Better to remove engine or eng/tranny?

[don hopkins]

I keep getting conflicting advice about whether it is better to remove just the engine or the engine/tranny together. Which do you think is better and why?

[911pcars]

You can ask again and still get conflicting answers. For the first time, I'd recommend removing as a unit. Thereafter, you can decide your favorite procedure.

MHO,
Sherwood

[walt]

My first time I removed both the engine and trans as a unit. After countless searches this looked like the way to go for a rookie. Its really not a great deal of extra work.

[cnavarro]

I'd recommend as a unit- much more stable. Just double and triple check you've disconnected everything first! I was able to do it myself with very little assistance from my father-in-law.

[sammyg2]

I have pulled my engine and put it back in by myself twice, both times without the tranny. I am not saying it is better, it's just the way i do it.
Lining the two up during re-assembly can be a PITA but if you pull the starter completely out and look through the hole it makes it much easier to line up the throwout arm etc.

[don hopkins]

Thats what I was thinking, that if the engine is removed by itself putting it back would be hard because of the difficulty in lining it up with the tranny.

[wilke3169]

When I did my rebuild I pulled the engine alone thinking it would be easier to handle by myself. Then I removed the transmission and reinstalled as a unit. Don't have the experience to say one is better but this worked for me. Used the ATV jack to remove the engine alone which was definantly a stable platform.

[HawgRyder]

One benefit of removing them as a pair is so that the inner CV joints and bolts get looked at.
Two of my bolts were badly stretched and neede replacement.
If I had dropped just the engine as I have done in the past, these bolts would have failed and left me on the side of the road.
I found that when re-installing the pair, the front (trans) mounts were difficult to line up.
If you just barely connect the rear (motor) mounts and then start the trans mounts bolts, it's much easier.
Then make sure everything is tight.
Make a check list if necessary.
And....have fun....after all...you could be working on you uncles old tractor! ....LOL
Bob

[Henry Schmidt]

We pull the engine and trans together when the trans needs rtepair. If repairing the engine is the goal we pull the engine alone.

Originally posted by Henry Schmidt
The engine is far easier to remove by itself. When I started in the Porsche world 30 years ago I worked at a shop where there were no hoists. It was always our goal to remove the engine as quickly as possible because back then we were all on commission. The way we did it was with two jack. One under the center of the chassis directly in the middle with a 2x4 that reached from one side to the other. When I say middle I mean right along the rear bulk head. The jack would fit directly under the hole where the shift shaft goes into the car.
The 2x4 supports the car along the bulk head seem. One jack stand on each side for safety.
First disconnect the battery, then the shift coupler. The idea was to disconnect everything on top, fuel lines, wiring , breather hoses. Then go under the car with all the tools you need to just dive once.
Jack it up, drain the oil (both plugs, and the trans if your plans include trans service) then disconnect the fresh air hoses, oil lines, backup wires , starter wire and the two lower trans/ bell housing bolts.
Now back on top. With a second jack placed directly under the sump plate (use a fixture or board if you like) jack the engine until you just raise the engine off the mount. Undue the rear mounts (2 12mm bolts) and slowly let the engine down. You need the watch the muffler because on some Porsche it wants to catch on the license panel. when the engine is 10 or 12 inches down you can reach around the back of the engine a disconnect the top trans bolts throttle linkage and the starter wires. At that point the engine will slide back so now you must lower the engine until the fan housing is lower than the chassis cross brace in the back. when the fan will clear, pull back on the jack and engine at the same time and it's out.
My best time for a 2.4 MFI engine is 22 minutes. Star to finish including draining the oil. For that I won a $3 burger and some fries. Times have changed.
good luck.
PS: Don't try this on a 90 or later car.

[Alan Cottrill]

I generally work alone with one jack. I couldn't imagine installing the engine without the trans under those circumstances. droping, no sweat gravity is on your side and everything tends to want to fall apart, but going back in is another story.

[don hopkins]

Does anyone have a picture of the tranny mounts? I don't know where they are and how many there are.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by don hopkins
Does anyone have a picture of the tranny mounts? I don't know where they are and how many there are.

[cstreit]

I do it either way. Each has it's own PITA procedures...

[don hopkins]

What is PITA? Thanks for the diagram! Shoud the tranny be disconnected where the support meets the tranny or where the tranny meets the frame?

[safe]

Pain In The Ass.
You remove the number 8 bolt in the diagram.

I have only done one drop and I droped as a unit, it was pretty easy.
I guess its a little more work removing the cv-joints but its not hard...

[don hopkins]

Do you disconnect the tranny mounts before the engine mounts?

[Henry Schmidt]

If you take the trans out with the engine, disconnect the trans bolts first and the package will be supported by the nose cone of the trans. Then as you lower the engine pull back on the lump and the nose cone will clear the hole.
Balancing the lump will prove to be the greatest challenge.

[cstreit]

PITA? Well maybe an exageration...

Disconnect them with the trans remaining in the car means a tougher time lining up the clutch fork.

Disconnect together and you have to wrestle with a larger unit and disconnect all the CV bolts and risk tearing the CV-joint gaskets...

[don hopkins]

sO WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

[911pcars]

Originally posted by don hopkins
I keep getting conflicting advice about whether it is better to remove just the engine or the engine/tranny together. Which do you think is better and why?

and finally,
"sO WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?"

Don,
We could continue this conversation ad infinitum, but I doubt everyone will agree there's just one way to do it. That's because ..... there's more than one way to do it.

You'll just have to decide to remove either one large hunk or one slightly smaller hunk. So get busy and let us know which way you prefer.

Sherwood