Swapping engines
 

My 986 suddenly started performing poorly — overheating, smoking, and a liquid that smelled like coolant was dripping out of the exhaust. I checked the oil and, sure enough, the dipstick was coated with a milky froth — oil and coolant mixed. I haven't done a compression test, but the symptoms pointed to a cracked cylinder or something equally unwanted.

Accordingly, I bought a replacement engine on eBay, another 2.7L M96, with 39,901 miles on it. The engine I'm replacing has clocked over 155,000 miles. The replacement cost me $4200 including shipping from Florida. I bought the car for $5000, and I've spent a little over $800 on a new water pump, heater core, ignition switch, light switch, and like-new drivers seat. With the engine swap the outlay will come in around ten grand, not a bad price for a clean 986 with relatively low miles on its engine.

I will be chronicling the swap in this thread. In the meantime have a look at my new engine.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1725926676.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1725926708.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1725926735.jpg

this engine looks great, congratulations!

PS: how old is the new water pump? If kind of new, I would swap it to the new engine, take pictures :-)

I put it on early last year, and I doubt I've driven the car more than a couple thousand miles since then — too busy working on it — so swapping the water pump might be the way to go. At the very least, I'll keep it as a spare. I can probably scavenge quite a few nice parts from the old engine.

Holding that frothy dipstick, I decided right then and there to pay eBay a visit. The thought of dropping the engine and rebuilding it didn't enter my mind. For one thing, I don't have the special tools it would take. For another, it's an engine with 155,000 miles on it. I think I made the right decision.

I totally agree, too expensive to rebuild these engines or transmissions and hope it goes well.

Hopefully, you’ll be back on the road soon. I think these cars are worth saving!

Congrats on scoring a nice engine.

Before scrapping the old one, might be worth taking a few compression tests to pinpoint the problem. It might just be a problem with the oil cooler and the intermix was occurring there.

And now is the best time to easily get to those 'while you're in there' parts. Believe me, having gone the rebuild route, I know it can be expensive to start throwing more $$$ at unbudgeted parts but you'll never have a better chance to get to them like now. Things like radiator hoses, engine mounts, clutch, plugs, coils, fuel injectors, etc.

Sorry to hear about your problem, but I like your attitude and decision to make lemonade out of the lemons. I will be watching for updates. Good luck with the swap.

It is a bit disturbing to hear that a 2000 2.7 engine gave up at 155,000 miles. I have about 149,000 miles on what is likely to be an identical engine.

I hear you. I talked to another 986 owner with just over 300,000 on it, so I was counting on getting more miles out of mine.

To add insult to injury, I had recently changed the oil and coolant, and I'd replaced the fuel regeneration valve under the left manifold (without removing the manifold, an advantage to having smaller hands).

Note that all the hoses, wires, and lines are intact on the new engine. In addition to the low miles, that sealed the deal for me. On some engines for sale on eBay they cut those things for expediency when they remove the engines from the cars. The seller struck me as a conscientious guy.

If you are interested I have a engine swap check list originally based on the Pelican instructions. I have added a lot of details, some just for me some are more general.

You bet, Grant. Thank you very much. I also plan to read your engine-swap thread. YouTube has a number of videos I plan to watch as well.

Yes, I'm curious to know what actually happened inside the engine. Whatever it is, with oil and coolant mixing I'm sure it's fatal — $4200 sure.

New clutch and IMS bearing make sense. And new engine mounts as well. I hadn't figured on plugs, coils, or injectors, but I'll listen to a convincing argument why I should.

Do the vacuum canister and all vacuum lines before the new engine goes in and check / change the small vacuum operated valves under the intake as well as the oil filler tube part with a flexible accordion section..

Consider keeping your AC system intact with your current compressor unless it was having issues. You can keep the compressor from the new engine as a spare.

