Removing an 83' 911 Engine

[twilightcall]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has or knows of where there is a good procedure for removing the engine on an 83' 911. The more info the better. How complicated of a job is it and how long does it normally take? I do have a good back ground with cars. Thanks.

[emcon5]

Wayne's 101 projects book is good, as is the Bentley manual.

Tom

[85eurocarrera]

What emcon5 said and also Do a search and you should find alot of info.
Joe

[john_colasante]

This forum has the combined experience of probably several hundred engine drops, including:

Fast drops, slow drops, drops on your foot, drops from a lift, drops from the ground, one person drops, group drops, clean drops, messy drops, kitty-litter drops, Exxon Valdez drops, standing drops, drop to your knees, laying down drops, drops with jacks, drops with hyraulic tables, drops with bare hands, successful drops, unsuccessful drops, drops where nobody got hurt, drops where somebody got hurt, necessary drops, unnecessary drops, drops for fun, drops that caused divorces, professional drops, drops outdoors, drops in the garage, drops done right the first time, drops done multiple times because of re-install mistakes...

[cstreit]

...don't forget the cat-litter can drops...Seriously though TC... Get the book, or at a minimum read the technical articles.

I am in the middle of doing a complete rebuild having never done anything like it before. Get the basic information from the above resources and then post away with your questions...

[k9handler]

yep...the masses say get the book!

droppin' science

[old_skul]

There is a technical article on this site which is a great place to start. All in all, it's not that hard - you disconnect the fuel, electrics, a few bits on the tranny, and lower it down. What you do with it then becomes interesting!

[Superman]

Disconnect everything. Then remove the four mounting bolts.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Welcome to the board, please feel free to browse. There is a tremendous amount of helpful information here and a good group of people who are willing to share their knowledge.

Make sure the vehicle is properly supported and support the motor with an adequate jack. Do not trust your life to cheap stands and cheap jacks.

The motor is fairly simple to remove, but I suggest two people to remove it. My wife found it easier to get the nut on top of the transmission than I found it. I would suggest someone a bit smaller for that task as the amount of room in there is limited.

[scoll911]

Ditto everyone else get the book and take lots of pictures. I didn't get around to reinstalling my engine for four years. I forgot what my marking meant.

[ChrisBennet]

Remove the motor and the transmission together!
-Chris

[Kevin Stewart]

The main thing is to get the car high enough to get the motor out from underneath, i use four rail road tires cut to 2 foot lengths, i as put 2x4 tops front and rear, you will also need to take the rear valance off, just makes it easier, it will take about 4-5 hrs your first time, mark everything and if you get stuck jump on the bbs and we will help, i have heard people say they had help with in minutes, the more complicated questions may take a little longer untill someone has done that project is on the bbs, Kevin

by the way its best to have two floor jacks when you do this, but can be done with one or the 911 jack adapter

[nick-moss]

Have a look at the Pelican Technical Article

[ischmitz]

There are two different main theories as to how to drop the engine. Many use the floorjack/jackstand method. If you do it alone and don't have one of those neat jack adaptor plates it might be a little scary to balance the engine/tranny combo on one jackstand. You have to find a jack with enough punch or do it in stages. Major PITA. And dropping the engine from 40 inches won't do it any good either.

I opted for the lifting the car approach. It's all Habour freight stuff for a total of less than 100$. And I swear I could have gotten the back up even higher.


Lift up the rear


and wheel the engine on the dolly underneath. The floor jack has next to no load. It is used to later get the bolts at the tranny side started. The jack stands are for additional safety if my upperstairs bedroom decides to give in the process... Once they are I can use the jack to lift up the flywheel side, take the hoist off and there you go.

Ingo

[osidak]

Get either Bently's or 101 and read and re read it. There is also an article here on Pelican how to do so. Do everything the book says except.

Take the engine and transmission out together. I can not possible see how it is considered easier to take out just the engine. If you want to seperate the transmission from the engine it is much easier to do when the engine is out of the car.

I did my 78 911sc (with out A/C) and it was very simple.

Good luck

[Doug Zielke]

The *real* key to a successful engine drop, is to have a few experienced friends help you. You supply working space, beer, tools, beer, snacks, beer.....get the picture?
Do a search for the "Blue Bomber's Engine Drop Party", and see how the buddy system works.

[twilightcall]

Thanks for all of the great info. I got the article and read through it. What needs to be done differently to drop the trans. with the engine? I also think dropping the engine and the trans. as one unit is the way to go. This site is wonderful. I am very excited to become a part of it. Also if you drop the engine/trans. as one unit where is the best place to have the jack located when lowering it? This one maybe a kind of dumb question but after the unit has been lowered with the jack what is the best way to get it onto the carrying dolley? Thanks Again.

[nick-moss]

There are several previous posts regarding engine lifts, here are a few examples

[ischmitz]

Nick,

I saw those neat adapter plates for floor jacks on Ebay but I didn't see myself coughing up 160$ a piece. That would have been 320$ since the old engine has a sump plate and the new one does not. If I would be a shop dropping 100 engines per day maybe yes.

Same is true for the engine-mount lift points. I saw those on Ebay in combination with a cherry picker. Nice but too expensive.