How to determine motor mount health

I was Replacing my battery and noticed the engine cover was sitting off from level. A guy said it could be a broken mount. How do I determine if it’s true? Should I take it to a mechanic? Always questionable of mechanics?

 

There's no engine cover on the 2.7

That said, the black box on top the engine is supposed to sit at an angle. There's probably nothing wrong with your vehicle.

 

A broken motor mount will allow the motor to rotate and clunk under load,,, you’d know it for sure.

 

Thanks guys! That black box is at about 10degrees. Just noticed it. THanks again. There isn’t any “clunk” so I’m in the clear

I even wiped down the engine bay this past fall. H well.

thanks again

 

Rear wheel drive vehicles are quite easy to check motor mounts with two people who trust each other.
Most rear wheel drive vehicles have two motor mounts and one transmission mount, one motor mount is one the driver side and one on the pass side, the transmission mount usually attaches close to the rear output shift of the transmission(transfer case for 4x4).
With the hood open, engine running, shifter in drive, brakes applied(HARD), one person stands in front of vehicle when the driver revs the engine and watches if the engine tries to twist clockwise, if it does twist noticably then the driver side mount is bad, the pass mount probably isn't far behind.
Please note that I am aware there is a very small percent of engines that run counterclockwise but I don't know any of them.

 

The 2TR sits at an angle - lower to the passenger side. If the engine lunges when cranking it, the motor mounts are loose - YouTube has many videos on what failing motor mounts look like.

 

Passers by always say that with slant engines.

 

Here is a good video on looking for engine movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBw5iCU4-4U