Rob Edwards

Yes, people typically undo the 6 bolts holding the exhaust manifolds to the cat downpipes. The exhaust manifolds themselves stay on the engine while it's being pulled. (They're mounted on M8 studs that thread into the heads, sometimes a stud will come out when undoing the manifolds- just double nut it to loosen the nut, and re-bottom the stud in the head) Though the bolts will often be rusted solid, hit 'em with Kroil and let them soak before trying an impact wrench. The actual exhaust components are all SS and of high quality.

RE: sliding the tranny back, you're right, you undo the two vertical M12 transmission-to-crossmember mounting bolts and the four bellhousing to block bolts, then lever the whole torque tube/tranny back an inch or so. (Loosen these by hand, you do NOT want to ruin the threads in the transmission mount (unless it's totally collapsed and you're going to R&R them), the mounts have become hideously expensive) Levering is necessary because the engine sits on its mounts in such a way that the engine needs to be lifted straight up a few inches before it can move foreward and aft significantly. The radiator should come out, if for no other reason than to flush all the metallic goo out of the oil cooler on the driver's side of the radiator.

The upper bellhousing bolts can be a PITA to reach, some people have bent and modified wrenches to make this easier, some use a combo socket wrench, and some use a long handled flex driver (below):

newworld

all this advice makes a lot of sense and very logical to me. as a person who has wrenched other porsches and actually restored a jag xjs v12 with all its idiosyncrocities....i can now better understand the scope of what i may be dealing with. my main concerns as a one man wrencher as always are safety...i.e. moving heavy pieces around like engines so i need the right equipment, wrestling with heavy things and causing more damage, i.e. puncturing other side items that now need to be replaced and add to cost and time, and things where torque can lead to bad results i.e. stripped bolts in all the wrong places, and or no access ......

so listening to those that have done it and have experienced tips like loosen crankbolt before removal are very helpful to me. or disconnecting fuel injector harness at clips.....i have taken apart fi injectors before so i know what he is talking about to do.....

newworld

you all are a great community and i hope to contribute in some way in the future through what lies ahead...

Leon Speed

Hi and welcome.

Any pics of your car?

newworld

oh and that pic of the racheting 17mm long bar with swivel heads what a pic. i have never seen one!

Rob Edwards

Expensive for a single wrench but it's the shizzle for the upper bellhousing bolts.

Mrmerlin

from whats been posted,
it sounds like a better choice of measuring devices needs to be employed on the crank endplay measurement.
If numbers are as described then it would be best to drop in a good used engine

WallyP

Despite several recommendations, I still have not seen any indication that you actually have the Factory Workshop Manuals. I would never try the job that you are facing without having the manuals. Not having the manuals greatly lowers the chances for success.

newworld

here is a pic of the flex plate, you cant see the bowing, but it is there. hard to juggle 2 things while on yourback...i should have put a straightedge on it.

note 8mm of splines as well

newworld

this pic is before removing the coupler bolt, so spline is actually at 10.5mm and pretty significant bowing....

BPG_Austin

Newworld. I had very early stages of TBF in my '87 when I bought it and didn't know. Engine was savable with new mains and rods, so I'm familiar with this topic. I agree with WallyP and others. If you don't have the factory service manuals, you NEED them for this job. Getting the engine in/out is the easy part. Its the torque specs/order of assembly etc. you need desperately. If you haven't: get a dial indicator with a clamping base and get a good read on your crank runout. Do the test half a dozen times to be sure of the measurement. cross reference it with the spec tolerances in the WSM's. That reading can help you determine if you're better off with an engine replacement instead. The job is time consuming and needs to be done precisely. Sounds like you're a competent wrencher but you need to know where you're starting from. I spent several weeks reading the engine volumes in the WSM's before tearing into the car. Time well spent and results are fantastic. You've come to the right place for help. Good luck!

newworld

Thanks for all inputs...what was your endplay out of curiosity? There seems to be some debate about the extent of wear and what actions to take. Of course if engine is seized and block scored or cracked need to replace....it is the gray areas that are not clear to me. Also I would not undertake this project without the right tools and that includes manuals...however I will say that in my experience with water cooled Porsches the good thing is that the engineers think alike...I.e. a bellhousing is a bellhousing and they may create different mounts etc but the structureal thinking and engineering is the same. I also know that neither experience advice or wsm is a substitute for the other....both are needed....

Jim Devine

You need to do this procedure and actually measure with a dial indicator before you go much farther.
It doesn't take much time and you will know where you are.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...pictorial.html

A second write up here:



http://dwaynesgarage.norcal928.org/1...0Procedure.htm

Until you know an exact measurement you really can't plan.

namasgt

Using calipers won't work.... If you did find noticeable amount of metal on the magnetic plug, drop the oil pad and inspect the rod bearings, if your end play checks out okay. What kind of oil was the PO using?

newworld

I understand digital calipers are not right tool. But my point is the movement in flywheel/ starter ring assembly is significant enough to be measured by tape measure. I surmise that others that are in spec need dial gauges BC they are measuring fractions of a mm...or minute fractions of an inch .o16 etc....if the crank moves about 1 mm you can see that movement. Less than .4 mm the crank barely moves.

My flex plate as pictured is really bowed and lots of spline showing. Others I see almost no spline or couple mm. I have 8mm showing with bolt out.

The oil filter is mahle...thick thick oil...it is dirty but no sparkling. The plug has fine barbs on it and some silvery slurry I will post a pic. Oil filter oil drained and no sparkles. Oil is my best guess 20w definitely not 5w or 10w....based on my visual measure of using all these oils.