Engine Install Question

[NeedSpace]

I have finally acquired an engine and transmission for my car and am very excited to get those puppies in. I did a search and based on your recommendations I will join the engine and transmission before installing it. I have installed a VW rabbit engine with tranny before and that worked well. But here is my question. I once tried install an engine to an already installed transmission on a VW beetle. When doing so, I got the engine in mostly but couldn't get it to seat. THEN I tried getting the engine back out and couldn't. I got it about 1-2 inches from the tranny and from there it was stuck. I gave up and traded the bug for a set of skiis. NOT wanting to do this to the substantially more expensive porsche engine, could you suggest to me what I screwed up before and how to avoid it? Thanks!

[Oh Haha]

You'll need a sturdy set of large jack stands, a floor jack, and a helper to install the engine/gearbox. That it, unless you are using a lift then you drop the body onto the engine/gearbox.

The car needs to be high enough so that the engine fan clears the rear bumper. Having the car level on 4 stands really helps on the install.

Is the engine complete? You'll want to bolt on as much of the FI and other components possible as they are hard to reach once it's in the car.

[Quicksilver]

Usually the reason that engine won't mate to the trans is that the clutch disk isn't perfectly centered under the pressure plate. The transmission's input shaft must go threw the splined center of the disk and then the nose must go into the pilot bearing and the clearances are tight. Your description of getting "1-2 inches" from being mated means the splines weren't even getting engaged.

Basically there are two stages to stabbing the tranny:
- First is getting the splines on the input shaft and the clutch disk to line up. You can eyeball it to try and get them close, but that rarely works. You need to get the transmission into 1st gear so you can turn the CV flanges to make the input shaft spin. Once you have them lined up they will slide together so there is about 1/2" left to go.
- The second (and harder) part is getting the end of the pilot shaft into the pilot bearing. If the clutch disk isn't dead on center when the pressure plate was bolted down it isn't going to go. If the disc is correctly aligned then you often just have to move the end of the trans in a bit of a circle while pushing to get the end of the shaft to find the hole and go in.

[daniel911T]

Hey there!

I've done the bug tranny + engine drop before, and the same on a 911. Good idea to do the mating before install! I think it's a the better way, although harder to do alone.

The 911 is easier by far. The reason is that you don't have the "forks" that extend from the tunnel like on a bug. The 911 unit just goes (practically) straight up and attaches with four, easily accessable, bolts.

If you can do a FWD Rabbit, you'll have no trouble at all!

I recommend you take the rear body work off, like the sheet metal that the license plate is mounted on, and bumperettes if you have them. That will completely fix your fan/fuel system clearence issues. You'll need to get whole thing up, then move it forward to get the shift rod into the tunnel without banging it up. The rear sheet metal removal gives you more fore/aft clearence, helps a lot.

My biggest lesson learned: although it is possible to do the job with just the back jacked, I think it would be MUCH easier on 4 jacks. I had to wrestle my engine to the same angle as the car, it was a major PITA. I did my install alone: also not recommended. You'll be fine, you have more room under the P-car than you did under the bug.

Good Luck! You'll be fine!

-Dan

[tobluforu]

Since you will be doing the mating out of the car, then it's really a piece of cake. Just make sure you install the pp/clutch using the alignment tool. If it does not mate up properly after you wiggle it back and forth, turn the crank just a tad and try again. Make sure you use the sight hole so the fork slides on the TO bearing. Do not do what I did and that was making sure the ring gear was flush on the PP, which it was not-duh! This allowed the ring gear to scrape the inside of the bell housing which in turn cause the TO bearing to pop off the PP. Some jack stands you buy will not be tall enough to raise the rear, make sure you have the right ones. This can be done easily all by yourself, especially if you have an atv jack, lots of threads on this.

[trconway]

I think it is easier to install both as one unit. And it definitely helps having another set of hands.

[Walter_Middie]

I’ve done this by myself about 6 times on my 1975 – it’s not too hard. Slide the engine under and start jockeying it back and forth and up and down to get everything to line up. Make sure the shift rod is lined up where it’s supposed to be. Once it’s close, connect everything in the front (transmission end) that you can, and attach the oil breather hose on the top front of the engine before the engine is totally in so that you still have room to reach it. Then attach the trans mounts first, and attach the rear engine mount bar last. The mount bar is easily flexed to line up the bolts – not so much the trans mount. If you have the stock exhaust, don’t forget the cross-over pipe, or the heat exchangers will have to come off again.

Oil in (spark plugs still out), disconnect the fuel pump and take out the fuse so no power gets to the CDI box. Crank the engine for 30 seconds until you see a change in the oil pressure. After about 15 seconds, you may notice that engine starts to turn over faster. After cranking for 30 seconds more, you should start to read oil pressure. Now with everything hooked up – and someone at the back with a fire extinguisher, try to start it. Double check the timing. Make sure the #1 plug is in the correct location.

[CCM911]

We just put the engine back in my buddie's RSA last night. Total time in including mating of the trans to the engine was about three hours.

Keep in mind:

*As said by others, it is essential to properly align the clutch disc so the trans spline will slide right in. We used a broomstick and got lucky.

* A motorcycle or ATV Jack will greatly speed the process.

* A second floor jack under the trans is recommended.

* Pay close attention to the inner CV joints. This will allow you to gauge the engine placement. We were so close that the axles were able to be attached before the engine was completely up.

* Take your time. This is not a race. We took a lot of breaks, so that when we went back to work, we were not all tired and tense.

* Raise the engine/trans in small increments. This will allow you to ensure that all wires and hoses are where they should be, and not a pinched.

Have fun!

[hcoles]

I used the 12 ton stands from Harbor Frieght and they are not really tall enough, had to use blocks under them and dip the front of the car down to get the engine in. Also we used a motorcycle jack with some wood attached to make a place for the heat exchangers to rest, take your time as mentioned you will be fine.