rcecale - how is it going? No new news for over a day, I am waiting with baited breath. Fingers crossed for the test drive.:D

Waiting for this weekend to hang the engine/tranny. Trust me, as soon as there is any news to report, it will be here. Thanks for the interest, though!

Randy

What an amazing thread. I think I've put off more than ever attempting this though. I know you say it's been really easy but I'm sure I would mess something up. Knowing what & what not to replace along with forgetting how it all goes back together scares me. I can imagine having a number of pieces left over at the end :(

Great work though and at quite a pace too. http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/clap.gif

It's really not that hard. I have never done any major engine work before, and was always scared to even think about a transmission. If you follow the bently and advice here, it is very doable. The neatest part about this is that you get to see how a transmission operates. It facinated me to play with the syncronizers and see how they work. I still can't believe how small all this stuff is, and how much torque it puts up with. With all that being said, my tranny is still not back in the car yet, so I might change my tune if I get it back in and it doesn't work. I don't think that will happen though.

This thread is what convinced me to pull my tranny and rebuild it!

Edit: the price of all these parts (for their size) is far more scary than not knowing how to put the tranny back together for me.

Chris,

Honestly....seriously...if you think you need to have this work done on your tranny...do it! I felt the same way you did when this thread first started. But, with the encouragement and assistance I receiveved from EVERYBODY (including the rave reviews on my photos! :D ) it really has not been that difficult. Scary at times, he!! yes, but difficult, no way.
I was fortunate enough to have my digital camera which allowed me to post pics of my own parts and didn't have to worry about showing someone else's pic, which "kinda showed" my situation. Get one...it really made a difference.
Aslo, don't be afraid to ask questions. I know some people got a few laughs or chuckles at the fact that I didn't even know where my oil drain plug was located....so what? I know where it is now! :D And no, I was lucky enough not to have dropped the engine on top of myself as one person mentioned. :eek: I can't stress it enough...ask your questions!
Most importantly, though, like CD said...having the parts in your hands and actually playing with them, watching how they work, you really get an understanding of how things are supposed to be. And it really is/was pretty simple. Just take your time, and do it right. The guys here won't let you make mistakes, but you have to pay attention to what they're telling you. Like I've said before, if I can do this, anyone can.

"Go for it!" Rocky Balboa

Randy

If anyone was interested, it looks like this Saturday morning at 8:00 is when the engine/tranny is going back into the car.

Looks like the local Pelicans are going to come through once again! :D If all goes well, I should have pictures of the car, in motion, by the end of the weekend.....geeze, do you think I'm getting excited??? :p

Randy

You go Randy! Dont be discouraged when the shifting is pretty tight for the first week or so. It will settle right in after a few hundred miles and you'll be lovin it! It will also probably take you a few days to get the coupler just right. I'm crossin my fingers for you!

How similar is this to a 901? I'm thinking that someday I may have to do the seals.

H.G.P.
I'm certainly no expert, but during the course of this thread, I have looked quite a bit at the make-up of the 915 Transmission. Also looked at the 901 and while they certainly ARE different, the differences don't really seem all that great.
In Wayne's "101 Projects" book, he actually uses the 901 in his Project on "Rebuilding First and Second Gears" Might be a good idea to pick this book up and check it out. :)

Randy

901 Gears
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085139294.jpg

915 Gears
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085139314.jpg

Randy - I'll be on a soccer pitch all day tomorrow, either reffing or watching, but my mind will be on you and the reinstall. I have pretty much decided to DIY because of you and CDiercks, and the threads you have referenced and the help you have received on this site. Have fun tomorrow. Look forward to tomorrow night's post.
Cheers

Well, it's hung....sort of...:confused:

Jay and I got the engine mount bolts in and secure. The tranny mount bolts are a different story...I think.

Picked up a replacement tranny mount bolt yesterday to replace one that had some messed up threads. Now, it seems, that the bolt's shank is just a little too long, causing it to bottom out before it can be tightened all the way. (The weight of the tranny is hanging from the bolt, but the big washer is still movable. I can still spin it around the bolt.)

Another thing we weren't sure of was the mounts themselves. I took a couple of pics because it looks kinda odd. Is this gap supposed to be there? I know they are "flexible" joints, somewhat, but is this correct??

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085236996.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085237025.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085237043.jpg

Randy

bump

bump?

