A little back history for you. I was replacing the tired old motor mounts with some new sport mounts that came standard on the turbo, and while removing one of the main bolts, the bar cracked and bent at the narrowest point.
So, now that you know what's going on, back to the story. The new bar I received is a real work of art. This is the same bar that came on the prized 1973 Porsche 911 RSR. I had the option of brushed stainless or painted red, and I thought the stainless would look nicer and be easier to clean.
The install seemed pretty straight forward, jack under motor, undo old broken part, install shiny new part, lower jack, clean up tools, drink beer. Well, things didn't go according to plan, except for the first and last steps.
After completely breaking off the old piece, which was intentional, I was now ready to remove the 4 bolts which hold the bar to the motor.
As I'm always scared to severely cut myself (largely in part because seeing my own blood in large quantities makes me want to pass out) I took great care in positioning my hands and using restraint in... WOOPS, hand slipped and I sliced the top of my knuckle off.. CRAP.. on the first bolt too. Well, better hurry up and wash this up and evaluate the damage before I end up taking an early unplanned siesta!
Hrmmm.. I can see cartilage.. is that bad? I need to lay down. Deep breaths... okay I'm good.
Decided to throw a band-aid on it and continue working, as my engine is precariously being held up by a hydraulic jack.
Hey, souvenir!
This time I used a much longer ratchet and put on gloves and was a lot more successful. With the old piece completely detached, I was able to wiggle it out of the engine bay with little problem, but then it dawned on me that the old piece is a little shorter(because the end is broken off) Now I'm starting to panic a little. I don't think I'll be able to get the new part on without dropping the motor. I'm not prepared to drop the motor today, or really any other day for that matter.
What I ended up having to do was lowering the motor about 8 inches, and I was able to wrestle the new piece in, with a hammer. I'm almost done, I can see the finish line. All I need to do is connect the bolts. Why do I feel like Arya Stark in the Game of Thrones?
First bolt, dropped it.. it's somewhere under the crankshaft pulley.. CRAP! Go get a magnet and fish it out. 20 minutes later finally get it and get the rest of the 4 engine bolts on.
Now onto the mounts. I get the passenger side on no problem. Torque it up and move onto the driver side. Start to tighten up the main bolt and as its getting tight, it starts to get looser, and is just spinning and spinning.. WTF? The brand new bolt has stripped. I was able to remove it and try another, but I'm already thinking that the threads on the nut are probably screwed too. Yup, surely enough, I strip another bolt.
I have one more bolt left, but I think I'll hit up a buddy of mine to borrow his tap and die set to clean up the threads on the nut.
It'll have to wait for this weekend.. because I give up and it's time for beer!
