911 engine reinstalation... HELP!!!

[Mike L]

I just put a new oil thermostat o-ring and oil pressure unit in and when I put everything back together the clutch won't engage. I'm assuming that I didn't get the throw out arm and throw out bearing aligned correctly (its a 915 transmission with the throw out bearing attached to the pressure plate) but I'm not certain what I need to do to make that happen or what I'm missing. can anyone help... Please!

[JP911]

I did this the first time I dropped my engine. The only way to get the throwout fork on the throwout bearing is to separate the engine and trans (you need about 5-6 inches of separation between the two to get the fork engaged). You could do this with only a partial drop, but I would get several friends to help.

[barney911rs]

+1 for JP911's comments

[dweymer]

You did not say if you did a partial drop, or full, and did you seperate the trans from the engine?

If you did seperate, +2 for not engaging the clutch fork. I did the same thing, ONCE.

[Superman]

BTDT. As it turns out, the clutch fork engages the TOB in an unusual way. Those crazy Germans. I recall the VW Rabbits I have owned. On those cars, the clutch is actuated by a rod that runs down the middle of the transmission input shaft. Like with our cars, the fork PULLS on the TOB. On most cars the fork pushes the TOB. Not ours.

So.......the forks need to engage the TOB on its outer edge. There is a wide groove on the outer edge of the TOB, and this is where the fork tangs go. There are access holes in the tranny bellhousing that allow you to visually verify that the forks are settled into that groove.

And yes, you will not have enough room to just remove the rear motor mount bolts and slide the engine back. The engine will at least have to be lowered in order to move it back far enough. And the small arm will need to be off the clutch fork shaft in order to engage the forks.

[Mike L]

I ended up calling a friend in CA that owns German Import Services and he recommended using a mirror and visually lining it up that way. To make it even easier we took out the starter and used the mirror in that opening. It took me and a friend about 3 hours to do the partial drop realign the arm to the TOB and get her back together and running. Thank you all for your replies.

BTW she is for sale 1975 911 S Targa with a 3.0 1983 SC motor

Mike

[Laneco]

Just thought I'd let you know Mike, you're definately not the only one who has done that... What a disgruntling feeling, eh? Good news is, you, like us, will NEVER do it wrong again!! Thank heavens for dental mirros!

angela