Porsche 911 Carrera Engine Drop - 996 (1998-2005) - 997 (2005-2012)

Applicable Models:

Project Time: 8 hours
Tab: $50 to $100
Talent
Tools: All of them

Parts Required: Engine, Transmission
Performance Gain: Self-confidence in knowing that you can do the job yourself
Complementary Modification: Replace everything that you can with the engine out of the car.

The method of engine removal in the article will cover removing the engine and transmission as one unit.

It's much easier to perform the work this way than separating the engine and transmission. You don't have a lot of space to work with the engine up in place, lowering the engine straight down with the transmission makes the process much safer and easier. Another good tip here is to get a bunch of Ziploc bags to hold all of the various nuts and bolts you will be removing from the engine. I like to mark each bag with a Sharpie (ex. Intake Manifold Bolts, etc.).

Preparation:

Disconnect battery in front trunk (Pelican Technical Article: Porsche 911 Carrera Battery Replacement Trickle Charger Installation)

Jack up car and secure it on jackstands (Pelican Technical Article: Jacking Up Your Porsche 911 Carrera)

Remove rear tires

Drain both engine and transmission oil (Project 2 and Project 35 or Project 38 for automatic transmissions).

Engine Compartment:

Remove airbox. (Pelican Technical Article: Replacing Your Porsche Carrera Air Filter (996/997))

Remove accelerator cable from throttle body or disconnect electronic throttle body. (Picture 2)

Disconnect fuel tank vapor hose. (Picture 3)

Disconnect brake booster fitting to intake manifold. (Picture 4)

Remove serpentine belt. (Pelican Technical Article: Replacing Belts on the Porsche 911 Carrera)

Disconnect electrical connectors going to the oxygen sensors. (Picture 6)

Suction power steering fluid from reservoir and remove reservoir. (Picture 7 and 8)

Unbolt A/C compressor from engine, remove ground wire and secure it off to the side. Do not remove the refrigerant lines unless you want to recharge the system. (Picture 9, 11 and 12)

Disconnect harness going to engine bay temperature sender. (Picture 10)

Disconnect both engine wiring loom connectors going to engine. (Picture 13)

Disconnect fuel lines from driver's side fuel rail. (Picture 14)

Disconnect upper coolant hose on passenger side of engine bay. (Picture 15)

On the 996, remove hose going to secondary air pump in engine compartment. (Picture 16)

Disconnect power steering hoses in engine compartment. (Picture 17)

Bumper Removal:

Remove upper screws along bumper in engine bay and remove threshold strip. (Picture 18)

Using a 6mm Hex, remove rear bumperettes. (Picture 19)

Remove screws along bottom edge of bumper cover. Remove the two screws on the lower edge of the bumper cover behind each wheel, along with the fender support bracket (997s only). (Picture 20)

Remove rear bumper cover by pulling it at the edges and pulling it off. If you encounter any resistance, double check that you have removed all fasteners.

Remove aluminum bumper. (Picture 21)

Remove exhaust heat shields. (Picture 22)

Under the Car:

Remove plastic under trays along front of transmission and center tunnel of the underside of the car. (Picture 23)

Remove cross member under transmission. (Picture 24)

Drain coolant form car. (Picture 25)

Disconnect CV joints from transmission. (Pelican Technical Article: Replacing CV Joints on your Porsche 911 Carrera, Picture 26)

Unbolt clutch slave cylinder from engine. (Pelican Technical Article: Replacing Clutch Hydraulics on the Porsche 911 Carrera, Picture 27)

Disconnect shift cables from transmission. (Picture 28)

Remove electrical connection to reverse light switch. (Picture 29)

Remove brace between suspension uprights. (Picture 30)

Remove cover pieces and diagonal brace supports on suspension uprights (Pictures 31 and 32)

Secure transmission with jack and remove transmission mount. (Pelican Technical Article: Transmission Removal - Porsche 911 Carrera, Picture 33)

Remove engine ground strap from right (passenger) side of engine bay. (Picture 34)

Disconnect water hoses leading to thermostat and water pump on lower left side of the engine. (Picture 35)

Secure engine underneath with floor jack and remove the engine mount nuts on either side. (Pelican Technical Article: Porsche 911 Engine Mount Replacement, Pictures 36 and 37)

Slowly lower engine and transmission from car. (Pictures 38 and 39)

Engine Compartment Pictures:

