Tiptronic transmission removal/install and EPS IMS upgrade kit- Write-up with pics

Having found nothing on tiptronic transmission removal and reinstallation before I started this, I am posting this write-up through several posts in hopes that others will find some inspiration. I did this job completely on jack stands, which took a bit more time than it would have on a lift and also required some forethought to be able to move the transmission around since I was doing this job alone. This was meant to be a winter project where I would work on it in bits and pieces… there were a lot of steps and while the actual number of steps below may seem daunting, in the end it only took 12 days working on it here and there and I took a lot of notes for posterity. This is my first Porsche and this project was great way for me to gain some intimate knowledge of the car’s mechanicals. Disclaimer: What follows is my personal experience with this project. This is not a how-to and if you choose to do this, you are responsible for your own safety and property. 2000 996 C2 Tiptronic. I purchased the European Parts Solution IMS Bearing Upgrade Kit with forced engine oil feed for only $441 shipped (half price) directly from Vertex on eBay. Having thought about my options on this for quite some time, I decided on this kit due to the following reasons: Cylindrical bearing design. The simplicity of the oil feed design which required no complex parts that could fail or need maintenance. Low cost. I was skeptical that I needed this upgrade in the first place and really I just wanted a project to tackle, so not spending a significant amount was key. In reality, I was right on about not needing this because the double row bearing that I pulled out was perfect in every way. I keep telling myself that having done the job will improve the resale of the car should that time come lol. In addition to the kit above, I also needed the following: - Two rubber cam plugs: $4 each from pelican - Drive plate to crank bolts (8) $23 from local auto parts supply - IMS tool kit purchased on eBay for $180 + $10 shipping. I am going to resell this back on eBay as “used”. - Hose pinch clamps, which I had, but after seeing they were the wrong size, I plugged the transmission coolant hoses with a couple of used wine corks held in place with the existing hose clamps and they worked like a charm. Go figure… now my coolant has the slight flavor of a nice Chianti. Other items purchased during this project (not necessarily required to do IMS job). - Engine oil and filter change: Mobil-1 (5w-40) $51/10qts from Walmart, Mahle filter $10.75 from Pelican, plug washer $0.25 from Pelican - Left side differential output seal: $ 48.66 from local auto parts supply - Gear oil: Mobil 1 75W/90 synthetic 1 qt. $11 from Autozone - 5/16 brass double hose barb to permanently replace the brittle coolant connector that inevitably fails when you work on these engines. $3 from Lowes. - A bit of silicone hose to splice the brittle line coming from the forward plenum to the EGR valve that also always breaks: Free-had some laying in my parts box. - Contitech drive belt- only because I wanted a spare: $19 from Pelican - Transmission fluid and filter change: Transmission pan gasket: $34.15 from local auto parts supply; Porsche branded filter: $ 58.75 from Pelican, but could have went with the ZF one for $39 also from Pelican; Transmission fluid (ATF): a controversial topic to be sure. My car is a 2000 model year with the ZF transmission and the local Porsche dealer wanted $54 a liter! After researching options, I decided on “Castrol Transmax Import multi-vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid”. Castrol recommends this for transmissions requiring LT71141 and some others on this forum have used it in the past with good results. A cursory web search shows that the BMW-crowd that have a ZF transmission requiring LT71141 have been using it for years with no ill effects. I have had no issues with slipping or overheating since using this ATF and it was on sale at half price for only $4 qt. from Advance Auto Parts (used 7.5 qts). The ATF replacement job also required the use of a monstrous 17mm hex socket, purchased for $9 and a fluid pump $9 both from Autozone - Coolant: In case any was spilled. I didn’t need any, so I didn’t purchase. - Infrared thermometer for filling transmission: $23 from Lowes - JB Weld: I cracked the oil fill tube and easily epoxied it. I am listing the approximate time that it took to do each step below… I say approximate, because it doesn’t include breaks, chasing down missing tools, mistakes, running out to buy parts/fluid or sniffing wine corks as above. I also bagged and labeled every set of bolts that came off and this saved a lot of head scratching. If I did this again, it would take a lot less time.

