Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi Rob,
Yup, torsion bar assembly is supported either end on axle stands. I’ve purchased a Cobalt drill bit in the hope that this will deal better with the hardness of the bolt shaft………

Mission failure
Cobalt drill bit- brilliant piece of kit.

All other bolts securing the torsion housing to the car have been undone without drama and are just finger tight, pending removal.

A day late with this update - but better late then never eh?
I broke out the new Allen key impact socket and hey presto, the fill plug on the transaxle came undone I didn't tackle the drain plug as I was missing the requisite extra pair of hands to position the drain pan close enough to prevent the gear oil from potentially going everywhere.
Question for those that know, why does gear oil have that gawd awful smell??

I also managed to mask up the aluminium parts of the transaxle so I could give the steel mid-section multiple light coats of Frosts Chassis black. The masking and tape were removed after it had flashed off leaving nice crisp edges with no bleed through at all so I am very happy with that.
I know it will never be seen except for when it goes for MOT but I know it's done and has some protection back in place. I have flirted with the idea of putting some stone chip on it as well but the jury is out.

Final round with the torsion bar housing bolt is scheduled for tomorrow & this time, I have the engineer equivalent of Angelo Dundee in my corner........ that bolt is history

Whoopee! . the bolt is out!!!!!!
It put up a fight and challenged my friend who came over to get it out , but finally, it is gone!
The two small broken bolts - one in each of the rear control arms are also gone and the transaxle drain plug was also persuaded to come undone ; the latter by cooking it with a blowtorch and then use of a 4ft breaker bar. As a result of this, I’ve been able to drain the gearbox oil.
I’ve also been able to remove the inner bearing races from each of the wheel hubs. The passenger side is going to need repainting but the drivers side is looking good.
Tomorrow’s plan is to get the car back up on the Quickjacks, support the Torque tube and get the torsion bar assembly completely off and hopefully broken down so the main housing can be stripped down and taken for blasting and powder coating.

Re the Quickjack, I think they used to be around £1k on offer from the likes of Costco. Seem a fair bit more now, and a Scissor lift that lifts a fair bit higher for around £2k seems a better option?

Yes, Costco used to have them on offer for around £980.00. I think that was for the 3000 model. I didn’t consider a scissor lift, primarily for the space they take up. The beauty of the Quickjacks is the portability and lack of space they take up when not in use. Unless you do an in ground install of the scissor lift, they are always taking up floor space.
I didn’t really envisage doing the type of work I’m doing when I bought the Quickjacks to be honest and other than needing better access to the torsion bar housing bolts, they have given unrestricted access to everything under the car.
With the benefit of hindsight and assuming I had the necessary floor thickness, I’d have gone with the Maxjax portable 2 post lift system but I think I would still have a pair of Quickjacks as well.

Gearbox oil stinks and don't get it on any clothing you intend to keep as you will never get rid of the stench.
I had plans to install a lift of some description but now the 944 is back on the road and all the 'heavy' stuff is done, any lift would only be in the way or if I was to take on another project... However, that 'other project', I have little notion nor desire to do.
Without a dedicated permanent lifting device, I managed to do everything I wanted to including engine removal. I did have the luxury of the use of a ramp at my friends garage but even say a gearbox or rear suspension removal, you still need other lifting equipment. I only used it for the odd job, nothing major.
With the car safely on axle stands, with an old rug, a creeper (if required), you can lie on your back and fettle. When the car is on a ramp or scissor lift, your arms above your head get tired very quick with the heavier stuff. Axle stands take up little room and are versatile.

Hi Rob,
Yep, gearbox oil has to be one of the worst smelling fluids I have ever come across. Took me right back to when I was rebuilding my mini and had to use hypoid gear oil for the first time!
Car is back on Axle stands this evening as the Quickjacks severely impeded access to the rear bushing housing which means that I have not yet dropped the rear torsion bar housing. However, with the QJ's out of the way, I did have a serious sweep up and clean of the garage floor.
I do love using my creeper under the car, its just so much easier to move around than doing the caterpillar shuffle! After my Quickjacks, I think it is my next favourite purchase.

Do Quickjacks lift high enough to lay on a creeper under a 944?

Yes, you can get under the car when it is raised on Quickjacks on a creeper. I got mine from SGS I think it was and is the pro contoured model with inspection light. Whilst this is handy as are the little storage trays on the sides, if I was to be buying it again, I'd probably go for the one with adjustable head rest as I still find myself straining my neck quite often.

I am told that gear oil smells because of the Sulphur content? Not sure but it seems logical.

Thank you. Once you smell that stuff, you never forget it!

Thanks for the info, think I read a while back that there's a version that lifts a bit higher than standard?

There are various adapters available that now enable you to get increased lift so the Quickjacks can be used on SUV’s and pickups. I’ve just taken a look on the UK distributors website and looks as though they’ve had a revision and now lift to 24” or 600mm. On top of that you have various lifting block options- 1.5”, 2” and 3” so that would take the bottom of the front & rear lift points to almost 700mm from the floor using the 3” blocks.

The rear suspension is out
I’ve got one snapped bolt that is preventing final strip down of the drivers side but I have a plan to tackle that tomorrow.