DIY Clutch, Flywheel, RMS Job - Am I Crazy?

[geoffbaltz]

I'm thinking of doing it myself to save the $$$. I have the repair manuals and it seems pretty easy. I cant seem to find a step by step online either.

I don't have the special engine support tool and no lift. I have done clutches, flywheels, and transaxle swaps in 944s but not on any 996s.

Am I getting into a nightmare and is it worth it to have the dealer do it? How much should it cost with no parts?

Replacing OE with SPEC stage 1 clutch kit and lightweight aluminum flywheel (track only car).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

00 996 C2

[Foster]

I'm in the middle of a clutch replacement and 60k service.

The local dealership quoted $2,200 for the 60k service alone.

Everything is disassembled, I'm just waiting on the parts.

I ordered everything in the bell housing including flywheel, plus RMS, case bolts, IMS bolts,

plugs, plug tubes, belt, filters, transmission mount, overpriced Porsche grease, and the RMS installation tool.

It came to a little over $1,800. I figure I can sell the RMS tool and get a little back.

I also bought a few tools, a floor jack, a transmission jack, four jack stands, and that was around $400.

The only snag I've hit so far is the transmission mount. It's pressed in. I couldn't get the gbox out from under

the car while it was on the jack. I thought I'd cut out the old mount out and try to McGyver the new one in with C-Clamps.

But It's in there quite snug, so I surrendered and wrestled the trans off the jack and slid it out.

So far It's been pretty straight forward.

I'm not really qualified to put up a DIY on this but I can take pics of what ever you want while I have it apart.

Edited January 5, 2009 by Foster

[1schoir]

Geoff:

If you have done it on a 944, you should have no problem doing it on your 996.

There have been numerous discussions about the effectiveness of the new RMS seals, so you might want to read up on the latest/greatest, which I believe is the Cayenne seal.

Definitely a good safety practice to place the wheel and tire under the car as a back up to the jackstand as Foster has done.

Regards, Maurice.

[greerj1]

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/996rms/rms3.php

Go here. This one is very well documented.

Good luck

James Greer

[geoffbaltz]

Maurice,

Thanks for the info and I'll check out the RMS updates.

James,

I did find that site after I posted. I does look pretty straight forward.

What I find interesting is that my car has 73K miles on it, the RMS is original and there is no leaking (and not just by looking at the floor, I've been under the car many times), and the clutch is original. Do I even mess with the seal, the IMS bolts and the crankcase bolts?

I do have a testy synchro when downshifting to 2nd gear on the track. Maybe I should mess with that instead?

[Foster]

If I opened mine up and it all looked clean then I'd leave it alone.

When I bought the car it had a little over 50k now it's a little over 60k.

Original clutch finally went out. Never used oil and never a drop on the floor.

When I opened it up it was apparent that the seals had leaked at one time, but

the accumulation of clutch dust had 'healed' it.

So I decided to replace all of it except the IMS flange. No way I'm touching that. I don't care if it does leak.

You definitely don't want to replace the RMS with a hammer like on the c-speedracing site.

[1schoir]

Maurice,

Thanks for the info and I'll check out the RMS updates.

James,

I did find that site after I posted. I does look pretty straight forward.

What I find interesting is that my car has 73K miles on it, the RMS is original and there is no leaking (and not just by looking at the floor, I've been under the car many times), and the clutch is original. Do I even mess with the seal, the IMS bolts and the crankcase bolts?

I do have a testy synchro when downshifting to 2nd gear on the track. Maybe I should mess with that instead?

I agree with Foster regarding the RMS. If, after you open it up, you see first hand that there is no evidence of leaking from the RMS, I would leave that one alone.

If there is any leaking near the IMS, and if you can determine that the leak is coming from around the bolts themselves, then you can just replace the leaking bolt(s) with the new bolts that have sealant pre-installed on their threads. A leak from the flange (i.e., not from around the bolts themselves) could be an indication of a potential future failure of the IMS bearing, which is supposed to operate as a sealed bearing. There is some specific information on this point at the LNEngineering.com website, IIRC. If I find the article, I will post the link here.

Regards, Maurice.

[Laurent996]

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/996rms/rms3.php

Go here. This one is very well documented.

Good luck

James Greer

I did all of this on my 996 C2 3.4 about a year ago. I think this is a DIY job, but you must have the factory instructions and you must have the right tools. I don't mean to badmouth on someone else's job, but the explanations in this link contain inaccuracies and things that are outright wrong:

- the engine support bar is worth the money. The transmission holds the rear part of the engine. Once it is loosened, nothing holds the engine but this bar, so it's not just about extra safety. Other things that advocate for using it: it lets you adjust the engine height (very useful when you need to realign the gearbox and the engine and screw/unscrew the bolt on top of the gearbox), it gives more room under the car that you will most likely need, if nothing else appreciate, and finally it's a lot safer for you and your car.

- to remove the seal, drill a hole in it, put a screw in the hole, then pull the whole thing out. That's what the official instructions say, it's that simple.

- while you might be able to live without the engine support bar (at your own risk), the RMS tool is an absolute must. What's described in the other DYI sounds to me like the fastest way to ruin both the new seal and your engine. One thing you need to know though: the tool doesn't come with bolts to hold the part that goes on the crankshaft. I couldn't find the right bolts, so I ended up cutting two old flywheel bolts (those have to be replaced anyway) and grinding the head to the right diameter. No big deal, but if you didn't plan to replace your flywheel bolts, you may have to change your mind.

I found the toughest parts to be realigning the gearbox with the engine block for reassembly and putting back the bolts at the highest part of the transmission (there's almost no clearance, feels like milking a mouse...). A set of drift punches will help you for the first, an air ratchet (I use a Snap on FAR72C) will for the second.

I purchased the engine support bar from samstagsales and the RMS tool from Pelican parts, but since then I found it also on Ebay. As Foster mentioned, you can still resale these once you're done.

Good luck!

[flyingpenguin]

+1 for realigning the gearbox with the engine block. What a PITA, even when both engine and tranny are out and you can wiggle both (with a little help from your buddies).

In the end, we inserted the tranny input shaft into the clutch, turned the flywheel a couple of notches until we were sure everything was aligned properly and then slowly tightened all the bolts until all was closed up nice and tidy.

Joost