- Lifted rear of car: 10 minutes. Placed rear on ramps (safer than stands) and chocked front wheels, but eventually I did place the front of the car on jack stands once I was ready to lower the transmission. In addition to the two holding up the front of the car, I use three other jack stands to hold up the engine: One when unbolted from transmission and two to hold the engine when removing motor mounts. - Starter removal: 1.5 hour (Pelican has a nicely illustrated how-to on this), but I also removed the second plenum. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...EC-Starter.htm Removed airbox: 13mm bolt next to latch, squeeze and pull off MAF electrical connector on large hose, remove hose clamp to throttle body. I did not have the extra breather hose that some tiptronics have. Removed throttle body: (4) 10mm bolts, one electrical connector Removed both intake plenums: The Pelican write-up says only the first one, but removing the top bell housing bolt is significantly easier once I removed the second plenum. Loosen inner hose clamps on either side (4 per plenum) and rotate plenum to break hoses free, then loosen outer hose clamps and rotate plenum to break plenum free. The trick here was to slide the short hoses on either side, away from the plenum to get it off. Removed and labeled all vacuum hoses coming off of both plenums. Removed starter: (2) 15mm bolts- need to use a series of long extensions and u-joint on ratchet. Also removed electrical connections to starter (1) 10mm nut and (1) 13mm nut. - Removed Torque Converter (TC) bolts: 0.5 hour. Rotated crank clockwise with socket on crank pulley (don’t recall the size) until the TC bolts appeared in starter hole and hole in crank pulley was lined up to pin it to keep from moving (used short/thin screwdriver to pin, but can use tool provided with IMS tool kit). Removed 6mm bolts from TC to drive plate, 2 at a time and rotated crank and pinned at pulley to do next set of 2. Six in bolts in all, again using a series of long extensions and u-joint on ratchet.

- Removed underbody trays: 0.5 hour Rear: 3 Phillips head screws, (4) 10mm nuts, plastic push pin thingy known as �underbody covering rivet� Center: (10) 10mm nuts Sides (just forward of rear wheels): 2 Philips head screws each side.

- Removed braces: 1 hour Unbolt sway bar at frame, swing away and tie off. Unbolt Horizontal brace: (2) 15mm bolts Unbolt diagonal braces: (1) 15mm bolt each side, (1) 16mm bolt each side, (1) 15mm nut on top of each side Unbolt the thick cross member (rear axle support) that sits below the seam between the engine and transmission. (2) 16mm bolts each side, (2) 18mm nuts each side. At this point I was able to see that I had a double row IMS bearing as I described in the below thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...nsmission.html

- Unbolted Axle shafts from transmission: 2 hours (6) 8mm hex bolts each side. Easier to do drivers side first for better visibility of bolts. Noticed gear oil leaking from differential.

- Transmission wires: 5 minutes. Unclipped shifter cable and pulled off of transmission. Disconnected multifunction plug. Disconnected bayonet plug by turning counter-clockwise.

- Transmission coolant hoses: 5 minutes. The hose pinch clamps that I had were the wrong size, so I plugged the transmission coolant hoses with a couple of used wine corks held in place with the existing hose clamp. Probably works better than the clamps.

- Transmission removal: 3 hours Removed vacuum line from transmission switch over valve located above bell housing on left. Pinned torque converter from top, with tool from IMS tool kit (can be tricky, but must seat fully all the way to the handle; by using an alternate metal rod, it would be difficult to know whether the tool was fully seated or not). Tool goes into slots next to bolt holes on the TC. I propped the engine on a jack stand and raised/strapped on a cheap-o transmission jack from Harbor freight. Would not use this jack again, but rather would modify a floor jack. Jack placement is under the pan, close to the bell housing and almost touching the differential side of the transmission to balance properly when lowering. Bell housing bolts: (See pic) I used series of extensions and a u-joint where necessary. Bolt #1: 16mm bolt, placed ratchet on bolt from top through engine compartment and cracked bolt from the bottom. Bolts # 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 were all relatively easy took about 15 minutes each. #4 was a 12 point star bolt, but came out with a T-50 torx socket. There is no bolt at #6. Bolt #8 was the most difficult one due to the position and the tools I had on hand. Once it cracked I could only move it maybe a mm or two at a time. This single bolt took more than an hour to remove. Removed nuts/bolts from transmission carrier and support at front end of transmission. The transmission was now resting on the transmission jack.

