Superseded Convertible top motor installation Question

Hey guys I know there are a bunch of posts about convertible top issues. I have searched through all of them and cant seem to find anything near my issue I am having. I have a 99 996 cabriolet that is in need of a new lid motor. I have removed old motor that had part # 996.624.122.00, apparently this motor has been superseded by a new motor part # 996-561-933-01. My question is this new motor needs a support bracket, new micro switch with alternate mounting holes and 4 studs but cant figure out how they are mounting support bracket or motor to drive system.. I got the micro switch bracket mounted but cannot figure out how the support bracket and studs work with mount the new motor to gear drive. Has anyone replaced the motor with this new setup? If so can you tell me how it all mounts together? I am stumped as the new support bracket has now where to mount with my current stock setup. I have called Porsche and they are no help. Pelican Parts are where the parts were bought and they have no idea how installation for this setup goes as well only that these are the superseded parts that are needed to replaced existing discontinued motor. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Hi everyone, I recently purchased a "Torque Solution Engine Mount Kit: Porsche 911 1998-11" to replace my stock 2000 C4 mounts. I bought it from Amazon, but here it is on the torquesolution site: http://www.torquesolution.com/Porsch.../ts-00-002.htm After removing the stock right mount, I attempted to install the new mount, but it doesn't look like there is enough thread on the bottom to screw on the 18mm nut. Looking at the stock and torquesolution mounts side-by-side, I see that the torquesolution's thread is about 1cm shorter. I'm posting a few pictures in case these helps. Did I purchase the wrong part? Does anyone have experience installing these mounts on their 996 car? Thanks for advance...

I realize this thread is a couple years old, but I've just gone through this process. I did buy the 5 parts (motor, potentiometer, studs, microswitch and bracket) and had to do my own fiddling to determine how to get it installed. I do have some insights for you that might be best explained with pictures and a phone conversation. The most important task is cutting off the old electric mounting bracket from the master bracket that also holds the hydraulic pump. Cutting it off involved first taking the master bracket off the rear firewall and detaching the hydraulic pump, before using a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel, since a hacksaw would leave too much metal. You need a flat surface for this new bracket. The new bracket is then attached to where the old bracket was. I used 3 x 6mm carriage bolts (local Ace Hardware Store had them), because I wanted the heads trapped and not rotating. It's fun drilling square holes! The hole mess of motor, potentiometer, bracket and studs actually get attached to the black plastic assembly that has the pushrods to move the clamshell. The sequence of assembly is: attach new microswitch to black assembly (now you have something to attach the studs); thread the 2 studs to the microswitch bracket; slide on the motor assembly (note the motor assembly only gets inserted onto one of the studs; the other stud is outside the motor). Here's where it gets tricky, especially if you have large hands. The two studs need to be inserted into the new bracket and affixed with the two nuts. In my case, I had actually already mounted the new bracket on the master bracket which was removed from the rear firewall. Very tight space for the bottom 6mm bolt and nut. It might make more sense to mount the bare new bracket to the master bracket first, then attach the complete assembly to the car's rear firewall. I'm just not sure if you can then get to the two nuts to attach the studs. Might be too inaccessible. I was able to get to the bottom 6mm nut using a socket, short extension, flex joint and longer extension to my ratchet wrench. Hope this was not too confusing. Let me know if you want to chat, or if you have insights to share after 2 years.

that doesn't look fully seated. The square where the rod meets the mount has to drop into the "housing" on the car....you'll have to turn the "square" portion a little

You're right, the new mount sits about 2mm above the body and freely rotates, indicating that the square part is not mated with the square hole in the body. I believe the tapered part on the bottom of the new mount is preventing the mount from dropping all the way in place. I didn't try to force it in since I didn't want to cause any damage to the new mount. I was wondering if someone went through this once and can help me figure out if I should force it in.

I had the TS but it's been a couple years since I've removed it....IIRC I don't think the tapered part had anything to do with fitment. I had to have the square part aligned the same way as stock mount then raised the engine up....fit right in

If you look at your posted picture of the 2 mount, the right/OEM mount has a rubber square part. Right above it in your picture, there is a metal square part. That metal square part that goes into the body. If you look at the TS mount, the equivalent square part goes into the body. That square has to be aligned same position as OEM

Thanks geetee. I'll get the square part aligned and I'll give another shot.

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Quote: You should be easily be able to clock the mount so it fits. Be careful on installing a nut on the TS units as the end taper isn't as friendly as the OEM bolts. I would get the nut on there and turn in a couple times counter clockwise just to get it seated in there correctly before tightening it.

