Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Plodding through engine mounts job. Now that crossmember is out and most of suspension disconnected I'm tempted to replace rack bushings with Delrin product, and finally install new shocks and springs I've had hanging about in garage for ages.

These are the knackered originals - around 75,000 on them and they tend to fail around 70,000

Nice one. From what I have read it's a fairly big job. The mileage on my car is similar so they must be in the same kind of condition unless a PO has already changed them. Were you noticing any symptoms or was it just on the to do list? Can't say I notice any excessive vibration in my car. Also are you going to do the sump gasket while you are in there? Mine weeps a little but not enough to cause any mess on the garage floor so I'm not thinking urgent.

Amazing and also Very well done

I'll have to post pictures of mine that are probably original and my 928 S4 has done 162,000 miles

Also, when mine were replace last month by Paul Anderson he also replaced the cross member as this was rusted through.

cheers
Neil

Hi Mike

I would say it's not especially difficult/tricky job, but dirty and exhausting!

No symptoms I'm aware of but engine rock solid when revved, so I'm hoping difference will be obvious with new mounts. Will report when fitted.

The gasket looks fine and dry so I'm not planning to replace. Now it's bound to deform and start leaking! I will snug up accessible bolts but not too tight to cause gasket to squeeze out. Gasket is a very tedious job as some bolts very hard to reach even with everything off.

I'm literally just about to take crossmember out completely. It has some rust patches on it but not too serious. I'm going to clean thoroughly, treat any rust and paint with Hammerite so should be able to keep my original crossmember.

Cheers

Adrian

Here's the crossmember as it came out and then after cleaning/paint (heatshields removed for painting)

Congrats Adrian!
Well Done!

Thanks Steve but it's not as if I've completed the job!

In fact completion is stretching into hazy future. Now everything apart I want to do:

Engine mounts
Front shocks
Front springs
Lower ball joints/eccentric
Tie rods and ends, steering boots
Anti-roll bar bushings
PS supply and return lines
Maybe new oil sender (it's the only leak I have - may just need gasket replaced)

The cleaning is taking all the time - hours today cleaning drop links, baffle plates, lower control arm brackets and just one of the lower control arms (the other still on the car - just)

Will need alignment too after that lot, but I can get it to rough driveable settings before getting it done accurately.

It seems as you are really going to town with your car Adrian! I am sure it will reward you once it has been completed in its entirety.

OT but do you still pop along to he meets?

Would love to but for past four years have been working in London during week, so I never get to the club nights. Try to get to as many club events as possible though, as long as car is in one piece!

Wow a very impressive list - your car will be like new when you have finished.
If you haven't sourced your engine mounts yet - I have a new set from Roger in the USA which didn't get used from my engine rebuild last year.
Let me know if your interested.

Steve

Yes that's the ambition Steve - driving as tight as when it left fatory. It'spretty good now but the parts to return it o new are relatively inexpensive, and I've got some time to fit them.

Haven't even got as far as ordering all parts yet as I get more ideas ass project proceeds. I will kerp your very kind offer in mind though andif I o that route payyou whatever they ost fom Roger.

Cheers

Adrian

With the control arm disconnected, it's a good time to install new front shocks and springs with not much extra work

I changed my mind about leaving the sump gasket. Found some extrusion of the old gasket and greasy crud in more hidden areas so a new gasket it is. Some of the front bolts are almost impossible to get at unless you have fingers like Jimi Hendrix! At start of job I'd used vacuum pump to drain the oil (better access to some bolts involved with engine mounts with oil filter removed), but the front of car was raised by then so there was 3L of oil left in sump! Knowing I could be taking a bath in old oil I left rear bolts on by a few threads at rear of pan, so was able to drain all the oil out before dropping sump entirely.

But the cruddy sump cleans up well so reinstalling will not be the filthy job removing it was.

The little black bushing you can see in the pan is the float for the oil level warning, which is monitored by a single wire connection to that pin at the front of the pan.

Great work Adrian.

When I did this work on mine last year, I seem to remember, the biggest mistake I made was not routing the ps pipes back into the lip of the cross member BEFORE I re-fixed it - but I hadn't disconnected my ps lines - not sure if you've disconnected yours? Just be careful of your re-assembly sequencing in this area.

Good luck.

Ben.