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Remove engine or not?

suburban99
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suburban99 Member

suburban99

Posted
Posted

My 1997 986 will be taken off the road in a week or 2 for Winter,and I need to do some work on my engine.

I need to replace the Variocam wear shoes that contact the timing chain on both banks and probably do both small timing chains while I am at it.

I also need to replace the AOS as I think I have a vacuum leak. I will also replace all the bearings on the idler pulleys. I have already replaced the Bank 1 Variocam chain tensioner and resealed the cam cover on the passenger side without removing the engine.

Is the drivers side harder to do?

I really should visually onspect the clutch as I have no idea when it was replaced last and does not appear to be slipping. I would also replace the intermediate shaft bearing if I remove the engine...Car has about 106,000 miles and runs very good but has a slight rattle on start up. From what I have read it is probably the timing chain tensioners, 3 in total...

I do all my own work, but have never removed the engine on a 986...is it hard to do? I think the work would be considerably easier with engine out of car.

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White987S Member

White987S

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Posted

Sorry, but I don't have any true answers for you. But, I'd imagine it would be easier to this work with the engine out. Do your RMS too while you "are in there" if not recently rreplaced.

I did want to say this is awesome! Both your mileage (+106K) and your skill level to do this kind of work on your own car. I am very envious. Congrats on both parts.

Maybe send a PM to Jake Raby...if he does not respond directly to your post.

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JFP in PA Member

JFP in PA

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My 1997 986 will be taken off the road in a week or 2 for Winter,and I need to do some work on my engine.

I need to replace the Variocam wear shoes that contact the timing chain on both banks and probably do both small timing chains while I am at it.

I also need to replace the AOS as I think I have a vacuum leak. I will also replace all the bearings on the idler pulleys. I have already replaced the Bank 1 Variocam chain tensioner and resealed the cam cover on the passenger side without removing the engine.

Is the drivers side harder to do?

I really should visually onspect the clutch as I have no idea when it was replaced last and does not appear to be slipping. I would also replace the intermediate shaft bearing if I remove the engine...Car has about 106,000 miles and runs very good but has a slight rattle on start up. From what I have read it is probably the timing chain tensioners, 3 in total...

I do all my own work, but have never removed the engine on a 986...is it hard to do? I think the work would be considerably easier with engine out of car.

You can do the work you describe with the engine in; however, considering that you apparently intend to remove the gear box, pulling the engine out (comes out the bottom) seem to be a good idea and does not require that much more effort. The M96 is much easier to work on when it is on a stand and you can rotate it to work on various components. Suggest this would be a very good time to nail some quality upgrades like the IMS retrofit, the larger oil cooler (if you don’t already have one), the 160 stat, perhaps a new water pump, and even the new oil pump drive that LN/Raby are working on. I would also consider maintenance items such as coil packs, new plug tubes/seals, etc.

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txhokie4life Member

txhokie4life

Posted
Posted
My 1997 986 will be taken off the road in a week or 2 for Winter,and I need to do some work on my engine.

I need to replace the Variocam wear shoes that contact the timing chain on both banks and probably do both small timing chains while I am at it.

I also need to replace the AOS as I think I have a vacuum leak. I will also replace all the bearings on the idler pulleys. I have already replaced the Bank 1 Variocam chain tensioner and resealed the cam cover on the passenger side without removing the engine.

Is the drivers side harder to do?

I really should visually onspect the clutch as I have no idea when it was replaced last and does not appear to be slipping. I would also replace the intermediate shaft bearing if I remove the engine...Car has about 106,000 miles and runs very good but has a slight rattle on start up. From what I have read it is probably the timing chain tensioners, 3 in total...

I do all my own work, but have never removed the engine on a 986...is it hard to do? I think the work would be considerably easier with engine out of car.

If you have a lift and an engine jack -- then I would take it out -- much easier to work on -- and probably more importantly

you can check a whole lot more and more effectively and fix anything else that comes up.

If you are capable of all what you are going to do -- dropping the engine and putting it on a engine stand would probably save

you knuckles and heartache.

mike

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986fortyeight Member

986fortyeight

Posted
Posted

Whatever you do, engine in or out, please consider posting a diy on it as I have 127K on mine and considering doing this as well, however I am uncertain as to what level of expertise it will require. I will have the tranny out for an IMSR, RMS, Clutch job, 160 thermostat and coolant hoses change, which I feel confortable doing but the inside of the engine would be new territory.

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suburban99 Member

suburban99

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Whatever you do, engine in or out, please consider posting a diy on it as I have 127K on mine and considering doing this as well, however I am uncertain as to what level of expertise it will require. I will have the tranny out for an IMSR, RMS, Clutch job, 160 thermostat and coolant hoses change, which I feel confortable doing but the inside of the engine would be new territory.

Will do my best. I have 2 days of Insurance left and it's away for the Winter and the fun can start...

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986fortyeight Member

986fortyeight

Posted
Posted
Whatever you do, engine in or out, please consider posting a diy on it as I have 127K on mine and considering doing this as well, however I am uncertain as to what level of expertise it will require. I will have the tranny out for an IMSR, RMS, Clutch job, 160 thermostat and coolant hoses change, which I feel confortable doing but the inside of the engine would be new territory.

