spender

Greetings - as per my last post, I've got a leaking transmission that I am going to have repaired in a month while I am on holidays. My 996 (a 2003 C4S) has about 50K miles, and is otherwise running great, but there's always maintenance... It's my understanding that one of the main costs in fixing my transmission seal is the time required to drop the transmission and engine out of the car (and I've got an awesomely fair mechanic to begin with).

However, I'm assuming that when the engine and tranny are on the floor, they must be substantially easier to work on, and there's probably a bevy of things that are much easier to get at, and therefore cost less to change due to the reduced labour fees (such as spark plugs, for one).

The first one that comes to mind is to do a "preventative maintenance" IMS upgrade - any other things that could be done at this time? Your suggestions please...

Barn996

AOS, clutch, water pump,RMS, coolant tank.

pmkazz

They "do not" have to take the engine out of the car to remove the transmission nor should they. The transmission is a relatively easy removal.

spender

Interesting point on the transmission removal, it apparently in part has to do with the relative difficulty of lining everything up perfectly when re-installing - I've heard this from other sources already. But, willing to put it "out there" to the Rennlisters to see what the consensus is!

mjh1

OT but I see your pic is of the Top Gear guys, love that show! best car show going, can believe it has not made it to North America prime time yet.

pongobaz

Seems like a lot more labour than is needed. My dealer did my clutch by removing the transmission and without dropping the engine; that's the approved procedure.

spender

Thanks Pongo - mine is a Tip, so that might be a little different. My mechanic is well-known as the best indy in Calgary, so I am more than certain that he is not feeding me a line.

Anyway, my philosophy on stuff like this is to make lemonade, as the saying goes, so I don't mind dropping the engine if it is worth it in the end.

On that note, is that your IMS showing in that one picture, looks pretty clean and sparkly! Did you retrofit the LN kit?

ALSO Pongo - you take some of the best C4S pictures around here, well done!

pmkazz

I have replaced the clutch, flywheel, etc., three times on the 996 model. Taking the engine out serves no purpose and is not required (unless there are things that you want to do on the engine that would make this nessesary). Removing the transmission (and I did it on the garage floor), is the only thing required and as far as lining everything back up, that is not hard to do and easier on a lift. Hope that helps.

spender

I appreciate the input! I'd rather get people's views on this stuff now and be able ask him about it in an informed fashion - I'm sure there's a bona fide reason why he suggested this.

pongobaz

Thanks!

Yes, that's the LN kit. Since I had to do the clutch (pressure plate broke at Mosport), I figured I might as well get the bearing swapped out too and save the labour of doing it later. They also upgraded the RMS to the latest for the cost of the part.

cardsrule

ummm you guys are missing the point. he has a tip which mean that the tech has to take out the 6mm bolts through the starter hole to free up the flex plate. I have done it many times with the engine in a boxster (huge pain in the ***) but never in a 996, In fact i bet you DO have to drop the engine....

Goldenwarrior1

I just checked the Porsche manuals and it does not require removing the engine. Torque Converter bolts are removed through the starter hole. Rest is the same as removing the manual transmission. Reassembly does call for a special tool to lock the torque converter in place to prevent damage to the pump. FWIW, I just dropped the manual transmission in my 02 C4S and it took a little more than 1.5 hrs to get the tranny on the deck. Another 2 to re-install but I was working by myself. Good luck!

pl

Yes, u have to drop the engine for tip
I am thinking abiut th same list since I am having a proble wih lockup valve in the torquc convertor
How much isyour quote for doing all This?

pl

Yes, u have to drop the engine for tip
I am thinking abiut th same list since I am having a proble wih lockup valve in the torquc convertor
How much isyour quote for doing all This?

spender

I dropped a line to Charles at LN Engineering - great guy, very helpful, and he is pretty sure that I will have to drop the engine and the tranny in one unit for the later Tiptronic models.

My mechanic hinted that dropping the engine with tranny (in and out) is a 12 hour job - and thus the purpose for this thread, to get advice on other things that I should investigate doing. With the engine and tranny on the floor (the Porsche equivalent of "open heart surgery"), there's probably a ton of stuff that can be done more easily - such as the LN IMS upgrade, and maybe a few other things (if it needs it).