Like most engine pulls it's a series of small steps. The repair manual PDF (available around here somewhere) was helpful but I mostly just looked around at everything I knew had to be disconnected and went from there. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily everything came apart. Many of the harnesses and connectors are quick-disconnect. I will say that I have a really good collection of tools that I've purchased over the years that helps a lot.

The AC compressor stays connected to the lines so you don't have to break the system. The fuel filter / EVAP disconnects had me stumped for a bit but I eventually got it. I left the axles in but pulled the starter because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the axle around it.

I had to bleed the clutch when I reinstalled everything. Next time I'd probably try and clamp all the hydraulic & coolant lines so I could loose less fluid. I put rubber plugs/caps over the lines, which helped. I'm pretty sure dealer techs have some kind of line clamps when they do these jobs. Anybody know?

There is mechanics ink / paint you can get to mark male/female connectors and hoses by color so there's no guess work during reassembly.

Don't forget about 1) the big ground cable on the driver side of the motor that connects to the side of the chassis above the turbo outlet and 2) the speed sensor on the front of the transmission. I hadn't noticed both of those until I lowered the motor.

Physically removing the motor is straight forward. I removed the rear crash bar and slid the lift table under the motor/trans. The cart is only long enough to reach under the motor but it's balanced well enough that you don't actually have to brace the trans. But put a floor jack under the trans, just in case. I initially braced the motor with 2x4s but found that both the engine/trans balanced well themselves using only the lift table.

4 bolts / mounts and it drops straight down then roll the cart out from under the rear of the car. Lower it slow while looking around to see if you forgot to disconnect anything (you will) You want to have a couple good, tall jack stands & floor jacks so you can get the car high enough in the rear.

You could lower the engine using a couple floor jacks but I bet it would be miserable. For $300 the lift table is the way to go and I've found lots of other uses for it around the garage.

Once the engine is out and on the cart you have total access to remove the top end components so you can actually get at whatever is leaking. In my case the leak was from the center coolant pipe that supplies the driver side turbo & a hard line to the heater core. The same piece that's illustrated on the sharkwerks site. I pulled the emissions spider hose, driver side intake manifold and the harness on that side until I could finally get down in there.


I believe anyone who is mechanically inclined and has a good set of tools can do this. But I came from a B5 S4, which had a reputation for being difficult to work on. So I guess it's all relative. This car is a total breeze to work on compared to the S4 lol.