- Waiting for parts to arrive: 2 days At this point I lowered the transmission with the transmission jack (an adventure with that lousy jack) and planned to leave it under the car, but since I was waiting for some parts to arrive, I stacked up some short 2x4 wood pieces under the narrow end of the transmission and on the other side of the transmission under the pan near the bell housing. I lowered the jack to rest the transmission on the 2x4s and then removed the 2x4s one at a time until I could slide the transmission onto a piece of cardboard and out from under the car. The transmission was not as heavy as I expected and once removed, it actually looked smaller to me. I was able to muscle it back onto the transmission jack once it was out from under the car in order to move around the garage. With the crank pinned I removed the (8) T-55 torx bolts from the drive plate with an impact gun, but could have used a breaker bar if needed. Drained engine oil and replaced oil filter.

- Locking cams 1-3: 20 min. Removed green plugs for cams 1-3. Screwed down cam holding tool.

- Removed cam tensioners: 5 minutes Removed cam tensioner 1-3 at bottom of engine w/ 32mm socket (1-1/4”) Removed tensioner (IMS to crank) w/32mm socket (1-1/4”), but needed to remove 10mm bolt holding the hose to oil filter area to make room for socket.

- Removed IMS bearing: 20 min. Used EPS instructions: http://europeanpartssolution.com/wp-...ernal.IMS_.pdf Removed flange bolts: reverse torx bolts and the hex nut on bearing shaft. Pulled bearing and internal clip with bearing puller from IMS tool kit and cleaned inside of shaft. The bearing was perfectly firm and did not leak oil.

- IMS bearing install: 45 min Installed bearing with tool provided with EPS bearing kit and red thread-locker as per EPS instruction. The bearing won’t go in unless it is perfectly straight, so I took a bit of extra time here. Installed new flange bolts (15ftlbs) and shaft nut (35ftlbs). Installed drive plate with the new bolts: (19ftlbs) in a cross-wise pattern, then marked top of bolt and tightened an extra 90 degrees. I used an old box wrench that came with some odd item to hold the drive plate while torqueing (see pic), but wonder if the pin at the crank pulley would have been enough.

- IMS oil feed install part 1: 1 hour Removed catalytic converters: (3) 12mm bolts at flange used u-joint, (2) 12mm bolts at clamp, (1) 13mm bolts at hanger. Disconnected wiring for (2) oxygen sensors from top by pulling red clips. - IMS oil feed install part 2: 1 hour Jacked engine under oil pan and placed 2 jack stands under engine for redundancy. Removed (2) 18 mm nuts from motor mounts to carrier. Removed heat-shield strip from carrier and (4) 15mm bolts that go from the carrier to engine Removed oil pump cover bolts (7) 10mm and (1) 15mm. Removed oil pump cover, gears, allen-drive and punched a 3mm hole into IMS cover with provided punch as per EPS instructions. Replaced allen-drive with the slotted one that came with the EPS kit.

- Reinstalled engine carrier and cats: 2 hours Installed nuts on carrier to motor mounts (63ftlbs), should’ve replaced those nuts in retrospect. Installed carrier to engine (34ftlbs) Installed Catalytic converters: bolts at flange to header (22ftlbs), bolts at clamp to muffler (60ftlbs), bolts at hanger to heat shield (22ftlbs), oxygen sensors wiring: pre-cat sensor to black plug, sensor directly on cat to gray plug. - Reinstalling transmission: 4 hours In order to decrease the weight of the transmission to get it back on the jack, I removed the torque converter (this also allowed me to empty and fill most of it), drained the transmission fluid and removed the differential cover, gear oil and the differential itself. I slid transmission under the car on cardboard and using the low profile stock jack from the spare tire, I alternately jacked each end and built up 2x4s until I could get the transmission jack under and strapped to the transmission jack. I replaced the leaking seal on the differential cover and reinstalled the differential, cover and filled with new gear oil. (12) T-40 torx bolts on differential cover (23ftlbs). Differential hex-bolt fill plug (30ftlbs). I installed the torque converter using the “double clunk method”, making sure to pin the TC on the right side of the holes to be sure that they will be accessible from the starter hole. I raised the transmission into place and needed to use the stock jack again to get the bell hosing lined up properly with the engine. Once I got bolt #8 started, I raised/lowered the jack to get #3 bolted (#8 and #3 needed to be bolted first due to the protrusions from their respective holes). All other bolts were relatively easy after that and torqued to specs: (45ftlbs) for bolts #4 and 5. All other bolts were (85ftlbs) Secured transmission carrier and support at front of transmission: all bolts: (48ftlbs)