I have put the files into Dropbox, you should be able to retrieve them with these links

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ss2dbwsi1tlsvjvxaddik/Engine-Transmission-attach-and-verify-list.odt?rlkey=ms3vlhjb0ak51n1my6ebfpu9p&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/12j4u0qhvvhmvlv19zhfo/Engine-removal-checklist.odt?rlkey=occnpqnq3dez5ic7mcvqy3awa&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4tazjtr9sj3ndlz3n8eo9/Transmission-removal-checklist.odt?rlkey=xit5tht6b1kh5uji7bedze33p&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ptqvt6ya9b71i4xt06z1k/Notes-on-checklists.odt?rlkey=8zliunz2x4yolvung6isqqux7&dl= 0

If there are any questions get back to me... good luck.

I greatly appreciate that, Grant. I noticed you built your own dolly. I'm shopping for furniture dollies on Amazon. I'm looking for one with a low profile, since clearance is an issue, and of course enough capacity. Speaking of which, do you happen to know the approximate weight of the engine?

Then I wouldn't have to recharge the system, right?

Correct. Most instructions for removing the engine will have you unbolt the compressor from the engine, then remove it as you lower the engine. AC hoses remain attached.
Put the compressor into the new engine before it's fully raised in position. No need to recharge the system.

Wish I hadn't sold my cherry-picker hoist. I last used it to install a Chev 230 ci six in my cherry '64 Chevy van (which I should have hung onto), and then it took up space in my garage for years, untouched. Guess I'll just rent one. But this is a good lesson for me: Don't sell your tools. No telling when they might come in handy, like the cherry-picker hoist would for this project.

On these cars I've found that an engine support bar makes the job much easier. Here's a JFP post: http://986forum.com/forums/641804-post19.html

Also, if you are careful with placement (NOT the middle of the sump plate) a heavy duty transmission jack works great for lowering and lifting in conjunction with the bar for stability.

One last note from me... The car needs to be raised up high to have clearance to move the engine past the suspension brackets. I don't have a lift and typically will have the car at several different heights through the process and only have it highest when moving it past the suspension. The first time I did it I used cheap jack stands on blocks - Stupid and unsafe. Splurge on some good jack stands if you don't have a lift available.

Fate must've wanted me to have an engine support bar. I bought this one at Amazon this afternoon after talking to a guy I call "The Grizzled Mechanic." Now you suggest the same thing. It's fate, I tell you.

https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Support-Capacity-Transverse-Garages/dp/B096FY98BS/

I've got some heavy-duty jack stands. Jack stands are the last thing I want to cheap out on. There seem to be a number of schemes to get the back end high enough to clear the suspension brackets. BTW, I don't see the necessity of removing the bumper cover, bumper, axles, drivelines, or even the transmission, as some have done. I prefer that those components remain where they are.

I don't see how you can not remove the transmission. The transmission shaft goes into the clutch/flywheel so either the tranny has to be pulled back or the engine moved forward... which is impossible. If you move the transmission back you have effectively removed it. Not the same as a front engine car where you can remove the radiator and slide the engine off the transmission shaft. The rest of the stuff you can leave in place.

I defer to your greater experience in swapping 986 engines, Grant. I had assumed there would be room to slide the engine forward off the transmission shaft, like I've done with conventional engines. A boneheaded assumption (and not by any means my very first one).

Gotta admit, the thought of having a clean, low-miles engine in my 986 brings a grin to my face. It justifies the restoration I plan to do on the car. Someone commented in this thread that 986s are "worth saving." I second that. I think the series 1 986s will one day be regarded with the reverence we now accord the first series 911s, with a value to match. As much as possible, I want to ensure mine makes it to classic status. The numbers won't match, so it won't be "correct," but that might not matter to someone who can appreciate its exceptional beauty.

While celebrating the 25th anniversary of my car's production data (aka it's birthday) I calculated that it's $48,000 cost in 1999 would be over $92,000 in today's dollars. It sounds like your total investment in your car including the replacement engine is about $10,000. While you are banging your knuckles and possibly saying "bad words" tell yourself that your sweat equity is worth $82,000.