Hot tip

Take your time and double check everything

Wayne R. Dempsey, Co-Founder & DIY Expert

Project Photos

Figure 1 Open the engine decklid and remove the airbox. Begin by loosening the hose clamp holding the boot to the throttle body (green arrow), then squeeze the tabs on the MAF connector to release it (yellow arrow). Now open the two harness holder clips (purple arrows). Remove the oil filler tube from its clip (blue arrow). On the 3.8 you will have to remove the wire connected to the vacuum resonance valve on the back of the airbox. Finally, unbolt the 13mm (996 only) bolt holding the airbox inside the engine compartment (red arrow) and carefully lift the airbox out of the car.

Figure 2 Disconnect either the throttle cable (on early cars) or the electrical connector for the throttle (on later cars). The throttle cable ferrule runs along a plastic cam on the side of the throttle body. If you manually open the throttle, the cable tension will go slack, allowing you to unhook the ferrule from the shoulder in the plastic cam (green arrow). On cars with electronic throttle bodies, simply unhook the electrical connector (insert, blue arrow).

Figure 3 Unplug the fuel tank vent vapor hose connection on the upper left side of the engine by squeezing the wire clip on the connector and pulling it out.

Figure 4 Remove the two 8mm screws holding the brake booster vacuum connection to the left (driver's) side intake on the 996. On the 997 disconnect the line on the upper left side of the engine by the fuel disconnect (insert, blue arrow)

Figure 5 Use a 24mm socket to rotate the belt tensioner clockwise. This will allow you to remove the serpentine belt from the various pullies on the engine.

Figure 6 Pull up on the red tabs to separate the connectors going to each of the four oxygen sensors on the rear engine shelf along with the clips holding the wires to the frame. The black connectors attach to the oxygen sensors before the catalytic converters. The gray connectors go to the oxygen sensors after the catalytic converters.

Figure 7 Open the power steering fluid reservoir and use either a syringe or turkey baster to suction out as much of the power steering fluid as you can.

Figure 8 Once the reservoir is empty, remove the 10mm nut securing the reservoir to the bracket (green arrow) then rotate the bayonet lock tab (purple arrow) counter-clockwise to remove the power steering fluid reservoir from the car.

Figure 9 The next step is to remove the A/C Compressor from the engine with the lines still attached. The compressor is held in place by three long 13mm bolts. Remove the two front bolts as shown here.

Figure 10 In order to get to the remaining a/c compressor mounting bolt, you'll first need to remove the temperature sensor shown here (green arrow). The sensor sits in a rubber sleeve that fits into a groove on the intake manifold. It's difficult to see it here, but it will slide out to the right.

Figure 11 You can now access the remaining compressor bolt from in between the intake manifold. You'll need a combination of extensions and U joints. Once the compressor is free, unplug the electrical ground connector. The bolt needs to be held in its up position to remove the compressor.

Figure 12 Once the compressor is removed, lay down a rag or towel to protect the paint of the car and lay the compressor off to the side of the engine.

Figure 13 Disconnect the two circular connectors for the engine wiring harness on the right (passenger) side of the engine by turning them counter clockwise. As you turn them, they will release themselves from the harness.

Figure 14 On the left side of the engine (996), loosen and remove the two fittings (19 and 17mm) that hold the fuel supply and return lines to the fuel rail (green arrows). On the 997 there is a single quick disconnect on the left side (insert, blue arrow). Use caution while doing this as there will likely still be fuel in the lines.

Figure 15 Loosen the hose clamp on the radiator hose on the right side of the engine and remove the hose (green arrow).

Figure 16 Remove the hose going to the air pump on the left side of the engine bay (green arrow, 996 only).

Figure 17 Disconnect the lines going to the power steering pump inside the engine bay along the upper passenger side. You may find it easier to disconnect these lines once the engine is lowered slightly. Bumper Removal Photos:

Figure 18 Loosen and remove the four screws that hold the bumper threshold strip in place. Remove the strip and set it aside.

Figure 19 Look underneath each black plastic bumperette. You'll see a small access hole with a 6mm hex bolt inside. Loosen the 6mm bolt and you will be able to swing the bumperette up and off the bumper from the bottom.