- Bolted axle shafts: 2 hours (6) 8mm hex bolts each side (60ftlbs) - Final reassembly: 3 hours Secured sway bar at frame (17ftlbs). Secured cross member (rear axle support) that sits below the seam between the engine and transmission (48ftlbs). Secured diagonal braces: bolt to body (48ftlbs), bolt to cross member (81ftlbs), nut on top (17ftlbs). Secured Horizontal brace(48ftlbs). Connected coolant hoses to transmission, attached shift cable/clip and two electrical plugs. Installed TC bolts (29ftlbs). Installed starter: bolts (33ftlbs), 10mm electrical connection (5ftlbs), 13mm electrical connection (11ftlbs). Installed 2 plenums. Put vacuum hoses on first and slid onto engine to make room to install plenum. Installed intake manifold (7.5ftlbs). Filled engine with oil.

- Transmission fluid/filter change: 1.5 hours Leveled the car on jack stands and used these instructions from Pelican: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...sion_Fluid.htm Removed transmission pan bolts (T-27 torx) and replaced filter (4.5ftlb) and gasket. Re-installed pan bolts (8ftlb), using crisscross pattern as shown in Pelican article. Filled ATF with hand pump and ran car until temperature of fluid at pan was 85-100 degrees (took about 15 minutes) using the infrared thermometer. Topped off and shifted car through gears for 10 seconds each then went through gears a second time. Topped off ATF once more, resulting in 7.5 qts changed. Torque specs: Drain plug (29ftlb). Fill plug (59ftlb) THE END

Great contribution, its always good to capture the details on tiptronics since not a lot of DIY guys have them. I recently did this for my manual MY99 but many steps are different. It is definately easier on a manual.

a million thanks for taking the time (and effort) to share!! P.S. I may have missed it but did you also do the AOS and RMS?

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+996. I hope this thread can stay on topic with any technical questions one may have for the OP and NOT a debate on the kind of bearing he used. Yes, I'm looking at a few of you on here.

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Nope, I didn't do either of those. I'm of the thinking that if it's not in bad shape I'm not going to risk screwing it up by putting in a new one. I know that many may disagree, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Yeah, I bought a Tip because my daughter would be driving it also. The good news is that I'm going to be doing paddle shifters next and it's relatively easy.

Wow, great write up! Thanks for taking the time to do this. Are you going to use Mercedes paddle shifters? Have an Atiwe wheel I am considered doing that to. Or else just doing away with the steering wheel shifters which is what I did with one of my old 993s.

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Yes, I plan on using the Mercedes AMG paddle shifters... additionally I'm going to do the Gundo hack and while I'm at it I might as well paint my peeling calipers.

Great write up. I may have missed it, but what year is your vehicle? I actually intend to do this exact service - So I appreciate the detailed photos and process. Would also be interested in seeing how you go about doing the paddle shifters!

It's in the beginning: 2000 c2. I'll post pics of the paddle shifters when complete.

I would recommend you reconsider going to paddle shifting. It actually restricts your options. All upshifts with the right hand, all down with the left. I much prefer the tiptronic on my 2000 996 to the DSG paddle shift on my 2013 GTI. I have also driven a couple of Porsche's with PDK (the up market name for Audi/VW DSG). The very first generation was best, almost like the buttons...either hand could take you up and down the gears. Now it seems it is right hand up the gears, left hand down the gears...but I heard they maight be (or already have changed) their minds again. The buttons are the easiest and most instinctive way of shifting the tiptronic.

