New Discoveries

Well I didn't get a chance to drop the motor and transmission last weekend but am getting very close.  I find myself jumping from place to place around the car.  If I get frustrated or cramped under the dash removing parts, I move to the front or underneath the car and work on something else.  The parts are flying off at a rapid pace now as every bit that comes off makes another piece accessible.  I made some interesting discoveries in the process as well.  with the goal of being ready to drop the drivetrain this weekend I started in on removing parts to get closer to that goal.

If you recall from last week I needed some special tools to be able to remove the parts that were in the way of dropping the drivetrain.  One of them was a 12-point star bit to remove the CV (constant velocity) joint bolts, to separate CV joints from the transmission.  The CV joints allow the transmission/differential to turn the driveshafts even when the wheels are moving up and down causing the driveshaft to be at all different angles.  Porsche in their wisdom decided these needed special 12-pointed star bolt heads (torx bits for example are six-pointed star patterns).  My awesome brother-in-law happened to have something in his shop that fit, an M8 12-point bit!  This was a cinch to remove the bolts, with the exception of needing a large wrench to hold the wheel hub in place - trying to loosen the bolts caused the wheel to spin on that side since the transmission is in neutral ad I have no clutch cable anymore...
Bolts are out:

 Carefully pried away the CV joint with a screwdriver.  You can see in the left of this pic the next challenge - the transmission drain plug.  This needs a 17mm allen head.  It's hard to describe the size of a 17mm allen head until you see one - not commonly on the shelf at most HW stores.

 Using a bungee to hold the driveshaft out of the way for a while.  I used zip ties linked together on the other side.  Driveshaft removal is a whole other day's project.

 I got to thinking about what I might have that is even close to 17mm.  Then I remembered - I used to have a '95 BMW M3 that had 17mm lug bolts, and I had a couple of the old bolts lying around from wheels I had bought back in the day...I wonder if one of those would fit?
Sizing it up:

 Yep it fits perfectly!  Now how do I turn this lug bolt to loosen the drain plug?  Why the shadetree mechanic's best friend - Vice Grips!

 Success!

 Worked like a champ - luckily no one before me used excessive force on the transmission plug.  BTW if you've never smelled differential fluid or transmission fluid before - eww.

 Wow look at that drain plug.  There is a mound of old fluid and debris on it.  They have built-in magnets on them to attract metal shavings inside the transmission (!) and boy did it.

 It looks like a toy from the Discovery Chanel store with all of the metal filings.

 Job done on that part, I also removed the rear shift rod.  Funny thing about having the transmission shift point so far from the shift lever even on such a small car - the shifting rod pieces are comically long.  Alltogether there are three main rods that make up the shift rod system and two of them are several feet long!  Pics later...
Here are some misc bits removed from the front of the car.  Windshield wiper arms and motor:

 Top dashboard:

 After blower box and wiper removal the front is almost done:

 Dash is very sparse now.  The metal dash frame was removed in short order with only a few bolts thru the firewall holding it in place.  Easy to get to now that all of the stuff is out of the way.

 Dash removed!

 Now for something completely different.  I removed the gearshift lever and lifted it up and out comes a cubic foot of shredded paper bits and leaves!  The center of the car is a little tunnel that has the gearshift lever, wiring harness, speedo cable, fuel lines, rear brake lines, clutch and throttle cables all running thru it.  And apparently also had a rodent running through it at some point!

 The only place it could have gotten into the tunnel is the front by the pedal cluster. If all of the wires are unchewed it'll be a miracle.  Then again there did not seem to be any droppings either so it must have been a short stay.  These pics are only part of the rubbish, much more is stuffed in that tunnel!

 Finally removed the foot pedal cluster too.  It's a pain disconnecting all of those pieces down under the dash and in that tunnel.  I can tell you what greasy flashlight tastes like too, since I need both hands for this and something's got to hold the light.
Also pictured is the shift lever and the rear shift rod.  I can't remove the front shift rod yet because the motor is in the way, it's going to have to come straight out the back of the firewall.  Note for later - reinstall the front shifter rod before reinstalling a motor!

 Another angle of the pedals.  The clutch pedal is leaning way back because his cable tension buddy is gone.  The throttle pedal is still in the car, stuck to the floor with a rusty bolt whose head is partially rounded off and not fitting any wrenches very well.  It may be time to inflict some damage to get it out.

 Finally the ugly corroded brake master cylinder.  Brake fluid has a particularly sweetly nasty odor I do not care for.  Makes gasoline smell like roses and even makes you forget about how much differential fluid reeks...

More progress promised for next week.  I'm a furniture dolly and a beer-swilling helper away from dropping the motor and transmission in one oily lump!