Hi, I thought some would be keen to know that it's fairly straightforward to remove the Porsche 944 2.5 engine out of the top of the bay - even for a first timer!

I wanted to avoid removing the cross member and disturb the front suspension to do something I was convinced could be done easier from the top - like many other car enthusiasts do all the time. I'd read numerous threads that convinced me to give it a go at least - so I'm not taking credit for all this, people have done it before but pics & procedure details are scarce.
In summary I was able to remove the engine from the top without needing to remove the bonnet; torque tube; transaxle; bellhousing; clutch; clutch slave cylinder; cross member; front suspension; and radiator and many other things I read I was required to do... Contrary to many opinions and many confusing threads this was relatively painless.
All that was necessary to remove was the starter; power steering pump and alternator (I figured to make the bottom of the engine narrower); intake setup and airbox; fuel rail (to lower height of engine); radiator fan; coolant hoses; exhaust manifolds (not convinced it's necessary) and disconnect the wiring harness. (I removed the front anti roll bar as I needed to lift from the front.)
By removing the above ancillaries, detaching the bellhousing and removing the pressure plate bolts the engine easily separated from the driveshaft and once the mounts were unfastened the engine was simply raised out of the bay. Besides some fiddly, hard to reach bolts on the exhaust manifolds - and working by myself - it was a straight forward process to remove the engine from the top with a hoist.
http://944lux.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/engine-out-top-easy-peasy.htmlHopefully this will be helpful to someone.
Cheers!