ALFAPU

I'm wondering if there is a difference in the torsional strength between the 951 and 944 drive shafts. I dropped the transmission out of my 951 and found that somewhere along the line someone cracked the aluminum flange that the transmission mates with.

I have a spare 944 torque tube and was wondering if this would be a direct replacement. By measuring the diameter of the shaft itself, they appear to be the same but I'm wondering if maybe there is some difference that I am not aware of.

I'm only concerned with this because I'm starting to prep this car for an LS1 swap and want to make sure the torque tube can handle the added stress. If they are not the same then I'll install the 951 shaft when I rebuild the tube. If they are the same then the cracked one is going with the recycler when he comes to pick up a wrecked shell on Monday.



Thanks for your input!

KuHL 951

951 vs 944 torque tube. Is there a difference? No

Mark944na86

S2 tt is different -- it has the "split".

944Ross

I keep hearing about this, how the clutch can be replaced without pulling the trans. Got any pictures? I can't figure how that would work.

KuHL 951

You are thinking of the 968, not a 944 variant

944Ross

OK Thanks, I'll see if I can find a thread about it.

MichaelK

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenrosa...n/photostream/

THis old ad seems to indicate that the torque tube was upgraded. THis is not an especially technical resource though

PorscheDoc

The early NA torque tubes were different in the respect that they did not have the dog ears welded to the tube like the later cars. Instead they used a bolt on dog ear assembly. You can put the early tube in a late car and vise versa though. Other than that the late na TT's are the same as the 951 tubes. The S2's had the split tube for some reason, I probably knew at one time what it was for....they are also interchangable between the different models. The 968 had an even different tube and bellhousing which allowed the clutch change without yanking the tranny and pull the TT back. Can you tell i've changed a lot of torque tubes, lol.

FRporscheman

I have read that the split in the 944S2 and 968 torque tubes damps torsional vibration in the drivetrain.

Everything I've ever read suggests that the 944 and 951 shafts are the same, and that the tubes are of the same strength and dimensions (only minor differences like dog ears, etc).

bertelli_1

The S2's seem to suffer with bearing noise more than lux/turbo's (certainly here in the UK). I wonder if the split allows road muck into the bearings causing the failure? The tape Porsche put on isn't really a good seal.

CorsePerVita

Bearing noise of any kind is a pretty horrific noise. I have yet to see one of these split tubes but have heard of them. They sound like a PITA.

Olli Snellman

That is only for US market 944 8V tubes. Even in europe it varies, some late model cars had those ears some don't, depends what country car was originally delivered. What comes to bearings & saft all 8V 944 torquetubes are more or less the same. Differencies can be found from tube itself. 924 models had similar tube but saft is thinner and also splined section of the saft is a little bit shorter on both ends of it.

Mark944na86

That's a very interesting observation -- I noticed a lot of the original tape was loose and not sealing properly on my TT when doing my clutch job. I resealed it along the whole length of the split with metallic HVAC tape, thinking that water splashing up there can't be good for the bearings.

Mind you, I live in a much milder climate than you, and my tube hasn't been making any noise, but it did seem to be prudent nonetheless. After 20 years. it seems the factory tape seal isn't usually in good shape, and common sense suggests that resealing it to keep the elements out and away from the bearing certainly can't hurt.