I think it is very doable in an ameteur garage!

Jackstands nder the car and then put a jack(with some sort of protection) underneath the motor so when the trasmission IS removed everything will be supported.
Then take a second jack and put it underneath the transmisson,undo bolts and lower it down.....Definately alot harder than it sounds,I am sure....but I think it could be done!

Stacy

 

How much clearance do you think you would need to move transmission around? It looks quite big to me... And quite heavy. I just do not see myself lifting it up while laying on my back and pushing it up into place with both hands simultaneously bolting it into place. Regular jacks will give you may be a couple feet from the ground, well, it means you still will be on your back under the car.

As of putting jack under tran and _moving_ it - no, I still think you would need a hydraulic lift for that and some harness to secure tran it to it, really, to smoothly lower it and then lift it up so you could mount it back. Plus you need something to secure engine in place. Plus car should be high enough, well, anyway, may be you would be able to do it, but I took off several trans in my life, Porsche one looks too heavy for me, and I know if I cannot hold it in place with one hand - it will be non-doable and probably my last job if I get under the car and this damn thing just drops on my head.

PS. if we have any shop mechanics here - is it a one man job anyway to pull transmission down or do usually couple of people work on it in a shop?

 

Like I said not easy but for the dough the dealer wants for labour($2000 quoted above) I could spend a week under this thing and break even!
Let me tell you the second time around would be half the time too !
It just allows a hobbyist to become a little more in touch with his/her car and the pride/satisfacton of doing it!
I would say it may take some pizzas and beers to get a buddy over to help steady it as it comes down!

Everyone thought I was nuts for the VF supercharger install and now I can change a belt(removing charger) in 1.5 hours!

Stacy

 

No one argues the fact that you`re a... Well, you are you.

BTW, speaking about more simple things - I want to do a spark plugs change and I looked down there and I see on passenger side big metal plank next to mufflers almost completely blocks access to middle spark plug - how did you get to it there if you did?

 

To answer both your comments together... I used good jack stands and a good jack to get the car a few feet off the ground. Had a friend help. Used basic mechanic tools and a few special tools from a mechanic I am friends with.

For the oil change, it's 1/3 price and takes a few minutes.

I didn't grow up in a family of mechanically inclined individuals. I grew up in a family where we have pride in our work, learn to take care of things we own, and not to waste money.

My parents are "semi-wealthy" with very good careers. They taught me to not spend money foolishly, never giving me a dime if I didn't earn it. Now I am 27 and humbley will say I am financially well off soley from my own two hands; That isn't just from larger paychecks, but also because I don't spend money on things I consider a waste. In this case, I consider spending $200 for an oil change a waste when I can do it myself for $60-$70 in less time than it takes to bring it in to the shop. I also have an Audi RS4 and my ol S4. Having dealerships changing my oils would be, what? $500 every 6 months? Ha. Or I can do it myself in way less time for $200ish.

If that doesn't make sense to you, that is ok.... but that's just where I am coming from.

 

On jack stands you don't really take the transmission all the way out from under the car, just get it moved aside enough to get to the bits you need to get at. The clutch isn't "thick" you don't need much room to work with. For lifting the tranny, they aren't as heavy as you think. It seems people are under the impression that they are like 500lbs or something. More like 1X0lbs? I used a jack and fabricated a wide piece of metal on it to hold the tranny. Cut slits on both sides of the metal and put straps in there to fully hold it. Not a big deal. Having a freind help is important.

I can't answer your question, but I applaud you looking at doing this yourself.

 

I understand where you're coming from here. I sometimes have a hard time with the "my time is more valuable to me ..." arguement people use to justify why they don't do one thing over another. It's not really about the time or the money, it's about the process. Some people like to play golf for 5 hours, some people would rather spend 5 hours working on their car. Do what you enjoy doing. Certainly Jay Leno's time is worth a great deal to him but he also likes to spend a good deal of his free time working on his cars. And if he can save $ 2,000 in the process that just leaves more money to buy more cars with. Each to his/her own.

 

Yep

 

Well, spark plugs are very simple to do, only issue there is how to get to `em. wrench does not fit there.

 

I look at it this way. If you can turn a wrench left or right, you can do most things on a car.

Length of time involved doesn't equate difficulty.

You'll do fine!

 

Well, we`ll see...
Is NGK Platinum BKR7EQUP still a best brand out there? I got `em for my car, should arrive some time next week.