I am pulling my engine

[Birmingham Bill]

I have a local mechanic who is about to pull my engine (clutch, idle problem). Any advice any of you could offer him - things to watch out for??? With the engine out, I want to take advantage of the fact that the engine is out and easy to work on. I know I want him to check the vacuum system, my DME, and my battery. He is also going to check out my alternator (since my lights sometimes flicker). Thanks.

[afterburn 549]

If your clutch is going bad thats the only reason there to pull your eng.

[ghnat]

What year car? DME might tell me 84-89... If so check fuel lines and vaccume hoses. If there are no leaks then be happy. If so check out 101 projects (from our host). It has a list of possible leaking fixes - some easy to do with enigne out.

[Scott R]

Rear main seal should of course be replaced, but that goes without saying. Maybe depending on the cost of things:

1.Reseal the oil cooler, I hear the almost never leak but mine was, it's a 10min job out of car.

2.Valve adjustment, since again it very easy to with the motor out, spark plugs as well.

3.Intake runner gaskets if it's a CIS system, again rarely needed but cheap and easy when the motor is out.

4.Oil breather hose can replaced with a new hose since the old one may be old and cracked.

5.Breather cover gasket can only be done with the motor out on certain cars.

6.Good time to do the oil light switch as well.

7. Carerra tensioner upgrade? I did mine with my motor out, 30 min worth of work at that point.

Anyway, like the post above, what year?

[Birmingham Bill]

The car is a 1990 with 61k miles. I do have to change the clutch. By the way, am I wasting my time and money by having the clutch rebuilt? Some say that if I drive it in a normal fashion, the rebuilt one will last for years. I am not a fast driver - I just love the car. What is your opinion.

[afterburn 549]

Well.....everyone says dont (the friction disk) I did, works for me. and I beat the crap out of it

[jdowty3]

Can I assume that the mechanic is not trained in 911's?
Wayne's 101 Projects has a brief engine drop procedure and the PP tech articles has a more expanded version. Both would be good reference for a non-porsche experienced wrench as there are several things to be very careful of when removing a 911 motor.

[Rick Lee]

Has your car had the head gasket update? 1990 can be an expensive model to own, if not yet sorted.

[afterburn 549]

If your paying some one to learn at your expense......................run Forest Run

[bkcbuilder]

How much would everyone pay for the entertainment to see an untrained mechanic try to "pull" a 911 engine instead of "dropping" it?
I'd go $200 in a heartbeat.

[Rick Lee]

As long as it wasn't my 911.

[Birmingham Bill]

Thanks for the encouraging words of wisdom. Not that it matters, but the mechanic has more than two weeks of experience, can actually read and write and has all his teeth. His reputation for being able to work on "anything" from dealerships that use him, led me to take a chance. I am not sure he even needs the advice I had hoped to find on the message board? I guess I was dumb to think people would offer help instead of criticism. I guess the later is much easier to offer and takes less intelligence. For those of you that have been helpful and offered intelligent advice - thank you. I do appreciate you.

[Rick Lee]

If you're gonna be doing this with him, please take photos and keep us updated. I would never let anyone pull my engine who hasn't done it more times than I have. You're gonna have fun with this one.

[afterburn 549]

my pt is...if he has never done one b4.....you are paying him to learn. He may be great,but this is his 1st walk in space. All the other eng. he has worked on have had index marks on the cams and crank, not now.
Like Monty Python says"Now for Something Completely different"

[Fishcop]

Bill, I don't think anyone is lampooning you or your mechanic for sport... They're just highlighting that these cars are a bit unconventional. But you're right, they're not rocket science and if I can drop and separate my engine and gearbox in a couple of hours, I'm sure your man can too. The 101 book is good advice though... Even if it saves your mechanic a 1/2 hour, the book will pay for itself in hourly rates saved

Good luck

[Birmingham Bill]

Thanks. If he doesn't have the book, I will get one for him. I realize it is somewhat of a gamble, but I have taken gambles before. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Life is full of risks. I have also met thousands of naysayers who are still saying the world is flat. I guess we will see. Thanks for the advice.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Birmingham Bill
Thanks for the encouraging words of wisdom. Not that it matters, but the mechanic has more than two weeks of experience, can actually read and write and has all his teeth. His reputation for being able to work on "anything" from dealerships that use him, led me to take a chance. I am not sure he even needs the advice I had hoped to find on the message board? I guess I was dumb to think people would offer help instead of criticism. I guess the later is much easier to offer and takes less intelligence. For those of you that have been helpful and offered intelligent advice - thank you. I do appreciate you.

That's just the way it goes on a BBS. This one is rather adult compared to many, but all boards have the same element, more or less.

AFA 101 projects, buy it and keep it for yourself. It's a good read before you take a car in to anyone for work if you don't much like to work on your own. The author, and our host, will be the first to tell you that the book is somewhat rudimentary, but contains some practical tips not found in the usual fix-it manual. If you want to get a book for the mechanic, get a Bentley. Bentleys don't have any of the fufu stuff about how to detail your car or change a lamp.

[afterburn 549]

Maybe I will try a diff slant here, Sure he can fix it, but why pay him when you could go to a "shop" with guarantee tee??.......in the end most of the parts will be farmed out anyway, just nice to have a competent wrench that knows the blue goo from the orange goo.
I am not knocking his ability just do not understand the logic.
If you said you were going to try it for the 1 st time I would say RAH RAH RAH!! We all been there we all will help you threw it.

[sbriggs]

To give you some encouragement, I live in Poland and had a Polish mechanic with no Porsche experience and limited undrestanding of English completely rebuild my engine! The only alternative was sending the whole unit to either Porsche or another workshop in Germany. The guy is a clearly a natural mechanic and all went smoothly, trust your instinct and give him lots of books!