Today is the day.....

[peterbrown77]

New IMSB, coolant reservoir, clutch.....busted knuckles hahaha. Oh, and I'm going to cut a hole thru the aluminum cover plate under the transaxle so I can drain the oil without disassembling half the suspension. Obviously something the engineers would have done if they had half an ounce of forethought.

[thstone]

Sounds like a good project! Please post up some pic's as you go, I'm sure that everyone would love to see them.

[peterbrown77]

Which cam plugs get removed?

[Jamesp]

Don't forget to set the engine to TDC before removing the IMSB or your valve trains may re-time themselves! Let us know how it goes, and where the hole goes in the aluminum cover plate. That cover plate is structural as it anchors the lower suspension so too big a hole could cause unwanted flex / structural problems! That may be why there isn't a hole in it already.

[Perfectlap]

does a new tank come with the updated coolant cap?

[peterbrown77]

Got it finished today, 10 hours total - IMSB, Sachs clutch, new RMS, new coolant tank. I took a ton of photos but don't want to clutter the site - I'm sure everyone's seen an IMS upgrade before.

[peterbrown77]

[onaFLYer]

I'm impressed by the one-day turnaround.

Took me that long to do the coolant tank and change a few hoses.

[peterbrown77]

So - just a few observations

1) As you can see, I had a ton of equipment at my disposal, as well as a highly qualified mechanic with all the best that Snap On has to offer. This turned what could have been major obstacles into little bumps in the road. Bolt won't come out? Grab the impact wrench. Need to reach that top bolt on the bell housing? I have a 24" long extension right here. You get the idea. We had the exhaust on the floor and the transmission on the cradle in two hours.

2) Yes, Virginia - you can change a coolant tank without removing all the hose clamps in the engine bay. You only need to remove one. Yes, it's the dumbest design on the planet - right after the IMSB.

3) Honestly, the absolute worst part was the time we wasted trying to square the instructions in 101 Projects with the instructions that came with the single row kit. In essence it boils down to this: Do I lock the crankshaft at TDC and install the camshaft lock (per instructions) ..... or.... do I just mark the camshaft positions with a grease pencil and install the setscrews in the IMS flange holes to hold the sprocket in place (per 101 Projects)?. You can't do both since you can't install the setscrews without turning the crankshaft. I probably pissed away an hour trying to resolve the conflicting instructions. In the end, I locked the crankshaft at TDC with the kit-supplied pin and camshaft lock plate.

4) My original bearing was in near-new conditions, one drop of oil came out when I removed the cover. It didn't spin freely, the lip seals were still providing drag at 73,000 miles. Kinda disappointing actually. Same thing for the RMS, not a drop but I put a new one in anyway. Ditto the coolant tank.

5) The best thing about the upgrade? The new clutch. Mine still wasn't anywhere near worn but the take-up is very smooth now and not something I ever considered a problem before. I always wrote it off to being a tough car to drive well, with a long throw and abrupt take up. If you stalled it - you needed more practice. Now it's smooth and progressive, I noticed just backing out of the garage.

Total cost - $1636, all parts purchased through FCP Euro whose warehouse is literally 10 minutes from my house.

[peterbrown77]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

does a new tank come with the updated coolant cap?

No, parts are sold separately. I put in a new cap and level sensor, even though my cap was only a year old. Found the tank on eBay at $219, FCP price-matched it.

[peterbrown77]

I can now change my gear oil without disassembling the car.......

[DennisAN]

The red-bar support for the rear of the engine....is that the official Porsche tool or a generic one?

I've threatened to build my own with some 2x4s and a long "J" hook. I've previously made them for VW Rabbits and Miatas.

[peterbrown77]

That's a generic bar. After putting the top in the service position, we removed the 6 nuts holding the clamshell to the brackets and took it off the car and put it aside (you can see it in front of the Cadillac in the background). Then the top was put back in the closed position and the bar installed in the gasket channel.

[nieuwhzn]

+1 on FCP Euro. Fast reliable delivery, very competitive prices.
Almost in my backyard, just The Sound in between

[peterbrown77]

Originally Posted by nieuwhzn

+1 on FCP Euro. Fast reliable delivery, very competitive prices.
Almost in my backyard, just The Sound in between

That's quite a swim, hahaha.

[peterbrown77]

No oil came out, only grease inside.

[DennisAN]

Originally Posted by peterbrown77

3) Honestly, the absolute worst part was the time we wasted trying to square the instructions in 101 Projects with the instructions that came with the single row kit. In essence it boils down to this: Do I lock the crankshaft at TDC and install the camshaft lock (per instructions) ..... or.... do I just mark the camshaft positions with a grease pencil and install the setscrews in the IMS flange holes to hold the sprocket in place (per 101 Projects)?. You can't do both since you can't install the setscrews without turning the crankshaft. I probably pissed away an hour trying to resolve the conflicting instructions. In the end, I locked the crankshaft at TDC with the kit-supplied pin and camshaft lock plate.

One mechanic here says you should follow the "LN instructions" and not the "101 projects instructions". He says using the set screws may push the chain drive flange off position on the intermediate shaft - apparently it's a press fit. Unfortunately the LN instructions - on a single page - are very terse. I'm going to work up an expanded version (e.g. what kind of Loctite to use at what place) before I tackle the job this summer. In any case my 2000 has the 5 chain drive which is supposed to be less likely to jump teeth.

[peterbrown77]

Also not well documented is the fact that when they want you to remove the 2 plugs over the exhaust camshafts, one plug is the the left of the bell housing when looking towards the front wheels and the other is up against the firewall on the passenger side. We removed both plugs but honestly, I don't see what good removing the one one by the firewall did since there is no lock for that camshaft. Yeah, you could look at the position to be sure it was correct after turning the engine through 720 degrees but after locking everything, you would expect it to be.

Oh, don't mix up the tensioners when reinstalling them - they're not identical.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by peterbrown77

No oil came out, only grease inside.

WOW!!!! Thats only the 3rd OE bearing I have EVER seen that had ANY grease left inside it!
How many miles on this car? We definitely need to see this bearing!

[peterbrown77]

73,000 miles and change....