My first engine drop...
 

Two years ago I did a partial engine drop on my '74 911 with a 2.7L CIS engine to fix a few things, but my engine died (distributor problems, pulled head studs, etc...) two weeks ago and so I'm taking out the old, worn engine and replacing it with another 2.7L CIS engine. I have never taken out the tranny before and I'm having trouble removing the transaxles and clutch cable. any tricks to this? I'm planning on dropping the engine, then taking out the tranny, mating the tranny to the new engine, then putting them in together. Is this a good plan? I'm do a search for "engine drop" to get a few pointers. Thanks!

Save yourself some hassle and take the engine and trans out as a unit.
You can easily separate them on the floor. I trust you have a manual or 101 Projects. If not, find one or the other. They will answer any questions faster than waiting for us to respond. Don't hesitate to call me if you need some assistance, over the phone at least. I'll PM my home phone.

Ditto on what Wayne said, much better to take them out as a unit than fight them in the car.

Re: My first engine drop...
 

Art,

Definitely follow the above advice and remove both the engine and transmission as a single unit. The tranny itself isn't as heavy as you would think, so you should be able to separate it from the old engine and lift it by hand over to the new engine.

When it comes time to mate them together, you can reach your fingers through the starter hole and line up the clutch fork to make mating them easier.

As far as the transaxle bolts, I'm guessing your talking about the bolts attaching the axles to the drive flanges. If this is the case, try this trick below for immobilizing the tranny to keep the axles from spinning.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1117331605.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1117331631.jpg

To prevent damaging the threads on my studs, I slipped some 1/2" x 3" galvanized nipples over them. You can pick these up at Home Depot for pretty cheap.

For the clutch cable, I'm sure there's probably a better procedure but, you should be able to muscle it off after loosening the nut on the terminal.

Randy

Won't the handbrake prevent the axle from moving? It's a pain in the a$$ if you're doing it yourself since you'd have to put on the ebrake, loosen the bolts that you can access, release the brake, spin the wheel and repeat the process until all bolts are out.

The hand brake should hold it, but it can be a real PITA climbing back and forth underneath the car to spin the axles. If you can get it down, you can actually position the pry bar without getting off your back.

Randy

Randy, Wayne and others,

Thanks for the advice. I was able to get the transaxle bolts out this afternoon and I got one axle freed up, the other is being stubbirn and won't budge. I'm going to tray and get everything disconnected this week (each day, after work), then drop the engine/tranny as a unit on Saturday AM. Thanks again!

Way to go , Art!! Let us know how you fare next Saturday.

Wayne,
Thanks! I'm going to lower the engine/tranny a little bit to get a better view of what I need to disconnect at the front of the tranny. I'll disconnect the shift coupling in the rear of the car (access panel on rear floor), then I'll get a better view of the speedo cable and reverse light connection.

Now the hard part... I have to put everything back together. I'll be starting next Friday (6/30) and continue on through the night and hopefully, get this done by Saturday. I have to push the car out of the garage, pull the engine/tranny on the ATV jack in, then pusuh the car back in, jack up the rear end and then align everything up and hope I didn't mess anything up. Having the stock muffler off really helps because now the engine/tranny sits on the ATV jack more securely. I have to reconnect the new heater hoses to the flapper boxes and reattach the CV joints and transaxles after I repack them. Should be a fun few days!!

Sounds like you're at least making a lot of progress. Hopefully I'll get to hear that badboy run when I come out to see you! :)

that shift coupler is the first thing i do. it is done while i am relatively clean, still.

great job art!

Vash,
Thanks! I'm unclear about the order in which to reattach everything and appreciate all helpful suggestions.

Update...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/256998-detroit-ann-arbor-area-post2738238.html#post2738238