Figure 20 Remove the screws (Phillips head on 996s and Torxs on 997s) along the bottom edge of the bumper cover as shown here (green arrows) and on each side of the bumper cover. Next remove the two fasteners along the bottom edge on either side of the bumper cover (blue arrows). There is a fender support bracket on the 997s that is held in place by one of the Torxs, you will need to remove this as well (yellow arrows). At this point, you can give the bumper cover a good tug towards the back of the car and it will come off.

Figure 21 Once the bumper cover is removed, you'll need to remove the bumper itself. Loosen and remove the two 19mm bolts shown here (green arrows). Then remove the bumper with the heat shield attached.

Figure 22 Remove the 10mm nuts holding each exhaust shield over the mufflers on each side of the car and take the exhaust shields off. Under The Car Photos:

Figure 23 Underneath the car, remove the two screws and 10mm plastic nuts that hold the plastic undertray in place underneath the front of the transmission and remove the undertray.

Figure 24 Remove the two 15mm bolts (green arrow) holding the aluminum crossmember piece between the suspension uprights and remove the crossmember.

Figure 25 Locate the 6mm drain plug under the engine as shown here to drain the coolant from the engine.

Figure 26 Remove each of the six 8mm hex bolts holding each CV joint to the transmission.

Figure 27 Shown here are the two 13mm bolts (green arrows) that hold the clutch slave cylinder to the transmission. This view shows the whole assembly with the transmission removed from the car. When installed, you really won't be able to see the bolts. You'll have to feel around for them using a 13mm socket and extension.

Figure 28 Remove the ball ends of the shift cables from the transmission by popping them off with a large screwdriver (green arrows). Then remove the shift cable retaining clips by prying them off (purple arrows). Note that on our car, one of the clips was missing and someone had used a zip tie to hold the cable in the retainer bracket.

Figure 29 Remove the electrical connection going to the reverse light switch on the transmission towards the front of the car (green arrow).

Figure 30 To lower the engine and transmission as one unit, you will need to remove the center brace, rear sway bar and also the diagonal braces on the rear suspension of the car. ThisPicture shows only one side, but the other side is similar. Begin by removing the two 13mm bolts (green arrows) holding the sway bar to the suspension upright. Next, remove the 15mm nut holding the sway bar to the drop link (yellow arrow). Set the sway bar aside then remove the 16mmk bolt holding the front of the diagonal brace to the center brace (red arrow). Lastly, remove the four 17mm nuts and bolts holding the center brace to the upright. The top bolts of the brace are meant to stay in place so don't try to remove them just loose will do. At this point, move to the front of the wheel well. We need to remove the diagonals to allow the center brace to be removed. Also, loosen and remove the rubber coolant hoses from the metal lines (blue arrows).

Figure 31 Remove the three screws (green arrows) that hold the lower rear quarter panel trim piece to the body. This piece covers the front mounting bolt for the diagonal braces.

Figure 32 Now move inside the wheel well to access the inner bolt that holds the brace to the chassis (green arrow). Loosen this bolt until you can pull the diagonal down and rotate it around out of the way of the center brace.

Figure 33 With the engine and transmission firmly supported, remove the four 16mm nuts that hold the front part of the transmission mounting bracket to the chassis (green arrows). Also remove the 16mm thru bolts and nuts that hold the bracket to the transmission mount (purple arrows). Remove the lower mounting bracket. Also remove the two 16mm nuts holding the upper mounting bracket to the chassis (yellow arrows).

Figure 34 Don't forget to unbolt the ground strap from the chassis on the right (passenger) side of the engine (green arrow). This photo shows where the fender support bracket attaches to the frame (blue arrow, 997 only).

Figure 35 Remove the hoses going to the water pump and thermostat on the left side of the engine bay (green arrows)

Figure 36 Now remove the 18mm nut on the right side of the engine (green arrow). Make sure that you have the engine firmly supported before doing this.

Figure 37 And also remove the 18mm nut on the left side of the engine (green arrow).

Figure 38 Once you're sure nothing is still hanging up on the engine, lower it fully down and out of the car. NOTE: in thisPicture, the right side intake manifold and plenums have been removed.

Figure 39 Shown here is the engine being lowered out of the car without the transmission attached as well as the exhaust removed. Be sure to orient the floor jack towards the balance point of the engine.

Comments and Suggestions

Erik

February 16, 2024

Hello, 2001 996, steam from right side exhaust.
What are the procedures for diagnosing whether is cracked cylinder wall, head gasket, or cracked head/valve seat?
Thank you so much for the help.