolt
Once the transmission mount is unbolted from the chassis, slide a socket and extension into this hole to remove the bracket and mount from the transmission.
Suzuki Cappuccino Transmission Mount
Two more nuts secure the rubber mount to the mounting bracket.
Suzuki Cappuccino OEM vs Monster Sport Transmission Mount
The old mount was in decent shape, but the rubber starting to oxidize and crack, so it’s time to replace it. Simply swap the rubber block and reassemble.
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