V2Rocket

Kuhl, would reaching in from the transaxle bellhousing and spinning the driveshaft tell you anything about the clutch condition?

KuHL 951

Yes it tells you if the rubber center has failed. If you can turn the driveline with the car in nuetral it's because it's rotating back and forth between the limp home tabs (the clunk) but the clutch disc is not moving. These tabs are what contact when the rubber fails.

Yummybud924

good point. I did remove the trans inspection hole and I tried to move the shaft right and left and it only moved like 1-2 mm I think, very slight movement.

there is only one trans inspection hole right? the hole was just big enough to stick my hand in and try to move it.


anyways someone else I think mentioned another method to test the clutch. to hold one wheel stable I think and turn the other wheel both directions and look in the inspection hole to see if the shaft moves at all.

I'll try that as well..

when I shake my ehxaust (it's missing one hanger) the tansmission shakes with it.

Marcquito

Any 'listers in your area willing to help you do this fix without taking it to a shop? I sure would if I was in Canada. Good luck and be sure this is exactly your problem before laying that hefty amount of cash. For that price, I'd totally rely on Rennlist to help.

Good luck!

Yummybud924

thanks. Yes I'm trying to makes sure it's the clutch before spending the cash on the clutch kit (let alone labour).

I thought after today I would know for sure but I'm nots sure if I can trust the mechanic when all he did was just drive the car around the corner and says the clutch is bad by the tone of the engine decelerating.

sometimes theres also a little jerking back and forth when decelerating and the rpms droping low.

V2Rocket

im not certain but those jerks in lower gears when you let off gas is the sudden loss of torque on the rear suspension causing it to waffle lol

Catfood

Honestly dude, I dont think that your clutch is failing. A rubber centered clutch will fail catastrophically when the rubber gives out. If your previous owner said he replaced the clutch with a sachs your probably still okay. It sounds like you've got something out of alignment or loose. near the transaxle or bell housing. there are alot of things that can work loose or be misaligned. You need to hunt for the problem, it is not your clutch. 1500 is alot of money, this problem requires more sniffing around before you decide what to do.

Another question, did the PO say anything about replacing the clutch, pressure plate and pilot bearing?? because if he only changed one, it could be the other piece.

As for the whining sound upon deceleration. 944 trannys sing quite a bit, are you sure it not just a normal sound that your mechanic is not used to?

Yummybud924

okay the place I took my car too work on a lot of porsches including lots of 944, they had an S2 in the shop today and always have 951 etc in the shop.

the guy that drove my car I don't think was even a mechanic, he is like the service advisor or manager there. I have taken my car there before for allignement and timing belt tensioning and they seem to have done a good job a fair price.

the sound on decelleration comes from the engine not the transmission.

I hear no clunking or anything from the engine (bellhousing) but like that guy said the engine seems whine upon deceleration and that guy was telling me that's the bad rubber centre clutch causing that.


my car has 257,000 kms on it so I'm not sure if it can still have the original clutch. I'm guessing not likely. Clutches don't usually last 260,000 kms right?

the previosu owner told me he installed a new sachs clutch kit (when I asked him about the condition of the clutch), but he did not have any receipts to prove he had bought a new clutch kit, but he gave me a stack of receipts for other stuff he had bought and done to the car, like the water pump, radiator etc.



when I drive normally the clunk does not happen all the time. 2 weeks ago when I was driving home from school it clunked almost all the way home everytime I shiften but now 2 weeks of almost no clunking if I shift properly.

the clunk I hear is definately coming from the transaxle and the clunk happens at the same time teh transaxle shaking kind of violently.

a test I did, ( I can try to take a video and post it), was to ptu the car on jackstand and run the engine with the car in 1st year, then drop the clutch.

when I drop the clutch or engage the clutch it clunks every time with the car up on stands and the rear tires spinning, it clunks at the same tiem as the transmission shaking left to right and also shaking the exhaust and the axles when the clutch engage.

