Jay, I think the shadows make the car look lower than it is. I had no problem working under the car or sliding the transaxle out from under it. I'm sure I'll have to remove the rear bumper in order to slide the engine out, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
On that note, I noticed that with the 996 you drop the engine and trans together. I thought the presence of the cross member under the bell housing would preclude that. But looking at the pics on 986fix (the DIY person I referred to in my first post - great pics btw), the cross member miraculously disappears just prior to dropping the engine without comment. Any thoughts from those of you more experience with this process?
This morning I crawled under the car in full motorcycle gear and snapped this pic, because I wanted to know what kind of IMS I have (single or double row).
My uneducated eye, comparing to the pics on the Pelican parts tech article says this is a double row. And the cover doesn't look old and nasty.
Starting to wonder where my metal is coming from. Was it a failed bearing that someone replaced and didn't flush? Maybe my chain tensioner pads are worn through?