I've never dropped a VW engine and all in all, the Clymer instructions were good (my ordered copies of Bentley's and Chilton's are on there way). I'm hoping I labeled the wires correctly but I'm assuming that I can backtrack the wire to insure its proper function.

I worked for about 4 hours yesterday and was moving along right on schedule, motivated (interpret: rushed) by another Squareback site that said s/he dropped the engine in 3 hours. About 1 hour into the work I made THE mistake and that was to not step back and think through the bell housing bolts and what are referred to as the 'upper front engine mount bolts'. The pics in Clymer are terrible so I tried to look at the engine as a whole to see how it was supported, but I should have been keyed in that I had just removed the 'lower engine mount bolts' and not conclude that the 'upper mount bracket bolts' were part of the engine. In short, the engine has one last bolt to go and it is the upper left bolt (if you are looking from back to front).

The weird part is that the nut was just laying on top of the engine, not attached, so I think that there is pressure on the bolt right now. I probably should reattached the motor mount to take off that pressure and hopefully it will loosen by hand. I had the engine jacked up way too high (about 3 inches probably) and now that I think of it, have probably oversupported the transmission.

Reacquaintance on Day One

It has been about 3 years since I've driven the Squareback and it has been sitting in an in-laws barn, thankfully w/ windows shut and doors closed. While dirty, and a few small rust spots, the years have been kind.

I started by sweeping the floor and purchasing a floor jack and two jack stands for dropping the engine, not to mention some disposable gloves that are 'chemically-resistant', a wire stripper/cutter/crimper, and an insulated handle screwdriver.

When I returned from shopping, I began the wire labeling process, drained the oil, drained the gas, and got to the point that I'm ready to drop the engine. I used a small ramp for raising cars and two 2x6's to support the transmission so that when I lower the engine it isn't harmed.

3 hours w/ a few interruptions and some confusion about what the wires stood for as the Clymer manual wasn't superspecific in instructions and diagram-pictures.

Tomorrow I hope to drop the engine and measure the necessary components for getting the adapter plate set and the motor hooked in.