Jerrad:

Thanks for your words of advice and patience. I had my other motor mounts checked over by my mechanic (independent) and he confirms that, while not in pristine new condition, they certainly aren't bad, and should have several more years of life in them. The orientation of the installed bushing was correct. But, just to experiment, I rotated it 180 deg towards the front to see what it felt like. Not much different, although the center bolt was a bit harder to fit through the sleeve and bracket. Additionally, the ">" indicators were present on the bushing, although not in the position indicated on your spec sheet. They are faintly stamped on the side faces, not the front and back faces as the sheet would have one believe. So the blue bushing is now out of the car and the car is smooth running. I'm halfway tempted to leave it out, but I know that can't be good. I will get the OEM.

My take on the "problem": although not a structural engineer, your bushing is not soft enough to dampen the fore-aft vibrations. The motion is transmitted directly to the very small firewall bushing and just overwhelms it, causing the vibration to transmit straight to the firewall and all that is attached to it. If you feel the upper bracket while the engine is running and in gear under a simulated load, the amount of vibration is very small to the touch. The firewall amplifies it, however. If you just had a little more elasticity to this polymer, I think you'd have a fine and longer lasting OEM alternative.

The bottom line on this, I will be returning yours.

And yes, it is a blue bushing, not pink. My wife actually typed the original post, under my name, as she was impatiently waiting for me to post and it's her car that she drives day after day, and it truly is an annoyance. She mis-understood me when I told her the color.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.