Rms Replacement Diy

[Scouser]

There's an interesting article with very good instructions for DIY replacing a gearbox/clutch and/or RMS in a boxster in this months (November) issue of

911 & Porsche World. 99% of this applies to the 996 too.

[KarlS]

Hmm, I just had the RMS replaced in my GT3 and it took a week at the dealer. Part of that was waiting for the part but I talked to the tech and he told me he need special tools that had to be ordered and that the old RMS was a bear to get out. This didn't sound like a DIY job to me but I'll be interested to read the article. The mag is sitting in my TBR pile.

Karl

[umn]

Thanks Scouser - just stopped at a petrol station on the way home and got the mag. Here are my thoughts:

- Getting the gearbox out of a 996 is *a lot* easier than a boxster, because you don't have to bother with the exhaust, which is notoriously painful to get off. Nor do you have to bother with the rear bumper.

- If you know what you are doing, you should get the gearbox out in under 2 hours. And, fortunately, there aren't too many things that can go wrong. One thing that can be a right pain is getting the gearbox off the engine (you want to lower the engine by about an inch), especially if the dowel sleeves have become stuck.

- You do need a mandrel to center the friction plate, but you can make it yourself easily on a lathe.

- The real problem is putting in the new RMS. I don't think they make it clear enough how essential the Porsche tool is. Without the tool, it is virtually impossible to set the seal (1) squarely (2) at the right depth and (3) in one go. Take it from me, using their "wood and small hammer" method ain't gonna work. You'll do the same job 5000mls later.

I don't know if you can buy the tool, but if you can, I'm sure it would only be economically viable if you share it among a few people. Making one yourself on a lathe would be possible, but it's a lot of effort.

All this considered, it would probably be easier to follow their advice and give it to an Independent.

Cheers,

Uwe

Edited October 28, 2004 by umn

[umn]

Read the article in a bit more detail. One crucial thing they forgot to talk about is what needs to be greased using what kind of grease. If you don't grease the release lever and clutch mechanism in the right places (and nowhere else), you'll have to redo the whole procedure half a year later, because the clutch starts creaking and gets stiff.

Cheers,

Uwe