Gap, loose washer and bottomed out screw are not correct. What was the part number and length of screw you obtained? I'm assuming you obtained one of the special pointed OEM screws. The correct part number is 930-375-317-00; it is a M12 x 65 mm long. There is a chance you ended up with a 911-375-317-01 which is for the the 87-89 G-50 transmissions; this screw would be 68 mm long and may be part of the problem. There is also supposed to be a spring washer (wave type) under the head of the screw- PN900-027-017-02. Take extreme care that you do not cross-thread these transmission support to body screw threads and coat them with anti-seize compound to ensure they will disassemble in the future. You're almost there! Cheers, Jim

Jim, according to my invoice, the bolt I got IS part no. 930-375-317-00...the correct one. Also, when I compared it to the old one, it was the same length, with the pointed tip.
The odd thing about this is that both mounts have that same gap. I tried the good original screw in each side, and I tried the new screw in each side, but the gap remains, and the left side screw always bottoms out.
There was no spring washer on either side when I removed them. I can pick up a pair of spring washers, but do you think the mounts themselves may be bad?

Randy

The spring washers won't make much difference as they're not very thick. Did you remove the mounts from the front transmission support and reassemble? Is there a shim plate installed between the transmission and the front tranmission support? Jim

I did remove the entire support assembly, when I had the tranny apart, but only to clean it up. There was no shim installed between the tranny and the support assembly. I didn't remove either of the mounts from the support.
Also, the bolt pattern for the bolts thet mount the support to the tranny preclude improper installation...except for maybe upside down, and that's not the case here.

Randy

Looking more closely at your images appears to indicate your mounts are on top of the of the front tranmsission support. They should attach from underneath and pass up though the holes. Which way are they? It's hard to tell from the images. Putting them on top effectively reduces the thickness of parts in the grip of the screws making the screws too long? Jim

Jim,

I guess what you're telling me is that these mounts have been installed incorrectly? If that's that case, they been installed incorrectly for longer than I have owned the car.

I suppose that's possible, just kinda wild to think they've been for so long. I have to say, I'd much prefer to have to reassemble them correctly, than to have to shell out the cash for a new pair of mounts.

I'll throw a jack under the tranny tomorrw after work and pull the support assembly and have a look. Here's a catalog pic of how it's supposed to be assembled.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085359837.jpg

Randy

Took a couple of shots of my installation. Both sides are installed the same way.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085361072.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085361088.jpg

Randy

Randy, It's hard to tell from the images but one look under the car will clear it up; if the mount flange is under the support it is installed correctly. Other than that I'm out of ideas. Jim

Just saw the new images; the mounts are installed correctly. Jim

just a casual observer here... is washer/spacer #7 on each bolt?

the sleeve in the mount gets pulled up to the body when the bolts are tightened. there should not be any up/down movement in the sleeve. if it's snug to the body, you should be ok.

"The weight of the tranny is hanging from the bolt, but the big washer is still movable. I can still spin it around the bolt."

John, If the sleeve was snug I would assume the above described washer wouldn't be free to turn? Jim

Jim, I thought that they were installed correctly. Like I stated, I didn't take them apart when I had the tranny out of the car, and there were no apparent problems with them prior to my taking the tranny out.

Terry, neither side has part #7 installed on it. I'm assuming that is the spring washer Jim mentioned earlier. I'll be picking up a pair of them tomorrow, but, as Jim said, I don't think they're thick enough to make that much of a difference.

Randy

John, should the bolts be able to be bottomed out? They aren't just really tight, they actually get to the point whre they will not turn any more.

edit: Also, should that gap/space, as shown in the pic, be there?

Randy

put a washer under the bolt head. there should be one there anyways. be careful not to strip out, or damage the threads in the body. start the bolts by hand so you're sure they are going in straight. they shouldn't quite bottom out, so the washer will probably help.

The bolts screwed in easily enough, so I'm pretty sure they're not stripped. I'll be picking up the washers today, on my way home from work. Gonna set a jack under the tranny and pull the whole support assy off and have a look.

I'm sure everything is gonna be installed correctly, but it won't hurt to have a closer view. I guess the big issue is whether or not that gap should be there between the metal part of the mount and the car itself. The pics I took early on in this thread don't really show that area clearly, so I don't really have a good reference.

Is it possible that the rubber in the mounts themselves became compressed over the years? It seems flexible enough, and doesn't look all cracked or anything like that. I'll have more pics this afternoon after I get it apart.

Heck, I have to pull it off anyway to route the speedo cable, and snug down the grounding strap, so it's not a complete loss. :)

Randy

That's the spirit, Randy!
Can't wait to hear about your first successful downshift.

When I installed brand new transmission mounts on my 79sc I had the same strange GAP? I thought I did something wrong but apparently not?

