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Excellent work and effort; it’ll get your 944 through its next 40 years. Good to see you’ve found Prekom; my understanding is that they supply many of the big/premium replacement brands we admire. Also, it reminds me how useful it is to identify which parts were created as VW fitments (Super Beetle, early Golf etc). For example on my former 924S I was able to buy new rear torsion bars in my preferred size very reasonably.
I spent some time stripping the black powder coat from the torque tube bell housing. I had specifically asked the powder coaters not to paint it, they stripped most of the paint but there was some flakes left and I wanted it to look as nice as the gearbox. So I got some industrial strength paint stripper, stripped the rest of the paint and then gave it a coat of etch primer followed by some Eastwood Aluma Blast aluminium look spray paint.
And remember kids, safety first, that paint stripper was nasty. Even with the PPE I got a tiny splash on my cheek and it burnt like hell!
The torque tube looks great! I used the Eastwood paint on my bell housing and oil pan when I did my engine refresh. It sprays on really nicely and has a nice look to it for sure.
And honestly, all of your work looks great, not just the torque tube! Keep it up, my man!
Excellent work and effort; it’ll get your 944 through its next 40 years. Good to see you’ve found Prekom; my understanding is that they supply many of the big/premium replacement brands we admire. Also, it reminds me how useful it is to identify which parts were created as VW fitments (Super Beetle, early Golf etc). For example on my former 924S I was able to buy new rear torsion bars in my preferred size very reasonably.
kind regards, John
Cheers John!
Originally Posted by JRP944
The torque tube looks great! I used the Eastwood paint on my bell housing and oil pan when I did my engine refresh. It sprays on really nicely and has a nice look to it for sure.
And honestly, all of your work looks great, not just the torque tube! Keep it up, my man!
JRP
Cheers JRP
Originally Posted by EliteThink
awesome job!
Thank you!
Originally Posted by dlknight
Had some fun with the rear wheel bearings, the left side went in super easy. I had placed both bearings in the freezer overnight and heated up the trailing arm with a MAP torch for about 6 minutes, until water boiled on contact with the bearing surface. I picked up the bearing and it slipped straight into the arm by hand! (yes I know the circlip is missing in the photo but was fitted shortly afterwards)
No such luck though with the right side, on the second attempt I managed to get the bearing in about 25% of the way and then resorted to using my bearing tool and a 2 foot breaker bar.
OK so I messed up I test fitted the brake discs and left side is fine, but the right side where I had trouble with the bearing was completely buckled. I think I must have damaged the bearing when installing the hub somehow. So new bearing on order and I've started stripping down the trailing arm again.
Progressing at a steady pace still, mainly working on the car for a couple of hours in the evening and on the weekend when I'm not doing other stuff.Bought this used brake pipe flaring tool some time ago, a Sykes Pickavant 270 series with 3/16", 1/4" and 4.75mm dies. Then picked up some cupro nickel brake pipe and some 10mm fittings.
My second attempt at making a flare after first attempt failed (the dies needed a good clean).
And my third attempt at making the right side rear caliper hard line, lots of damn bends to go around the trailing arm! (if I'd known how fiddly this bit would be I might have coughed up the £100+ for the genuine steel lines!). I used some silicone vacuum hose to protect the pipe where it travels under the arm and through the retaining clip (this was real fiddly to squeeze on the pipe! I had also purchased some glue lined heat shrink tubing but it would not have provided enough diameter to secure the pipe in the retaining clip). All the bends on the third attempt were made using a proper pipe bending tool, so no kinking of the pipe.
I then removed the new / broken wheel bearing from the right-hand side. The bearing seat in the trailing arm had gotten a bit marred from the previous bearing installation so I spent a good hour or so carefully sanding it with some wet-n-dry paper.
Then the new / new wheel bearing was installed, this time I didn't heat the trailing arm, just placed the wheel bearing in the freezer for 24 hours before the install. This seemed to help the bearing go in much easier, once the bearing was level and about 1/2 way in, I gently heated the outside of the trailing arm which made it easier to press the bearing in with the front wheel bearing tool I had.
After installing the new / new wheel bearing I still had an issue with the brake disc wobbling. It was then I realised that the brake disc wasn't sitting completely flush with the hub
So I'd wasted £40 on a wheel bearing that was probably fine!
Moving on I've now attached the brake discs, calipers, home made custom brake hard lines, and the ABS sensors and cables.
I've adjusted the parking brake shoes, fitted the brake pads and wear sensors, so now need to adjust the parking brake lever and bleed the rear brakes.
Then I can get the wheels back on and get the car out of the garage for a clean before turning it around and starting on the engine removal process
Great job and your dedication really shows! Also, I was just in the UK and wish I saw more transaxle cars - lots of new modern supercars though. I was in London after all.
Over the last weekend I bled the rear brakes and got the car back on it's wheels for the first time in 2 years.
My custom brake hard lines were leak free and the pedal felt nice and firm after bleeding!
Even fitted the correct pad wear sensor clips instead of the zip ties I'd previously used
Then I had the pleasure of pushing the car out of the garage for a quick clean, turning it around and pushing it back. This proved to be extremely difficult due to the small lip at the entrance to the garage. Anyhow I eventually managed to get it back in where it now sits ready for the engine extraction to begin.
