I just did my first engine/gearbox removal and reinstall. I was assisted by my trusted mechanic friend who pretty much walked me through it and was there to offer pointers and to answer any questions and take the helm when needed. It took me every bit of 3 days for the R/I taking my time with everything and making sure I don't screw up. We ended up unbolting the A/C and PS pump/reservoir and leaving it in the car thus only requiring the dumping of coolant. We also dropped the rear subframe / suspension from the car in the process. I must say it was an educational experience for sure. We ended up putting in a new Sachs Motorsport 764PP/GT3RS4.0 disc/964RS flywheel along with new injectors, wastegate hoses, subframe bushings, etc. Whats interesting is the fact that the RUF/Sachs Motorsport clutch and flywheel that was replaced was in almost new condition after 16K miles. Hardly any wear at all. I must say that even with the engine out getting the fuel rails out is a fairly tedious process. My hats off to the guys that have managed to do it with the engine in the car.

 

Damn, not what I was hoping to hear! I was going to be buying injectors soon and was thinking about tackling the install myself when I do coils/plugs.

 

Good job pwdrhound!!!! The engine is not resting on an hydraulic table, how did you lower the engine onto this small stand?

 

Injector job is doable with motor in the car. its a bit of a pita but doable. It was one of my frist harder DIYs on the 996tt. it took me couple hours per side. trick for left side is to have a 20" long 1/4" extension that will make removing that aluminum intake pipe easy. Plugs and coils on another hand are easier if you pull bumper and intercoolers off, you will be staring right at them. cake.

maybe used a lift to raise the car off the table...

 

Nice work! I like to remove the starter. That way you can leave both axles in and not fiddle with them.

 

timely thread, dropping my driveline out when the snow finally melts
How did you suspend the AC and P/S pumps in the engine bay?-everyone has a unique solution....will also be lowering the engine/trans onto a rolling table with the hoist method
Good tip on the starter Tim

 

Bungee cord with a towel laid under them

 

Good work! I am planning my engine and tranny removal and oddly enough the hardest thing to figure out and plan is how to jack the car high enough to clear everything? I am not really planning on a subframe drop if I can help it. I will likely be using a series of wood blocks, ramps, jackstands and two floor jacks. And that is not even counting what will drop the motor. Seems like a lot of tooling and monkey motion, but I see no other way without a lift.

 

man, i'm not sure i'd attempt it without a lift. that sh*t gets heavy and you need plenty of room to manuever.

pwdrhound, it's great you were able to get to the sub frame bushings. i was leaning toward replacing mine while trans out, but engine out was needed? either way, pretty labor intensive, so i buttoned er up without new ones.

i'm very curious if you'll feel the difference with new ones right away, similarly to going from stock to solid or semi solid mm's which anyone could tell. nice project, thx for the pics.

 

Good stuff man, good upgrades and nothing like doing your own work since you know it how it was all done. I am also wondering about lowering of the engine on the none hydraulic table. How does everyone go about purging the coolant system? I have read that its a tough one on these cars.

 

Car was on a lift. Just raised it off the motor/tranny

 

The subframes were dropped also since I was retrofitting the solid bushings. I can tell you that a couple of the factory bushings were a ***** to press out.

 

Both the A/C and PS pump/reservoir were unbolted from the engine and left in the car resting on a tower placed on the top of the bumper. Then the car was raised off the engine/tranny. The only thing that had to be dumped was the coolant.

 

Use the snap on vacuum tool for refiling. I've done it once before. Super easy and works like a charm.

 

Jack the car high as high as it goes with a (floor) shop jack. From that point I used a "bottle" hydraulick jack on a series of old wheels and wood blocks, rising one end about 6" at the time. While my car's still up in the air in the garage, I'll post tomorrow the minimum required height to clear engine-on-a-hydraulic-table -combination. My jackstands are almost tall enough not need anything extra support below them...just a set of 2x4" 's.
Just make sure that the car is levelled. Engine will not have room to drop if the rear is higher than the front, it's so tight fit.