engine removal technique

[tnporsche]

1988 944 N/A with auto trans

Using car lift. What would best method for removing engine so that I can replace the pilot bearing? Wanting to leave together as much as possible.

Was thinking of trying to leave engine attached to front cross member. Lifting car just enough so that the bell housing bolts would come out. Then rolling cross member and engine together forward enough to slide out. Then lift car up off engine and front cross assembly.


Thoughts?

[Rasta Monsta]

Easier to pull gearbox and TT?

If you do pull the motor, invest in seals and rodberries, and either way, don't forget rear main seal.

[tnporsche]

Yea I guess your right there. I may re think it. Only reason I was thinking engine is the previous owner has sripped the bolt on top of trans cross bar. The one that is hard to to get to. I will look at that end again and see, I thought worse case is cut cross bar and replace once trans is out of way.

[tnporsche]

Ok, if I go pulling the trans direction.

will trans come out with the cross bar attached? It has one bolt one each side.

[krystar]

i've pulled my motor both ways. up top and from bottom. this time i did it from the top. seems easier this time. did it in an afternoon.
take off:
hood
fuel rail
clutch slave
starter
exhaust mani
airbox (if u still have it)
steering rack from the crossmember for wiggling clearance.
oil pressure sender
engine mount bolts. 2 on each side.

then just slide forward until torque tube comes out the bell housing, angle up to clear oil pan of the crossmember. yank forward and up and out.

[WestonP22]

I'd rather pull the motor than pull the gearbox and torque tube. Besides, once you have the motor out, you can easily throw in a fresh set of rod bearings and fix any hard-to-reach gaskets and such. In my experience, pulling the motor is the faster and easier method. It seems intimidating when you think about doing it for the first time, but just dig in and it's really not too bad. I've taken part in more 944 engine swaps than I can even remember over the past 3 years.

My preferred method is to pull the engine out from the top, rather than dropping it out the bottom. Just remove the power steering pulley from the crank, and preferably the accessory pulley as well, so that the engine will clear the hood latch. Everything else is fairly straight-forward... disconnect the usual lines and wires, disconnect the exhaust, support the engine with an engine crane, unbolt the motor mounts, unbolt the cross-member and let it drop so that the oil pan has room, disconnect the steering linkage from the steering rack to help that, etc. It only takes us a couple of hours or so.

If you drop it out the bottom, you still have to do most of the above, plus lift the car way higher, and deal with getting the cross-member and whole front suspension out of the way and such, then lifting it all back up and lining it all up when you're done.


Here's a more extreme method (from this weekend)...





It's a good way to go if you're gutting the car and it doesn't need to roll, or if you're building a race car and want to go through the drivetrain and suspension (especially the rear) all at the same time, but otherwise it's not the route I'd normally take.

[Rasta Monsta]

Originally Posted by WestonP22

I'd rather pull the motor than pull the gearbox and torque tube.

Would you say so for a clutch job as well?

Love those pics, BTW. Next time I part one out, I wanna do that just for fun.

[WestonP22]

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Would you say so for a clutch job as well?

Yes, definitely. The one time we pulled a transmission and torque tube, it was a clutch job. After that experience, we just pull the engine now. The 944 transmission is actually kind of beautifully simple to deal with (I used to be a FWD guy, so the 944 is almost a pleasure), but dealing with the torque tube and engine bell-housing was more trouble than it was worth. There's always a learning curve when you do a new method for the first time, but we would have saved a ton of time if we just pulled the motor instead. This was compounded by things not going according to plan... I forget what our problem was, but it was one of those stupid little surprises that ate up a bunch of time, and there wasn't a lot of room to work with.

[jasonmx5]

Looks like the basis of a Porsche powered lo-cost to me!

[krystar]

omg i wanna take the body off! weld a cage on and just it in the cage. 944 rat rod hehe

[OK-944]

Weston P-22 - it seems that for somebody wanting to address lots of issues - engine, trans, steering/suspension, brakes, etc, that lifting the body up off of these assemblies might be the way to go, as it looks like this makes everything much more accessible. Am I right? ...and is there a procedure written for this someplace? I think I'll post this separately also.

[MrTibbs]

Resurrecting an OLD thread. I'm dismantling a 924S at the moment for some parts for mine and some to sell. I've only just got my garage, and don't have a crane or anything at the moment, but taking the body off seems the ideal way to break it up.

I've already got all the interior out of the car, and have taken off the lights, bumper and nose panel. I will take the doors, glass (including hatch and windsheild) out of the car before taking the body off. Has anyone who's done this got an idea how much the shell alone then weighs, and whether I'd need a hoist to lift it, or if it could be lifted by a couple of reasonably strong guys (or maybe 4 reasonably strong guys)?

definitely looks a good way to go for me since my garage floor is cracked up so I'm nervous using jackstands.

Mike

[Hippo]

Originally Posted by WestonP22

...

Here's a more extreme method (from this weekend)...




...

How do you do this? I have a wrecked shell that I want to remove. Is it just attached via the shock towers? -noob- I have access to a forklift so it doesnt seem like it will be that hard