Will do my best. I have 2 days of Insurance left and it's away for the Winter and the fun can start...

Any updates?

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suburban99 Member

suburban99

Posted
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Whatever you do, engine in or out, please consider posting a diy on it as I have 127K on mine and considering doing this as well, however I am uncertain as to what level of expertise it will require. I will have the tranny out for an IMSR, RMS, Clutch job, 160 thermostat and coolant hoses change, which I feel confortable doing but the inside of the engine would be new territory.

Will do my best. I have 2 days of Insurance left and it's away for the Winter and the fun can start...

Any updates?

Engine and tranny are out, actually not too bad, getting the car high enough to slide it out from underneath is the tough part. Parts on order from Sunset include vario cam wear shoes, camshaft timing chains, AOS, numerous hoses and seals and clutch kit. Total was about $800.00 or so.

Engine is on a stand and it is much easier to work on...

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yeeha68 Member

yeeha68

Posted
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suburban99- Your my new best friend!

I discovered my misfire issue was due to 0 compression in #4 cylinder today. I'm guessing I have a bad valve problem and I need to remove the head. So, I too will be dropping my 986 engine this week for Thanksgiving. I also plan to use jack stands in the rear. Too bad, I just replaced the cam solenoid on the other side last month with engine in the car. Would have been much easier now.

Did you use 2 jack stands on the rear of the car?

How high did you need the clearance to be?

Did you remove the bumper and muffler or was the car high enough.

I plan to document the process and post for all, but I'm sure I may be asking for some tips and tricks along the way

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suburban99 Member

suburban99

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suburban99- Your my new best friend!

I discovered my misfire issue was due to 0 compression in #4 cylinder today. I'm guessing I have a bad valve problem and I need to remove the head. So, I too will be dropping my 986 engine this week for Thanksgiving. I also plan to use jack stands in the rear. Too bad, I just replaced the cam solenoid on the other side last month with engine in the car. Would have been much easier now.

Did you use 2 jack stands on the rear of the car?

How high did you need the clearance to be?

Did you remove the bumper and muffler or was the car high enough.

I plan to document the process and post for all, but I'm sure I may be asking for some tips and tricks along the way

A picture is worth a thousand words...(bumper,tranny,muffler all off) made a custom bridge assembly to hold the engine while I removed transmission, and then lowered engine onto a motorcycle style scissor jack and slid it out.

post-31855-1259130340_thumb.jpg

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yeeha68 Member

yeeha68

Posted
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How did you handle the AC? Did you pull the compressor first so the lines are still connected, or did you disconnect AC lines to recharge later? I thought you could leave the compressor in the frame, but it appears that the lines weave in and out of the manifold.

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txhokie4life Member

txhokie4life

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Posted
How did you handle the AC? Did you pull the compressor first so the lines are still connected, or did you disconnect AC lines to recharge later? I thought you could leave the compressor in the frame, but it appears that the lines weave in and out of the manifold.

You almost have to pull the lines -- I could be wrong -- but that is what I do.

mike

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tholyoak Member

tholyoak

Posted
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You do not need to disconnect the lines. Take off the belt, undo the 3 compressor mounting bolts and slide it out as you lower the motor.

If you removed the actual aluminum bumper with its associated heat shield you do not need to lift the rear of the car as high. After removing the plastic bumper cover it is only held on by two bolts.

Also the transmission does not need to be removed before removing the motor, it is easier to drop as an assembly.

The entire procedure is laid out in the factory workshop manual. In my opinion, a cheap investment if you are going to be doing this type of work.

-Todd

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suburban99 Member

suburban99

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You do not need to disconnect the lines. Take off the belt, undo the 3 compressor mounting bolts and slide it out as you lower the motor.

If you removed the actual aluminum bumper with its associated heat shield you do not need to lift the rear of the car as high. After removing the plastic bumper cover it is only held on by two bolts.

Also the transmission does not need to be removed before removing the motor, it is easier to drop as an assembly.

The entire procedure is laid out in the factory workshop manual. In my opinion, a cheap investment if you are going to be doing this type of work.

-Todd

Actually the height is needed to get the intake manifolds to barely pass under the stabilizer or aluminum support chanel bolts. These pieces are removed, however the mounting studs

are still there...and in the way. I would not try it the first time without dropping the tranny. My tranny was quite grungy and needed a good cleaning anyway. If memory serves the shift cables pull off easily and the slave cylinder can be detached without losing any fluid. All that's left is the mounting bolts for the tranny mounts and the reverse light switch. With tranny out there is much more room to work. IMO of course..

Also the a/c unit is easy to remove while LOWERING the engine...Lower it bit and it slides right out and into the cockpit with lines attached...

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yeeha68 Member

yeeha68

Posted
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I have a Bentley Manual but it really lacks in the details. Where do you suggest getting a factory workshop manual that is of higher quality? I see several of them in PDF electronic formats for $10-$40. Are these really any good? Has anyone used them?

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suburban99 Member

suburban99

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I have a Bentley Manual but it really lacks in the details. Where do you suggest getting a factory workshop manual that is of higher quality? I see several of them in PDF electronic formats for $10-$40. Are these really any good? Has anyone used them?

I used a combination of the bentley and one other source. PM me...

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