I've heard of people putting several washers on the bolts to take up the slack but I didn't. My transmission is hanging from the bolts and is secure but not snug up to the car??? I'm always tempted to close the gap but none of the diagrams show any additional washers so it remains a 911 riddle.

I have the same question, Is this correct???

Well, I placed a jackstand under the tranny to support the weight and removed the support assembly for a look. After seeing more clearly how this thing is put together, it appears that the "gap" is not only allowable, it's expected! (Gerard, looks like you're alright!)

As John stated, as long as the sleeve that runs up the middle of the mount has contact with the vehicle and the bolt is snugged right up, everything is as it is supposed to be.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085440981.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085441004.jpg

The local parts place didn't have the prescribed washer and said it would take 2 weeks for them to be delivered from Porsche, so I've opted for the next best thing...washers from Home Depot. The only question I have is, "Would it be better to use Stainless Steel or Galvanized washers?" I've got both, so I'm wide open on this one. Also, should I go ahead and use a split washer on these things, or will a flat washer suffice?

Randy

a 12mm split lock is factory.

Well, looks like I have a problem. This is the original bolt I was replacing with a brand new one. This is exactly how it looked when it came out, except for a bit of cleaning.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1085450590.jpg

While installing the replacement, the bolt will not screw all the way up into the receiver. The other side, I can turn by hand with no problems. The stripped side doesn't go much past a few turns with the new bolt.

I looked up inside and it's obvious that the threads on the car side are stripped. Is there a piece I can get to replace the stripped threads, or can I run a tap up there and re-run the thread?

Randy

lay the new bolt threads into the original bolt's threads and see if the pitch is the same. i would certainly try to clean up the threads in the body, because that's steel, and you will have to use a helicoil to restore them, and you don't want to get into that. be sure the thread pitch of the tap is correct. i think the pitch is 1.50, but use a thread gauge to be sure. you have one chance.

This likely comes from a PO or previous mechanic using the screw to force the support into alignment - bad practice. If you can clean up the threads and can hold the specified torque for this screw you may be okay. Otherwise, this is an expensive repair as the female threads are in a socket welded into the body sheet metal which has to be cut out and a new one welded into place. My suggestions: Do not use a regular cutting tap. Instead get a rethreading tap of the correct size (Sears sells a nice complete set (52105) metric and US sizes for $60). Snap-On sells them too. Throughly clean out the hole with a solvent and compressed air then lube the hole and rethreading tap with motor oil and carefully start it. Make sure you are going in "squarely" and correctly threaded. Go slowly; turn 90 degrees max at a time then back up an 1/8 of a turn. You will be reforming but not cutting the threads. Periodically back all the way out and clean any debris off the rethreading tap and relube. If the tap begins to get tight, back up and clean it off and clean the hole out or take smaller "bites" (turn fewer degrees forward before backing up). Keep track of the depth for when the tap bottoms out (it will get hard to turn) you want to stop - you do not want to break off the rethreading tap in the hole. Clean out hole again with solvent and compressed air. Then plenty of anti-seize compound on the new screw and hand installation most of the way in if possible.

Okay, so the car side threads are steel, what about the bolt? Is it a softer material?

Just checked online at Sears and it looks like a local store may have that tap & die set in stock. Will have to swing by there tomorrow evening.

I think I shouldn't have too much trouble picking up the thread since the stripped part is a few threads up into the socket. I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for the quick responses!!!

Randy

The female threads are steel and usually are softer (by design) than the screw or bolt threads. Screw is at least 8.8 strength class steel and may be 12.9. The Sears set has M12 x 1.25, M12 x 1.5 and M12 x 1.75 rethreading taps so you should be able to find the correct size. Looking at the wear on my set I would second John's recollection that the screw thread is M12 x 1.5. I have done this very repair successfully with these type of rethreading taps. Go slowly and take your good sweet time; "patience" is worth $100 to $300 per hour at this point.:D Jim

Taking my time is exactly what I'll be doing. :) I've come this far and I don't want to mess it up now. I'm assuming a thread gauge will be a part of the kit so I can be positive as to the thread, but I'm sure you and John know what your talking about. You guys have been right on the money from the very beginning of this thread.

Thanks again!

Randy

There is not a thread gage in the kit but an easy way to match the correct size is to hold the tap and bolt thread against each other (side to side) so the threads interlock (hold them up to the light). If the threads match they will fit together (nest together) exactly along their entire overlapping length. Another test is to screw them both into a M12 x 1.5 nut. Cheers, Jim