A Photo Diary of a top-end rebuild. Or, The Tale of a one-armed rebuild.

[Gunter]

An overhead beam with a short steel choker, a 3/4-ton Come-along and a home-made spreader bar did the trick for me.
If you can access a beam or truss on the ceiling you can make a set-up for future use.
I use small shackles on the engine with 2 steel chokers going up to the hook and the spreader-bar (made from a 2x4) keeps the chokers from rubbing against the engine/intakes.
That gives full control over the whole process.
After lifting it off the stand, I set the engine on it's HE's onto 3/4" plywood on the floor, attach the transmission, then lift the whole unit again onto a narrow, low 4-wheel Dolly and roll it under the rear of the 911.
Then I raise each side carefully with small floor jacks and short pieces of 2x4 enough to get the Dolly out and the big floor jack onto the "sweet spot" in front of the sump plate to start the final jacking.
It's important to secure the whole unit sideways with dunnage to prevent it from tilting and falling off as you go up.
It's a one-man operation; very safe.

A made a lifting-plate from 3/4" plywood to get perfect balance on the jack.

[Dixie]

Cleaned up the transmission and engine tin today. The trans may not be spotless, but it's far cleaner than the black blob it started out as. Once I got it to this point I called it quits for the day. It's 54° and drizzling out. Funny thing is, Friday it was 80°.

[CrossT]

We might be separated by about 2,500 miles but we have similar issues [strangly similar?]. The leaky one on the left belonging to the bride and the one on the right needing a top end. I was going thru 1 qt per 200 miles. Just got it back yesterday from having the top end done by Patrick Motorsports in Phoenix. They did an awesome job, plus a 'few' other things while they were in there. I'd have loved to try to tackle something like this myself, but I know my limitations which end somewhere around oil changes and brake pad replacement.

Just had to post this pic when I saw your intial set of posts with your garage.


Garage




'New" engine

[Gunter]

This would be the time to check/replace the seals in the transmission.
Selector shaft seal, Guide tube seal, Axle flange seals are cheap and relatively easy to replace.

[Dixie]

Finally hit the first real issue with the clutch project. Stripped screws. I suspect its gift from Stuttgart.

Any advice on how best to remove these screws?

[rick-l]

impact driver

[efhughes3]

Originally Posted by rick-l

impact driver

Took the words right off of my keyboard!

[Porsche_monkey]

And replace them with socket head cap screws.

[Mitch Leland]

Another help is to use "valve grinding compound" on the end of your screw driver tip. You won't believe the added grip it will give to the screw driver tip. It's magic...

[azasadny]

Great thread, lots of excellent info here. Rob, thanks for documenting the whole thing!

[Dixie]

CrossT,
Quite a coincidence, no? Also, I like the silver fan and black housing. Think I'll try that.

[Dixie]

Enlisted the help of several co-workers and got the engine off the stand today. Hooray! Here’s how things look after 30 minutes of effort. Intake installed, and rear tin mocked-up into place.

[efhughes3]

Gotta love the understated black & "silver" combo, in my case-Titanium Ceramic coating:

[Dixie]

The impact driver did the trick. The guide tube screws are out. The trans now has new seals. And the engine is together.

Unfortunately, the two are still separated. Why? Because I broke the throwout bearing. One too many pumps on the press while installing, and it's now a $115.00 piece of junk.

Now I'm waiting on the replacement to arrive.

[efhughes3]

When I did my clutch a couple of years ago, I didn't need my press. That seems to be asking for trouble, try the new one without it.

[Dixie]

Yesterday I tended to a few odds-and ends.

I replaced the horrid double-strut setup/kludge for the engine cover. What I had was two struts on the RH hinge, held in place by clevis pins. It was a PITA to remove. The clevis pins were bent and grooved.



I replaced it with the OEM setup. I aquired a RH turbo hinge, new struts, factory pins, clips, and spacers. A bit of paint and this is what I have now.



Next I removed the rear bumper. That should make getting the engine in a bit easier. I won't have to raise the rear of the car so far.



Time to sign off. Today's goal is getting the engine and trans joined, and into the car.

[Dixie]

Back again. Today was pretty productive. I spent the first half of the day getting the engine and trans assembled. It took longer than I expected.



By 3:30 the engine is in, and everything up top is hooked back up. Tomorrow I need to finish hooking up everything underneath.

[khamul02]

Once again, AWESOME thread!

[KTL]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

The impact driver did the trick. The guide tube screws are out. The trans now has new seals. And the engine is together.

Unfortunately, the two are still separated. Why? Because I broke the throwout bearing. One too many pumps on the press while installing, and it's now a $115.00 piece of junk.

Now I'm waiting on the replacement to arrive.

Where is the above bearing broken? That split in the inside diameter sleeve is supposed to be there.




And yes, you don't need a press. I use my body weight on top the contact side of the clutch housing. Under the release bearing I put a short 2x4 laid across it. Instant 170 pound human press with just enough weight to flex the springs and allow me to install the release bearing shims, thrust washer and retaining clip.

By the way, congrats on getting it all back together.

[efhughes3]

Good luck on the first startup