How to ship a 944 transaxle for about $100!

[HondaDustR]

Yes, it is possible to mail a 944 transaxle standard ground shipping through UPS or Fedex for at least half the cost of shipping it freight. Many944s can confirm that this does work!


First, you'll need:

1. transaxle (obviously...)
2. a box that's at least about the right size or bigger (~28x18x20in)
3. Some extra cardboard that's big enough to line the box with
4. 1 Legends Performance textured horse feed bag (preferably with 12% protein...at least then your horse won't get skinny over the winter)
5. tennis ball (any brand will do, but I prefer Dunlop...only 'cause I'm sponsored. jk )
6. 2 pieces of wood board at least as long as the transaxle. Mine were about 1in thick and 6in wide
7. big bottle of wood glue
8. 2 rolls of strapping tape
9. scissors, ruler, and pen
10. saw to cut wood
11. Random cusioning and packing materials



OOps...wrong project...




First, cut right to the fun part and stab the tennis ball with the scissors, making a hole big enough to fit over the protruding input shaft so it doesn't poke a hole in the box.




Next, position the transaxle inside the box and mark off how big the box needs to be. You want as little extra room as possible, as it will make packing so it doesn't bang around inside easier. Make sure to leave at least 1 or 2 inches to compensate for the thickenning of the walls of the box and inconsistent measuring and cutting that will be likely (unless you have all day to engineer a precision cut box). I decided to make the 2/3's of the length of the box from the rear of the belhousing slope down so that there would be no extra room for the rear end of the transaxle to shift around if the box ends up upside down.




Next, cut the box so that you can fold up the end(s) to form the new box, and leaving enough extra on the sides to fold them over the corner. Rough up the surface of the corner if it's glossy and apply glue. Use a couple strips of tape to hold the flap down while the glue dries.




Cut out a piece of cardboard out of the extra piece of cardboard so that it can fold up to fit inside the box, following the diagram. It will have to be cut to fold slightly smaller than the main box, but you want to make sure it's a nice tight fit. It's best to cut slightly bigger and snip and fudge it into place. If the main box is too short anywhere, cut this piece big enough to add the needed dimensions. Using the scissors and a ruler to etch through the surface of the cardboard makes acurate folding alot easier. Not too deep, or it will compromise strength. You should end up with 2 layers on the bottom and long sides, and 4 on the ends.

[HondaDustR]

When installing the insert into the main box, lay a generous bead of glue along the corners and some on the side panels. This will help strengthen the corners so they won't bash in as easily.




Cut the two pieces of wood as closely to fitting the bottom as possible and lay down some glue, focusing especially along the edges and corners. This will form the rails that the transaxle will sit on, and will give the bottom some structure.




Slide the transaxle into the Legends Performance textured horse feed bag (or any other suitable wrapping to cover the edges and corners of the transaxle) and wrap securely with strapping tape. Check the fit inside the box. Use some imagination to construct some padding and cusioning devices to stabilize the transaxle inside the box and provide some shock absorbsion. I used some small boxes stuffed with bubble wrap and wadded paper to stabilize the rear and some empty oil bottles with the caps on to cusion the midsection and act as braces for the long side panel of the box.



I ended up strapping another oil bottle to the rear end of the transaxle to stabilize it against the top of the box, especially if the box goes upside down.




Trim the extra cardboard to form the rest of the box, sanding, folding, and gluing flaps as necessary, as before. Fill up the empty spaces inside the box with wadded up paper, or other light filler. I ended up strapping a scrap piece of cardboard to cover the top edge of the bellhousing, since the bag wasn't quite big enough.




Fabricate any extra pieces of cardboard to cover any part of the box that is still missing, making sure every part of the box is at least 2 layers thick. Then run strapping tape lengthwise along every corner and edge to protect from abrasion. Then strap completely around the box around all axis's to add final strength, tear, and puncture resistance.





The whole thing ended up weighing 130lb for a NA tranny. Probably a little more for beefier models.
For actually shipping, I found Fedex to be cheaper than UPS. It cost $87 to ship from VA to IN. I looked up a quote to ship from VA to CA and it was only like $119!
Add about $20 for glue and tape.
Many944s has reported it arrived in perfect condition.
Say goodbye to expensive freight!

[halik]

Way too much work,
all you need is a box:



Actually when I shipped the old trans out, I just wrapped it in Bubble wrap and boatload of duct tape

[schwank]

I just had one shipped 3/4 of the way across the country using a wood-lined rubbermade bin. BAX Global shipped it freight for about $120 including pick up and drop off.

[HondaDustR]

Originally Posted by halik

Way too much work,
all you need is a box:

lol!
Sorry. My family has some German ancestry AND I'm an engineering student, so I can't help it. (Hmmm...I might actually be able to get a job with Porsche after all!)

At least mine could probably ship a tranny like 10 times over without falling apart.

[porschenewb]

check out greyhound i just got a valence shipped to me through them only 45 dollars