dgmattingley

So earlier this year I decided I would drop the engine for a little winter maintenance following my last track event at VIR in November. I planned do the usual stuff -- ignition wires, distributor cap/rotors, power steering belt, and some general cleaning. But...although I didn't have any bad leaks, I noticed this fall that my car was burning quite a bit of oil, with my best estimate being a quart every 7-800 miles. Also, I found out I'd likely be moving abroad in a little over a year (993 is going with me) and would no longer have my own garage.

Consequently it seemed like a good time for a top-end rebuild. My car only has 56k miles, but I estimate about 15k of those are DE miles and I suspect the valve guides are ready to be replaced. I plan to keep this car a long time and I'm willing to make the investment now to have everything running as nicely as possible. I'm no mechanic, but will do all the assembly/disassembly work myself and with the help of a few friends, and will rely upon a trusty independent mechanic for the head work and a few other things. To prepare, I armed myself with the shop manuals, Wayne Dempsey's rebuild book, Mike L's wonderful engine rebuild guide, Toga's engine drop posts, and a whole lot of rennlist surfing.

So let's get started, below are pics of the car on jackstands, my two-jack system with creeper, and the successful conclusion. As I figured less weight would't hurt, I went ahead and took off the heat exchangers, cat, and rear heat pipe before lowering everything down. Everything remained stable although I did run into a couple of problems: 1) the pass. side half shaft got caught up twice, so I removed the starter with everything half lowered and that seemed to solve it; 2) somehow the driver side fuel line that runs along the back of the engine compartment got caught up on something and twisted and sheared. I'll have to find a replacement from a junkyard. I did the entire removal process by myself, and it took about 12 hours from start to finish.

1pcarnut

You're a brave man Gunga Din. Be fun to watch this, keep the pics coming.

trophy

Inspiration. I am looking at doing the same thing this winter.....

MDamen

I just finished the same task. Had my son help with the removal. It's nice to have a spotter so you can look around for things hanging up while the engine is coming down.
Using the creeper is creative.
Are you going to send the engine out for the top end rebuild or tackle it yourself?

Roche993

Good work, Don. Cant wait to come see.

boulderbobo

Looks like fun!

Please keep the progress and pics coming



Bob-

geordie

Subscribed.

Good luck Don!

gonzilla

WOW! Good for you!!! [subscribed]

Stealth 993

Looks like a BIG job! How long did it take you to drop it?

P-daddy

Wow great work. Wish I have the guts and knowledge to do this. Keep the pics coming.

joebaehr

I have made a multi-month process out of my similar project. Advantage is I have a mid-rise lift, but now that I am close to finally dropping the engine I am unsure if I also need to remove the rear tail pipe and bumper since it seemed that was mostly for clearance when using floor jacks and jackstands. I used a combination of the Porsche manual and p-car's and posts on Rennlist, but the manual only has you take the mufflers off.
Any advice appreciated!

race911

Ah, how different from the memories of dropping the engine out of a carb/901 trans early car that I could slap out in under 45 minutes when I was a kid.............

For anyone else out there wondering if you can tackle it--you can. Just a methodical process more than a difficult one. Certainly there's a lot more "stuff" on a 993 than any previous generation, but when I had to remove the yellow car's driveline for the broken valve spring a couple of years ago it was actually my first 993 pull. (I quit working on 911s professionally right when the 993 came out.) No A/C on that car, plus it has headers. I don't recall the exact time for the pull, but it couldn't have been more than 2-2.5 hours. I didn't pull the rear bumper, and I don't have a lift.

race911

And one other thing, I'd absolutely, positively send the heads to Steve. This is coming from someone who used to do all his own 911 heads--guides on a friend's Serdi, porting and other work at my uncle's machine shop. You'll get them done 100% correctly, likely at no more cost than a local who doesn't have the broad-based (let alone track) experience, with (if you desire) the springs shimmed perfectly. And THAT is critical, and overlooked, on these things.

e3photo

+ 993 for Steve. Top notch.

My heads traveled from Tenn, and I'd do it again.

Emerald

911Dave

Mind if I ask who Mike L is, and where I might find this guide?