Front Suspension/Engine Cross Member
If The only reason you really have to remove the front cross member is if you are going to drop your oil pan.
Before you can remove the cross member. There are numerous other components you will have to remove:
- Remove the fuel rail
- Remove the intake manifold
- Remove the sway bar
- Remove the control arms
- Remove the power steering rack
Note that if you are just going to replace the oil pan, complete removal of the control arms and power steering rack are not required. Only partial removal is required. I recommend fully removing these components so you can fully inspect them if you are unaware of their condition. To see the partial removal technique, check out the article on Clark's Garage for the oil pan gasket replacement. All of Clark's articles are done extremely well, however sometimes they lack pictures. Feel free to use my detailed pictures with his write up.
This article also cover the installation of the Lindsey Racing three piece cross member. Why would you want a three piece cross member? Well, if you have this three piece cross member, if you need to drop the oil pan again you don't have to take apart half the car. Here is what Lindsey Racing says about their three piece cross member:
"Accessing the oil pan can be a huge job taking hours and hours. With the Lindsey Racing 3 Piece Cross Member, you can simply remove the center of the cross member for total oil pan access. Especially when you combine it with the Lindsey Racing 2 Piece Cross Over Pipe.
Eliminates having to suspend the engine, remove the motor mounts and un-do the lower control arms. Just remove or drop the steering rack and remove the center section of the cross member.When combining the two systems, you can change the pan without ever having to open the hood. Imagine that! A 12 hour job can be performed in 2 or 3 at the track.
Do you pay someone to service your bearings? This system will pay for itself the first time you have to use it.
We use this system on our Race Car. It allowed us to change a blown out oil pan gasket in 3 hours at the Topeka Club Race in October 2001. Otherwise, we would have been packing up the trailer and heading home having lost our entrance fees and other expenses down the drain. We made the next race!"
That sounds like it is worth it to me. I don't plan on replacing my bearings all the time like the track guys, however the fact that I just might have to one day drop my pan again made me buy it. I don't want to go through this headache again!
Removal
After you have removed all of the components listed previously. Before you remove the cross member, you must support the engine. This is because, well, the engine is being supported by the cross member! You will need to support it from the top using an appropriate tool. Porsche/VW has a tool available (VW 10-220 or VW 10-220A), but I'm sure the cost is outrageous. There are also appropriate tools available from tool catalogues, but they will also run you at least $100.
You could also fabricate an engine support tool using readily accessible materials. Due to Hurricane Ike blowing down a fence, I had some miscellaneous lumber. I cut a 4x4 about 51" long, then two shorter pieces as feet, screwed those onto the long piece, and voilà an engine support tool for $5. From now on, it will be known as The Apparatus.
Sling a chain over The Apparatus and attach each end to the two engine support tabs. Try to get the chain as tight as possible, as all that slack will cause the engine to drop to compensate. Use some extra links to suck up some of the slack if you had to. I had to take a few links out and put a 2x4 under one of the legs of The Apparatus.
Remove the top bolts on each motor mount. You will have to remove heat shields on each side. (Pictures of those are at the bottom of this page). There are two bolts per motor mount. The picture shows one of them, although it is very hard to see due to my mount being so dirty. The other bolt will be 180* out, on the back of the mount. NOTE: This photo was taken from the bumper area looking towards the rear of the video. (Pay no attention to the cross member bolts being removed. I did things out of sequence.)
Before you remove the four bolts that attach the cross member to the chassis, you will need to support the bottom of the cross member with a floor jack. After you have done that, go ahead and remove the four cross member bolts. There are two per side.
Lower the floor jack slowly, and the cross member should fall with it. Depending on how much slack there is in The Apparatus, the engine will fall a bit as well. The motor mounts will be attached to the cross member. Now would be an excellent time to replace your motor mounts, so inspect them for any wear.
After many hours of work, you now have access to the oil pan.
Installation
Assemble the three piece cross member on a work bench. The nuts face inwards, and you will need a 6mm hex for the bolt heads.
Attach the engine mounts on the cross member. As you can see, this would be an optimal time to replace worn mounts.
Support the assembled cross member with a floor jack. Attach the four engine mount bolts (2 per mount) to the engine supports. After the mounts are tightened, you now need to bolt the cross member to the body. You might have to jack the engine up if it has sagged. Since I used The Apparatus, a homemade engine support, mine sagged nearly 2". Once you have the cross member lined up with the bolt holes in the body, insert the bolts through the cross member and tighten the cross member to the body.
Attach the passenger side heat shield as pictured.
Attach the driver side heat shield as pictured.
Remove the jack and your top engine support, your cross member has been installed.
