Hm. That was my first guess.

ButI don't think I'll ever figure out how on earth you're supposed to reach the engine mount nuts.

 

So I guess I should check my mounts too. I have driven a lot of manual transmission cars, and except for the 89 Prelude I had with cables instead of linkage, all of them move a little. If you have stock motor mounts, there has to be a little movement. Maybe not a quarter of an inch, but there will be some.

 

Yes it would have some movemnet but nothing where its jerking the stick around and I don't think it would jump 1/4". His cars were also new. By the time the second registration would come up he would trade it in so they would only be two years old and low miles as he had a work truck he also took home.

 

Agreed. The shifter shouldn't be jerking around. I missed that the first timeI read his post. I can see itmoving that muchif he is in 1st gear and getting on and offthe throttle quickly, but not in normal driving. If the motor mountswere new then obviously there will be less movement, like your dad saw.

I may be wrong here, but aren't the nuts attached to the mount?Do the nuts spin when you turn the bolt? It's been years since I changed one, but I think I remember the nuts were spot welded to the mount.

 

According to both Haynes, the nut should be removable. Plus the new mounts don't come with either bolts or nuts.