Swapping engines

[Newsguy]

Originally Posted by elgyqc

I use heavy duty nylon rachat straps that I put around the crankshaft pulley in the front and around the transmission in the rear, if the transmission is still attached, or the engine stand adaptor if it is being installed on the engine stand.

Two questions:
1. You didn't use the hoist point by the throttle body?
2. Did you find an engine stand adapter for the M96, and if so, for under $700?

[LoneWolfGal]

Ah... this is what I was talking about. I'll probably give it a try.

[Gilles]

LoneWolfGal, I have a cherry picker, and also the lift table that you already have and would like to share what worked out for me with the car on jack stands.

Since you will have a limited clearance between the floor and the chassis, if you put the engine/gearbox on the table lift, unfortunately it will not clear the frame.. and this process worked out for me.

Once the car is on four jack stands (high and level) then you can 'slide' the engine/gearbox from the back using a furniture dolly, or two large card boxes in top of each other so one would slide on top of the other one

After you get the powertrain underneath the car, you can lift it with the cherry picker so you can put the lift table underneath the engine, then you remove the engine, but to have more clearance I built a simple home made lift using Home Depot parts (less than $20..) and this thing would allow you to hang the engine/gearbox from the top and by turning the nut you can fine tune it (up-down) so you can easily bolt the gearbox and engine mounts.

The cherry picker is only used to raise the engine/gearbox after they are under the car and also to move the assembly around the garage

[LoneWolfGal]

Thanks for the info, Gilles. Much appreciated. I also picked up an engine support bar (see below), so I should be all set. (The support bar will supposedly "Make repair and clean easier." I'm still trying to decipher that, but I'm all for easy cleanup.) Kinda wish I had a second engine dolly, but I can make do with one, since I have the cherry picker to move the engines around the garage, as you pointed out.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&path=https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Support-Capacity-Transverse-Garages/dp/B096FY98BS/

[Gilles]

my engine support bar was a lot cheaper.. LOL

Regarding the furniture dolly, these cost between $10-$20 at Harbor freight, perhaps Walmart as well

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by Gilles

my engine support bar was a lot cheaper.. LOL

Regarding the furniture dolly, these cost between $10-$20 at Harbor freight, perhaps Walmart as well

Hey, thanks again. As for your improvised support bar, you know the old saying — "Necessity plays with the Mothers of Invention." The thing about the stuff we fabricate, the price is right. I believe I will pay Harbor Freight a visit tomorrow. One of their $20 furniture (soon to be engine) dollies will probably do the job almost as well as my overpriced ($92) diamond plate, heavy-duty (2000 lb capacity) dolly. If I ever need to move a stack of four M96s, though, the diamond plate dolly will get the nod.

[LoneWolfGal]

Well, I'll be a monkey's aunt! I found what I've been looking for right here:

https://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/58273-engine-lift-hook.html

[Note to self: Search 986forum first.]

I plan use the described lift hook point in conjunction with another attachment point, one of the motor mount's bolt holes at the front of the engine, the same way the eBay engine was suspended. The lift hook attachment point alone is not intended to support the entire 570 lbs.

[jbar1]

Corvette purists are the same even to the point of having the correct markings on all bolts throughout the entire car.. Had a '58 for over 30 years and built it to drive it. To each his own.

John

[LoneWolfGal]

As if my hands weren't full with getting things ready for the impending engine swap, Suzi Isuzu, my much-loved '98 4WD SUV, which I bought new and has only 49,000 miles on it, needed attention, starter-wise. Specifically, her solenoid plunger, which engages the starter, was making erratic connection with a set of copper contacts. It's a $16 kit. However, as claustrophobically tight spaces go, getting to the solenoid to replace it is as challenging as it gets. It makes the 986's ignition switch (which I replaced earlier this year) seem comparatively accessible. At any rate, that's why swap-related updates have fallen off of late.

[LoneWolfGal]

Sunset Porsche Parts finally got back to me with a price for their "OEM" IMS ceramic-hybrid bearing..Turns out Sunset is actually Porsche Beaverton, and their IMS bearings are actually LN Engineering's products. However, Sunset charges $2271.42 for LN's ceramic bearing, compared to $999 directly from LN — literally highway robbery! I didn't ask how much they're charging for LN's Solution, but it's a safe bet it would make a strong person shudder and possibly faint.

[elgyqc]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

Two questions:
1. You didn't use the hoist point by the throttle body?
2. Did you find an engine stand adapter for the M96, and if so, for under $700?

1. My friend Newart hung the whole engine by that little bracket near the throttle body, for a short period of time... but I only have used it as a backup to some other means. With another attachment point on the front of the engine, so it is only carrying half the weight, maybe... but it would make me nervous.

2. I use a standard adjustable adapter which works fine unless you want to split the crankcase halves, in that case you need the $pecial adapter. I was even able to change the IMS bearing with the standard adapter. When I split the crankcase on my broken 3.2 engine I did it on a pallet on the floor.

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by elgyqc

My friend Newart hung the whole engine by that little bracket near the throttle body, for a short period of time... but I only have used it as a backup to some other means. With another attachment point on the front of the engine, so it is only carrying half the weight, maybe... but it would make me nervous.

I like to live dangerously! On a serious note, the provided lift hook point seems fairly sturdy. Folks have apparently been using it, together with an attachment point in front, without a problem. But if I'm wrong and the engine crushes my head like a grape, I'll get back to you.

[Newsguy]

Originally Posted by elgyqc

.

2. I use a standard adjustable adapter which works fine unless you want to split the crankcase halves, in that case you need the $pecial adapter. I was even able to change the IMS bearing with the standard adapter. When I split the crankcase on my broken 3.2 engine I did it on a pallet on the floor.

The reason I ask is that I'm starting a rebuild and when I took it down, at the point of spltting the cases and getting the IMS out, it got very awkward with a standard adapter.
So I'm looking at options besides spending nearly a thousand dollars for the specific one. Of course, JFP in Philly says it can be done with a regular engine stand.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

The reason I ask is that I'm starting a rebuild and when I took it down, at the point of spltting the cases and getting the IMS out, it got very awkward with a standard adapter.
So I'm looking at options besides spending nearly a thousand dollars for the specific one. Of course, JFP in Philly says it can be done with a regular engine stand.

Why don't you assembly the engine halves on a table, then mount the assembly to the stand and then proceed with the heads and accessories?

[LoneWolfGal]

I've decided maybe I don't need no dang direct oil feed for my M96's IMS bearing. I'm leaning toward LN Engineering's ceramic double row IMS Retrofit. The price of $999 is a far cry from economical, but it's less painful than $1899. Not that I wouldn't choose the Solution if cost were no object, but after laying out $4200 for that new engine...

[LoneWolfGal]

I'm waiting for Sunset Porsche Parts ("GENUINE FACTORY PARTS") to tell me the price of the OEM ceramic IMS bearing, since I can't seem to find it elsewhere. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it will come in under $999, even though it's a genuine factory part. In the meantime...

Talked to a guy who turned out to be a hardcore Porsche purist. He also drives a 2000 silver/black 986. Mine has a few non-OEM parts, while his was OEM all the way. Every nut, bolt, and screw on his car was OEM, he told me, including the steel-bearing IMS. "Correct," he called it. He recently replaced the heater core, cost him almost $600 for the OEM core.

I've read about that kind of thing. It's a type of OCD mania. Glad I don't have it. I bought my heater core from Amazon for $115. It looked "correct" to me. Seems like a harmless compulsion, though, so more power to him.