Engine install w/out help?
 

Late last night I made a feeble 1st attempt at "shoving" my engine onto my still installed transmission.

My clutch disk alignment tool slips in perfectly. I have the engine nicely supported on on a custom cradle and I had it lined up nicely yet I will not move in the last 3/4" or so.

It was late so I called it a night.

I understand that the throwout bearing needs to engage the fork
and supposedly one is supposed to look in the top hole on the transmission to verify it. How in the heck are you supposed to be able to see thru this hole with the tranny still in the car? I will get this SOB tonight, but I thought maybe someone can give me a tip or two.

Tim:

turn the crank with a 24mm wrench on the pulley end (in case the splines don't line up).

Or as you know, check the fork. there is a hole on the driver's side of the trans you can look through.


Good luck!

Tim, I have done 5 engine drops and installs, all by myself. I feel your pain. Probably is your throw out bearing. What you need to do is get about 1&1/2 inches of gap between the bell housing and the flywheel. Then you need to lean way over the top of the engine. I use a small footstool for this. Using a flashlight you can look down through the gap and see where the fork is located. I get the throw out bearing lined up as close as possible then inch the engine closer to the tranny stopping every 1/4" or so to make sure the fork is going to line up. Once you are sure the fork has started to slide onto the throw out bearing get back under the car and try turning the shaft the fork is connected to. If you can turn it, the fork did not slide on the throw out bearing. Sounds long and tedious, but really only takes 5 minutes or so.

Souk I tried rotating the engine with no avail. Is there a procedure for the clutch arm? IOW, pre rotate clutch arm either forward or back before shoving engine at tranny? Does another person need to be laying under the car and manipulate the arm while 2nd person shove engine forward? I am trying to do this MYSELF as my wife and daughters are out of town.

Back in my high school days I could mount my bug engines with my eyes closed. Maybe I am losing that loving feeling as I age!

Thanks Kurt,

What you said makes sense and sounds easily do-able.

use a mirror and flashlight thru the opening, driver's side top. reach in over the engine to do it. position the fork where you think it will get really close to the t/o bearing slot as you move the engine toward the trans. the engine and trans mating faces need to be on the same plane, not angled up or down fron each other. put the trans in gear and engage the e/brake to keep the mainshaft from turning. wiggle the engine in so the fork is right next to the t/o brg slot. go underneath and turn the shaft to move the fork against the slot better. wiggle the engine in just a bit more and check with the mirror again. readjust if needed. wiggle it home and check with the mirror again. some require a lot more wiggling than others. some slip right in. some days the stars must be aligned better i guess.

Thanks JW, I feel like a real douche bag asking such a stupid question, but you guys probably saved me some frustration, swearing and wrench throwing!

This is on your SC?

It's been a while since I've done this, but from what I recall, I could see the clutch fork and bearing aligning from under the car, through the little gap between the the engine and trans. I remember being able to see the fork going onto the bearing, but don't ever remember having to look from the top of the engine.

Also, I found that my plastic "generic" clutch alignment tool that worked fine on my 914 wasn't precise enough for the 911. Not sure what kind of tool you are using.

Thanks Brian, it is my SC. I have a perfect fitting alignment tool so I do not think that was my problem. Every one seems to agree that the fork needs a bit more attention than I gave it. After reading these suggestions I think I will be in good shape.

Don't feel stupid on this one -- I had the same problem, except I was installing my transmission on the engine, which was sitting outside the car! I spent half an hour using choice words while desperately trying to get it right, then went upstairs to simmer and have a beer. On coming back down, I got it right together on the first try. It's about getting the stars aligned just right. Or maybe it's about getting the engine-tranny to line up just exactly right before pushing them together -- I think that was a lot of my problem, and could be part of yours, too. If they're not just exactly right, it won't work, period.

Good luck, keep at it. :)

Dan

LOL I posted the same question last year.
It took a bunch of wiggling, leveling, and patience but it did go together after about an half hour of trying.
Be safe and try to enjoy the experience.

Thats exactly what I was going to say! I put a jack underneath my transmission and adjusted it up and down until the gap between the engine and trans was exactly the same on the top and bottom. It went right in after that! Good luck man, I feel your pain! I just had to do the same thing.

Forgive me for asking this, but why did you decide to leave the transmission in the car in the first place?

It it much, much easier to drop the engine/transmission as a unit, work on it, and install the E/T as a unit.

One man, 2 hour job to drop the unit. 2 hours to put it back in.

I just got it mated up, my throwout yoke was the problem. I did not need to work on the transmission so why go to the bother of disconnecting my halfshafts and transmission yoke? Getting the engine in position did not seem too difficult, but I obviously did not know what I was doing on the aforementioned yoke! I would have had the same issues to address with the tranny out (I guess I would have been able to see it more clearly though.
Thanks again guys.

Tim,
Good job! Congratulations!!