I changed the spark plugs and spark plug tubes in my car yesterday. Since I had the rear wheels off, I decided to bleed the brakes. I will be finishing that task today. I hope that I never have to replace an engine, but I will be watching and learning.

The new engine will be here Wednesday. it weighs 570 lbs,, according to the seller, and it was shipped sturdily covered and strapped to a pallet. Good thing the diamond plate-steel engine dolly I bought from Amazon is rated at 1000 lbs. Even so, It's gonna be a bear to wrestle around. (I'm sure master-swapper Grant will attest to that.) Fortunately, I have a couple of strong lads I can press into service. I wanted to have the new engine in hand before I started unhooking the old one. I'm the slowest mechanic on the planet, so the swap is likely to be a lengthy process. If it becomes a winter project I might have to fire up my Mr. Heater 75 - 125,000 BTU torpedo heater. (Yes, the area I'll be working in is well ventilated.)

IMHO, if you disconnect the drive shafts from the tranny, and unbolt the gearbox mounts (to lower the complete assembly), it would be way easier than trying to install the engine with the tranny still attached into the car.
Good luck, and looking forward to your pictures! :-)

Sounds logical. Anyone else care to chime in on this question?

Yes dropping the whole unit is the way to go. It ensures that you can properly torque all of the bolts in the bell housing. You can leave the slave cylinder attached to the line in the car.

Dropping it as an assembly is both easier and much faster.

I spent the entire day yesterday with my nose pressed against the window, waiting. But 6 pm came and went with no engine forthcoming. What kind of cruel hoax was this? A quick check of tracking revealed that the delivery date had been changed to the 19th. No stranger to disappointment, I merely shrugged. But if TForce Freight lets me down again, there's gonna be big trouble.

Thanks, JFP. The more I work on my 986, the more I'm realizing that my experience working on conventional engines is often not applicable to Porsches. It's humbling. Luckily, more experienced folks are around to set me straight.

Finally! And it's a heavy mother, I kid you not.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1726782932.jpg

Awesome!

Now start spraying PB Blaster on all of the exhaust hardware, to help loosing any rusted nuts and bolts..

It is going to be a fun project, if you were closer I would volunteer to help you out at my house (have all the tools), but risking getting jinxed by my wife, as any time I start a project and I tell her it will be two hours, turns out to be 8 hours.. :p, but it will be a fun project none the less..

I love tools the way most girls love jewelry. To me they're equally lovely. Have a look at the torque wrench in the bottom drawer. It's a thing of beauty! This is but a fraction of my tool set. Since I bought the 986 my selection of exotic tools (tamper-proof triple-spline bits, for example) seems to have grown exponentially. But I'm not complaining.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1726867673.jpg

The good news on the triple spline tool front is that if you own a fairly (like in the last 20 years) recent VW, you already own most of the ones you’ll need!

Gilles, I'd take you up in a hot minute on that offer to help. I have a feeling wrestling this 570 lb. motor will be a challenge. I do have a beefy engine dolly and a sturdy bar for hoisting it, but I would love to also have a low-profile transmission jack, which might come in handy for this project. That's good advice about PB Blaster. I've always used WD-40, but I've heard good things about PB Blaster.

Try some Kroil, puts PB and WD 40 to shame......................

Hey, thanks, JFP, I'll do that. It would probably be wise to replace the IMS bearing (and clutch plate) before I stick it in. Do you have a recommendation as to which IMS to get?

Good luck with the PB blaster or Kroil (or 50% auto transmission fluid with 50% acetone) but have your dremil (or equivalent) ready. Its nice if the exhaust manifold bolts come out without breaking, but I have had to drill out a few and install helicoils. For the rest of the system be ready to cut the bolts if they won't come loose... and replace them with stainless steel bolts and brass nuts for reassembly. I install SS studs for the exhaust manifolds with the brass nuts.