Olemiss540

Almost ZERO experience with working on the 996tt so far (no issues yet). Am I crazy to want to drop the motor to take care of some preventative maintenance (MaxJack lift at home)? Would JB weld/pin the coolant lines and replace hoses/overflow tank while I was in there. Or is the work to drop the engine so intesive it is best to wait until I HAVE to do it (clutch, etc)? Thanks!

T10Chris

I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm keen to try and tackle this project with the motor in car... Just terrified of getting started and unable to finish it because something goes wrong.

FWIW it doesn't seem the engine removal is terribly difficult if you're mechanically inclined enough to have removed engines/transmissions in the past and have proper space/tools/equipment. Seems re-installation is the harder part of the process.

TeCKis300

I've turned my fair share of wrenches on many cars. Thing is, this car is not the most pleasant to work on. There's a lot of complexity in a very small package. Even with the motor out, access is marginal at best.

As a race car, without all the smog, boosted components, and such, it would be so much better to work on. As a street car, serviceability is a compromise.

Olemiss540, if you're dropping the motor, do the clutch. No sense in not doing it if it's out.

996TWINS

This is what I did (some prior) when the engine was removed for the coolant pipe fix:

Coolant pipe fix
Expansion tank
Water pump
Check valves (I thought there was only one, but there are two)
Oil pressure sending unit
Metal turbo oil feed lines checked
Waste gate vacuum lines
5 bar fuel pressure regulator
Clutch kit
Slave cylinder (found it was leaking a bit with the engine removal. Bad news/good news)
Pressure accumulator
Spark plugs
Water hoses
Fuel filter
Air filter
Crankshaft seal
Boost pressure test
Wastegate adjust
Endless brake fluid
Coolant
Throttle body seal
Precision Porsche GT2 deck lid (wing painted matte black)
GT2 deck lid wiring harness
Transponder
Coil packs
Solenoid brackets
Engine mounts (RSS)
Trans mount (997 version)
Multi-rib belt
2nd gear detent

So after all this, no more thoughts about blowing a coolant fitting at the track.

911mhawk

I would have waited on this project based on the low mileage of engine. Since it was out for a trans rebuild, I figured it was right time to do additional. The while I'm in there can add up but I figure it will hopefully be one less time I have to drop it later.

Wait until you have to do it, unless you track, like to spend $ and want to get to know your car for fun. I f you plan on keeping it for a long time, the sooner you do stuff the sooner you get to enjoy vs. fixing for the next guy.

TeCKis300

The ticket for specialty tools are these two items. Available from harbor freight:
Drill flex extension w/ right angle adapter:
http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-r...der-96726.html
Combination drill/tap (which works with the flex extension as well)
http://www.harborfreight.com/sae-dri...set-95528.html

For the next guy... No need to pull the left/right intake distributors. Pulling the center intake distributor (behind the throttle body) will give you a straight shot at the deepest coolant pipe on the passenger side for the oil cooler. This center distributor can be pulled with engine in the car, making doing in car viable, though not necessarily easy.

MotoJB

Gents, I am about to have the motor pulled for some work...the shop I settled on unfortunately claims they will NOT pin or weld coolant lines. Claim they've only seen 2 out of 80 996 TT's they've had ever have issues and state there are other potential issues from pinning. Not exactly sure why they won't do it.

Any reason's not to do this while the motor is out? Would it be absolutely stupid not to do it while it's out? Should I be seeking a different shop for the work then?

32krazy!

time for a different shop unless they will guarantee that yours wont fail and will absorb the cost of pulling the motor and fixing it. pinning a car with the motor out and not leaking is at most a 1 hr job. its stupid simple. welding is more labor involved and no leaks it needs pressure testing. lots of shops to choose from

Lucid Moment

Agreed, I would find a shop who will do.

racer959

Bringing this thread back. How much is the typical cost for a shop to weld or pin the coolant lines? How long will it take to do the job? Thanks in advance.

Carlo_Carrera

I had mine welded. PowerTech in Rockaway NJ did it. Cost $4500. It took a week.

If I was to have it done again I would take it to Aspen Autosports in Randolph. The top mechanic from PowerTech left and opened Aspen.

racer959

That sounds like a lot of money to drop the engine and weld.

Carlo_Carrera

There is a ton of plumbing that has to come off the top of the engine to pull the water manifold and do quality welding of billet coolant tubes and then pressure testing.

Pinning is much cheaper because very little of the engine plumbing needs to be removed to do it.

I track my Turbo so I went with welding because I wanted the issue fixed permanently.

manimal

For the welding proponents, why isn't pinning considered a permanent solution?

s65e90

Think about it, it's only making sure the pipe can't come out, it can still leak around the adhesive. I'd remove the fittings, knurl and then re-install before I just stuck a pin through em as is.