Yes the ride-height in the rear looks high, as the gear box is currently sitting in my utility room. I'm hoping when it has the weight of the gear box again it will sit at the correct level.
Today after the car has had time to settle, I measured the rear ride-height, fingers were crossed that there was no difference side-to-side, and they were both the same. This was the first time I'd ever dismantled the torsion bar assembly and I had eye-balled the reassembly from photos I'd taken during disassembly.
Left side on the left, right side on the right
Bang on identical on both sides at 70cm or 27.5", I'm happy with that!
That is all for now, hopefully some more time in the evenings to get cracking on the engine removal!
I've previously used ATE Super Blue in this car, even though it has had a couple of changes since with the normal ATE Super Racing Type 200 (the blue is no longer available), there is some of the blue colour left in the system which mixes with the gold of the newer fluid
Finally, some progress after finishing work on my BMW X3 (for now) and doing some central heating maintenance before the winter arrives!
Got the messy jobs out of the way by draining the coolant (managed to save about 3L of it as it wasn't that old) and the engine oil. The oil looked jet black which was better than last time I drained it (was a milky coffee colour). There *may* have been a small amount of coolant in the oil, couldn't tell if this was contamination from the coolant I drained first. When pouring the oil into an empty can I noticed a little bit of water right at the end (underneath the oil). Not that it matters if the engine is getting rebuilt anyway!
Got through some more steps of the Porsche Workshop Manual guide to removing the engine. I've completed most of the steps to do on the top of the engine and have now raised it to full height on my 3-ton axle stands (around 20 inches clearance under the front of the bumper). I've got some 6-ton axle stands which are slightly taller to stick under before dropping the engine, possibly with some blocks of wood for extra height.
Now to complete the steps underneath the engine to prepare it to be dropped. I put together my engine support beam this evening and fitted it under the bonnet. I realised that I will also need to support the rear of the engine as I've already removed the clutch, flywheel and torque tube shaft. I'm going to use my transmission jack with some big pieces of wood under the oil pan.
About to order a 2-ton engine crane, load leveller and engine stand. Have been checking locally on Facebook marketplace but not much around.
Not looking forward to removing the engine mount bolts, I tried replacing them a year or two ago and gave up as it was almost impossible to get any tools on the nuts.
Not looking forward to removing the engine mount bolts, I tried replacing them a year or two ago and gave up as it was almost impossible to get any tools on the nuts.
Consider dropping the motor while it is still attached to the subframe / crossmember? Then you can detach the motor mounts afterwards.
Consider dropping the motor while it is still attached to the subframe / crossmember? Then you can detach the motor mounts afterwards.
Thanks for these words of wisdom, I did exactly that and was able to lower the engine and crossmember together, I could then access the motor mount bolts easily and then lift the engine away from the crossmember.
So the stuff arrived and progress was made over the weekend, assembled the chinese crane, which had questionable instructions and not very good looking bolts.
Never removed an engine before so took my time and made sure I'd completed all the steps in the Porsche workshop manual.
The wiring on the left side by the brake master cylinder would have caught me out if it hadn't been mentioned in the manual.
Coming next, trying to squeeze the engine out from under the car, wondering if it is ok to tilt the engine forwards slightly?
I've got more extension on the front axle stands, so could raise it up to the next position, and the last option which I really don't want to do it remove the front bumper.
Thanks for these words of wisdom, I did exactly that and was able to lower the engine and crossmember together, I could then access the motor mount bolts easily and then lift the engine away from the crossmember.
Coming next, trying to squeeze the engine out from under the car, wondering if it is ok to tilt the engine forwards slightly?
I've got more extension on the front axle stands, so could raise it up to the next position, and the last option which I really don't want to do it remove the front bumper.
Thanks for feeding my ego!
Screw the tow eye hook into the nose of the car. Put the engine hoist’s hook onto that tow eye hook and carefully lift up the front of the car. Once it’s high enough to slide out the engine, support the car with the axle stands and slide out the engine. Make sure the rear wheels are chocked well. Put the emergency brakes on for extra safety. Good luck.
You're doing a great job. I can appreciate the effort having done something similar. I've just refitted my engine after finally sorting out crank girdle oil pump leak.
I also took the engine out in 2018 I struggled with a load leveller being too short ( I noticed the angle of chains on your picture)
I simply added a longer bar (only a fiver from an engineering place) this time around , and it helped somewhat.
You're doing a great job. I can appreciate the effort having done something similar. I've just refitted my engine after finally sorting out crank girdle oil pump leak.
I also took the engine out in 2018 I struggled with a load leveller being too short ( I noticed the angle of chains on your picture)
I simply added a longer bar (only a fiver from an engineering place) this time around , and it helped somewhat.
Thanks Herdy - I should be OK as I'm installing the transmission after the engine is re-installed. I know what you mean about that bar being short but didn't have any problems really lowering the engine to the ground.
07-26-2023, 10:00 AM
I test fitted the brake discs and left side is fine, but the right side where I had trouble with the bearing was completely buckled. I think I must have damaged the bearing when installing the hub somehow. So new bearing on order and I've started stripping down the trailing arm again.