Thanks alpine003! I think I figured out my problem. It appears that the square part on the new TS mount is slightly larger than the square hole that it fits in. It almost fits, but not quite. I compared the square part on the stock mount vs. the TS mount and found that the TS mount is about is 0.6mm larger (photos below). At this point, my options are to (1) return the mounts, (2) grind the hole to make it slightly larger, or (3) grinding the square part to make it smaller. I'm leaning towards option 2. -- Sam

You have documented it with pics so personally I would show TS the issue. It could be just a bad batch and see what they can do first. I would do option two as a last resort in case any future owners wants to put back in the factory mounts. Whatever you decide to do, good luck.

Thanks alpine003! I decided to go with a combination of options #2 and #3 and was able to get both mounts in place once a little machining was done to both, the square holes as well as each each TS engine mount. I just have to torque everything and to put everything back together, then I'll take it out for a test drive. Looking forward to a more solid ride feel and smoother shifting. Thanks everyone!

had the same issue with mine. just sanded the mounting square a bit and tapped it into the hole no biggie

Thank you all for your help. I had my first test drive today and I can certainly feel the extra vibration (and rattle noise) in the cabin. Shifting is also pretty smooth and effortless, which is added bounce. Good upgrade overall.

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Quote: @996-Sam. How much of a vibration are we talking about? I'm entrusted in doing this to mine as I need to change the mounts. Since the price for these are well above OEM. I'm wondering if its worth the price I'm mostly worried about the cabin feel as I'm sure the handling is better. Did you also change your transmission mount as well? Does it shake, vibrate or rattle? Right now my mounts are worn and the seats vibrate at idle, in the lower back region. I don't like it, it can get annoying at times. I'm looking for some that handle well but don't have so much cabin feel.

I didn't change the transmission mount, just the two rear engine mounts. The cabin vibrates slightly now, which I like, but if you're looking for a smooth ride, then these are probably not for you. I remember when I first fired the engine, I felt this extra vibration and I thought that my engine was running rough, but then I remembered that I just installed a semi-solid engine mount. At times (usually when started from a complete stop), I get a rattle in the engine compartment. It sounds more like a muffler/exhaust shield noise and it only lasts for a second, but I'm not too worried about it. Overall, ride quality has improved and I personally enjoy the extra vibration in the cabin. BTW, price-wise, they were similar to the OEM mounts (they're a little cheaper on Amazon). My OEM mounts were fine, so I was only replacing them to improve the ride quality. Best of luck!

I love my poly mounts and just another data point of the feeling is more akin to an older sports car and not some clunker that has something wrong with it. If you've ever driven older 70's or 80's sports cars or even air-cooled 911's, you'll be right at home. OTOH, if this is your first sports car and you're used to the Lexus type ride or disconnected and numb ride from Camry type cars, then this mod may not suit you. This brings back the raw and visceral feeling while dramatically improving the handling/weight transfer aspect during spirited drives contributing to the more "analog" feel that a lot modern sports cars lack these days. I'd gladly sacrifce a little bit of NVH for these gains. YMMV If your existing stock mounts are severely worn or broken, even replacing them with stock mounts should yield a ride improvement albeit on a toned down level when it comes to the sport department, but you will still get back the comfort that you once had.

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Quote: OMG Alpine you sold me. I love the way the water cooled feel and drive, that go-kart feel. I drove a Lexus RC when they first came out, one of my friends works at a Lexus dealership and she let me dog the crap out of one, and that was my main concern and dislike about the car completely unplugged from the driving experience. I floored it from a dead stop and did not sink me in the seat it felt plush and reserved. Cornering was even worse. It made more noise then torque, for the price they were asking I would need to drop another 10k in it to get it to feel like a real sports car. I owned a 87 fox body mustang back in the late 90's that I used for drag racing and it was also my DD. I had no more money to by a second car so I drove the beast around. I completely rebuilt the engine and customized the car specifically to drag and I got stiffer mounts for that. It was absolute hell that car would rattle and shake you to a migraine head ache at a stop light I needed to be at 3k rpm's for the car to settle in. My girlfriend at the time hated it she would get sea sick in the car. LOL... But the noise of the exhaust and engine rattle would muffle her continuous talking. Big plus there. But you sold me on the description when you mentioned Lexus. Thanks for clearing it up for me. Mounts purchased.

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Quote: I just want to be clear that IMO upgraded poly engine mounts gives you the 80%+ of the performance while having the lesser amount of NVH intrusion, which is what most will tolerate from a DD. I would do that first and see if you need or want to do the upgraded poly transmission mount which IMO only gives you the 20% or so of performance increase but really increases the NVH considerably. I suspect most will only do the poly engine mounts and leave the transmission mount alone, unless it is totally ripped apart or broken. I would say in most of my driving, I don't even notice it(probably because I have exhaust/firm suspension. The only times that I'm concious of it is when I first start the car and the SAI is going, and also when it is cold outside below 40deg F.