Thanks for the input. I've already bought the paddle shifters and plan to mount them on the wheel with the original tip buttons. If it turns out bad, I'll remove the paddles and fill the holes with a cover of some kind. I can understand that having up and down buttons on either side of the wheel is more practical, but pulling on paddles is a different experience in itself and is the reason why it's a lot more popular than pushing buttons.

Great write-up!

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If you already bought them then seeing if it works for you makes sense. The paddles are based on a sequential gearbox. Now lots of manufacturers put them on their automatics because they are trying to fool buyers into thinking the cars are using sequential boxes and not torque converter autos. Whether buttons or paddles, having the ability to go up and down the gears with either hand seems a better option than forcing one hand for up and the other for down shifts. Looking forward to pictures and driving impressions when you get them installed.

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I hear ya loud and clear John. When in manual mode, the Tip will upshift automatically when you hit redline and automatically downshift if your speed is too low for that gear. In my mind, this mod like the car itself, is just for fun. Honestly I like working on my cars just as much as I like driving them and probably spend more time in the garage with them than I do on the road (by choice). In reality from my long experience with F-cars old and new, I've always felt the paddles belong on the column so you always know where they are. I don't think I'll track this car, but either way the paddles are going to make driving it more fun for me.

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Ha, just saw this post. I've followed the many EPS Bearing threads on this forum for while before I joined. I'm not trying to start a silly little flame war here, but I've done my homework on this and think I've made the right choice... despite what some naysayers claim about design flaw, I've yet to hear of a single EPS bearing failure that was due to design and there are A LOT of cars on the road with this bearing upgrade. Now I thought my choice of ATF would be a bit more controversial...

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Here is a pic of the installed paddle shifters. I'll be posting a write-up shortly.

Vince, Vince, Vince, Vince!!!1 Thanks. Good details.

The paddles look great IMHO. You wrote that you were going to leave the oem shifters hooked up. Is that what you ended up doing? My issue is that I accidentally hit the shifters which is why I am considering the paddles. How involved was the surgery to fit them into the rear of the wheel?

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Check out the write up here https://rennlist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=929250

Absolutely awesome. I searched high and low for a write up like this and made do with sections from different MYs and manual transmission steps. I have the 2001 996 Cabriolet with the Tip so this is perfect. Mine is apart awaiting a rebuild of the transmission so I am doing the IMS, and will likely do the AOS (I did this only about 15k ago while engine was in the car and I'd rather lie in a bed of fire ants than do that again). But BIG THANKS to you Vince for taking the time to document your steps.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-write-up.html Great write up. thank you!

Dear OP Vince 1. What is the double clunk method to install torque converter? 2. What is pinning the Torque Converter ?

No photos of the final finish of the whole car? This is a great write up by the way.

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1. You Tube 2. This is described pretty well in the steps. You need to first pin the torque converter on the top to keep it from moving when taking out the individual bolts that attach the torque converter to the drive plate and then again to keep the torque converter from coming out with the transmission when it is pulled out.

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Sold my 911 at the end of last year, but here's a pic from right after completion.

Sorry if I miss this but why did you sell this beautiful car especially after so much work and mods on it?

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I had actually bought this car for my daughter, but it ended up being "too much car" for her and since I've got to many other projects going on... I sure did enjoy working on it in the dead of winter though!

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May I ask how much you sold it for? The reason I ask is because I'm in the market for a 911.

Hello Tip owners, Yes, not finding much detail regarding removal, issues, watch outs,etc. So, you remove the starter, access the 6 TC bolts and.....???? Give it a pull? To unmate trans from Motor.? I will be removing the Motor and transmission as one, and deal with it out of the car for the first go round, 911 we're simple!! 986, jury is still out. Replacement motor, new ims,etc, just wrestling with the transmission.... Thanks

Vince124, How well did that Castrol AFT do for you before you sold the car? Brian

can this be made a sticky so it is easy to find?

As long as we're asking questions, even though Vince may not longer be around Rennlist: did you have to replace the trans mount or was it in relavtively good shape?

Re: Castrol ATF... no long term problems whatsoever. Castrol recommends this for transmissions requiring LT71141. Re: Trans Mount... the mount didn’t seem to have any wear and tear, so no replacement necessary.