The front engine mount has been broken for a while. I finally ordered a replacement mount from AWR.
Installation was a breeze. The upper portion of the intake tube has to be removed, which is only held in by two 10mm nuts. Three 17mm nuts (two on studs, one on a bolt) secure the engine mount. Remove the nuts, pull out the bolt, slide the old mount out, slide the new one in, replace the bolt, install and tighten the nuts on the studs, then tighten the nut for the bolt. Took less than ten minutes with the car sitting on the ground.
The stiffer mount transmits much more noise at idle, but I don’t spend a lot of time idling. Clutch action while shifting is vastly improved since the engine isn’t wobbling anymore. I’ve yet to take it out on the highway, but I imagine it’ll be louder there, too. I can’t imagine it being a problem though.
Next up: My newly arrived GTSpec four-point lower brace. I hope to get it installed this weekend.
EDITED: Well, the GTSpec brace doesn’t fit. There were apparently some changes made to the 2001 and later Proteges, and mine is a 2000. The rear holes in the brace line up to the correct holes in the control arm mounts, but the front holes hang into empty space. I’m guessing Mazda added a brace at the threaded end of the front lower control arm bolt so it’d be mounted in a double shear instead of the single shear my car has. I might try to fabricate my own bracket to weld to the control arm mount so I can mount the brace. Haven’t decided yet.