JimV8

The transmission mount is basically a thick chunk of flexible fibre so you will be able to shake it side to side. I had a rubber centre clutch fail and it made the sounds you describe. BTW you do have to have the gearbox in neutral when you twist the shaft through the inspection hole.

KuHL 951

This is the 3rd time you have posted that the TA shifts much more than it should left to right. This is with the wheels unloaded, imagine what it does under load? When the rubber separates at the TA mount it will make metal contact and clunk. You have said the TT shaft doesn't rotate assuming you tested it correctly and the noise is coming from the TA so your clutch is probably OK unless you tested it with the car in gear. Folks have answered all your questions so far but you need to focus on that TA mount for now and get a hanger on that exhaust. Even if the problem was internal with the trans it should not make the TA twist as much as you say. There has to be someone experienced in the Vancouver, BC area that can take a look at it if you can do it. Get under the car and push that TA side to side and then use a jack and see how far the TA lifts before the body does. All transaxles move a bit but a loose one is a dead giveaway. Oh, and find a new shop, their diagnostic skills suck!

Yummybud924

yeah i was not happy at all with that guys diagnosis. I think he just wanted to replace my clutch to make a 1000 bucks in labour......

this is a respected porsche shop though but everyone wants to make money and a clutch job great for a mechanic obviously.

oh thanks for pointing that out I think I twisted the drive shaft in the transmission with the car in gear I'll take it out of gear and try it again.


I also raised the car up today on one side with one tire touching the ground so it can't move and I wanted to move the raised tire to see if the driveshaft moves and I noticed even with the one wheel on the ground teh axle with the wheel on the ground moved.

Yummybud924

okay I just put the car in neutral and removed the inspection cover in the transmission and tried to move the the driveshaft left / rigth and it still only moves like 1mm left to right and locks after the little movement.

I don't think it's a broken rubber centre clutch then if that is an accurate method of testing the it.


could it be bad transmission pinion? what would the symptoms of that be? and how can you test that.


yes I can push the transmission up and also left / right but I don't know if it is excessive or normal.


I'm going to fix the exhaust first , the rear rubber hanger is missing (the one after the cat) not sure if the local parts store will have one or if i'll have to order one from paragon.

with the car on stands and the car in gear I also noticed only one wheel spinning, is this normal? my car is not lsd so I guess that is normal.


also with the wheel on the ground is it normal for the cv axle to move where it connects to the tansmission when you turn the raised wheel (it moves a bit until it locks, with teh wheel not moving because it's on the ground).

I tried releasing the clutch again with the car in the air and now when i smootlhly realease the clutch it doesn't thunk or shake badly with teh car in the air. but if I drop the clutch the transmission shakes and clunks. I swear this was worst 2 weeks ago.

the past 2 weeks of driving I have not made the transmission clunk anymore..... that day it clunked all the way home. if it was teh clutch can the problem suddenly go away?

I can still make it clunk if i drop the clutch too fast or don't shift smoothly.

KuHL 951

The CV's will always have some play and the amount of rotational play is subjective. I don't know is this helps but I have one CV that would only make an intermittent clunk after a hard run and it still does it on occasion still. I've repackedit once and it helped. For the modest price of 90$ you can replace both CV's and axle from Parts America or Kragen if that turns out to be the issue. Your best bet is work from the wheels in and think about what should and shouldn't move. You'll find the problem one way or another. Your TA mount still sounds like it is in need of replacement based upon your description.

Yummybud924

thanks.

I'll keep on trying to see what is causing the clunk. I might have to get another opinion maybe from another shop or a rennlist member.

I don't want to replace random things that are not broken.


I had originally made an opointment at that porsche shop to have my timing belt stud replaced but now I don't really trust them. They have tensioned my belts before but that's it.

it's hard to find a mechanic that knows 944s and you can trust. thats why I try to diagnose and fix most of the problems on the car myself.

Yummybud924

and like I said the clunk has been gone for the past 2 weeks and I drive the car everyday which is strange. i just shift faster now and try to be more smooth and I heard like one clunk in the 2 weeks.