An unorthodox engine drop... into the hole (pics)

[TedSlick]

Unfortunately, I built this pit long before buying my first 911, so I wasn't sure this drop would actually work. Would the engine/transmission fit? Looked tight.

Figured I'd end up doing it solo, so I wanted to be sure engine stability wouldn't be a concern during lowering. I added these rubber cushions, cut as necessary to distribute the weight and balance the load without damaging anything on the underside. Rubber cost about $6 using HF mallets. Cut off the handles and screwed them to this metal cart I had laying around. Came in handy. I put an oil/gas resistant coating on the wood base, anticipating leaking, but not much mess at all.



Weight is concentrated on the centermost rubber cushions, at the case. The ones below the heat exchangers are for balance only.



The engine was very stable as it lowered. Fortunately, no problems doing it solo. This shot below shows how tight the clearance was. Less than an inch on either side... Whew...was I relieved!
The muffler had to come off first, though, because the tail pipe would've hit the concrete tracks. That was okay since it ended up being easier to move the engine backwards during lowering.




...and down, down, down, into the abyss. No jacking of the car required, so didn't have to worry about car stability. Good, 'cause I'm a chicken when it comes to being under raised cars



The cart is one of those HF hydraulic ones, rated at 1,100 lbs.(?). It raises to the perfect height to make this sort of drop possible. Then just roll the car away and raise the engine back out 'o pit. The engine/tranny were then rolled away on the wheeled (red) cart. Pretty fun.

[v9ff]

Wow... it must be difficult to work on the engine in that hole.

heh heh heh... couldn't help myself!

[ZOA NOM]

Off the chart awesome!

I need a jackhammer.

Outstanding. I'm so jealous. How do you keep from dropping your motor once a week just to clean the engine bay?

[TedSlick]

I made a detailed checklist of steps with photos (applicable to '85). Don't think I can upload it here for downloading.

If interested, PM me and I can send it to you. The photo sheets are somewhat large files, though. It's in .PDF format.

[ZOA NOM]

you have a PM

[vash]

zoanas, if you are going to do it, i am showing up with a shovel!

[ZOA NOM]

shh! How do I keep the wife out of the garage for awhile? I know, I can move the washer/dryer to the back yard!

I dunno about a pit, but I'm at 145K, and thinking about a drop in the not so distant future. I'll keep you posted.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

buy her a walmart gift certificate.

[TedSlick]

For those PM'ing inquiring about the engine drop checklist and accompanying photos, I need to find a more efficient way to forward them vs. email. The .PDF is about 3Megs. Any suggestions or can someone host the file?

Regarding the rubber "cushion" things, I'll try to post some dimensions...soon. The mallets were $2 each at Harbor Freight and I got two for one on some by cutting them in half. The rubber cuts and shapes like wood, but actually easier.

[MonkeyBoy]

I use sharemation.com sometimes for hosting large documents. It's free, but PM people the specific link rather than posting it otherwise you'll exceed your daily bandwidth quota quickly. Nice pit, btw.

[TedSlick]

Thanks for the tip/address, Monkey. That's perfect!

[mfbarnes]

I am just wrapping up my first engine drop-also a 3.2 (only half shafts left to install and then fill it with oil). My job was not so neat...had to take off the blower to get clearance.

One thing I did you may consider: I took off the mustache bar and tinware, cleaned, and painted with a silver-gray krylon. It lightens up the engine bay, makes things much easier to see, and oil leaks will show up much faster on the underside. Now when I drop something in the engine bay, it is much easier to spot and retrieve. Before it was all a black hole. I should have removed and painted the engine shroud, too....next time.

Oh yeah......replace the fuel filter when the motor is out....much easier! Use some large crescent wrenches to unscrew it. I also installed new rear shocks with the motor out....again much easier.