86 951 Driver

Well I think my Torque Tube may have been the part that needs attention and is making the bad noises in my car. So I am looking at my options. Question has anyone done the rebuild themselves? How hard of a job is this to do? Do you have to mess with the clutch at all? About how much does this cost to have done? I read on rennbay that it was pretty cheap?

V2Rocket

Yes, a few times.

Not terribly hard but it is a noisy and drawn-out process that requires alot of patience. You don't have to mess with the clutch.

Here in SoCal I do them for $225 (including parts/labor) and a core. I'd do it for you but you'd have to get your tube to me, or I could rebuild my spare tube, bump it to $250, and you'd only pay shipping on top of that one way.

JimV8

Agreed it is time consuming and you have to fab up an extractor to pull the bearings out. That process will built up your muscles.

pettybird

is there a difference between turbo/non turbo, or early/late? I know 968 is different.

86 951 Driver

I am still trying to diagnose I have going on. Torque tube would be the last thing I haven't done. I'm going to fix my exhaust and rear shocks then if the noise is still there I will know its the torque tube 100%.

What kind of bearings do you use? This is for a 86 951 BTW.

FRporscheman

The tt's are basically the same for all 944s, early/late, turbo/na. There are minor differences that don't really make a difference. For example, later tubes have the dog ears for crash safety, and the S2 tubes have the slit which supposedly damps vibrations. Then the aluminum bellhousing at the rear differs from model to model but all the bolt holes line up. I have an '86 tt in my '93 968 and it fit great.

I did one rebuild a couple of years ago, and I'm planning to do another soon. The job has it's difficulties and tricks. I'd give it 3 wrenches out of 5, if you have all the tools you need, tranny jack, floor jacks, and an air compressor. If you don't, I'd pay someone to do it, because even with the equipment it's so exhausting I feel like it's not worth my time.

I think '86 was the last year they used the 2-piece bearing holders. Those will need new rivets after you break them open to replace the bearing. It's tricky 'cause you need tiny rivets, and then you'll wonder if tiny rivets are strong enough.............

V2Rocket

Between turbo/non-turbo late, no. The early tubes are mechanically the same but don't have the crash-protection "dog ears" that Arash mentioned.

Torque tube normally would make a noise sort of like a coffee grinder on deceleration in lower gears, a definitive quiet grinding sound. Your clunk noise I would think is exhaust or suspension related. Did you get your wastegate off the body?

Bearings are the factory 6006ZZ type with steel ball bearings, not the expensive ceramic ones.

supes6

Before you go there, have a shop put the car on a lift and listen to the torque tube. From what I've seen they tend to last quite a while... I have almost 200k on mine and no problems at all.

V2Rocket

This is true; the bearings will make noise because they have a little play in them from heat and age but mostly because there's dirt in them. The ball bearings and internal surfaces will wear a bit from the millions of revolutions they've encountered but they stay pretty tight. I've rebuilt a few tubes now and none of the bearings are close to what I'd call "bad", but out of principle a 100k mile part could stand to be replaced.

mazdaverx7

what noises do you hear that lead you to believe that you have an issue with the torque tube bearings?

Black Sea RD

There are other problems besides the noise of a well used torque tube.

The front nub of the drive shaft that fits into the pilot bearing at the rear of the crank loses its tolerances. The drive shaft then begins to vibrate within the clutch assembly. That's why its a must to replace the pilot bearing after every torque tube R&R. Just about every drive shaft we see has a front nub that is out of tolerance.

The inner bearing bushings lose their tolerances and begin to wear shiny rings on the drive shafts since the drive shaft spins within the bearing bushing. This can cause corrosion to enter into the drive shaft. Using aftermarket delrin bushings exacerbates the problem even more. We've had a few drive shafts come in with significant wear on the drive shafts you could actually see and feel at these spots.

Many drive shafts that come in have spline issues due to wear and some due to improper installation or removal techniques done by technicians.

Split torque tubes have a problem with holding the front bearing in place where it should be. This can cause problems like the front bearing walking and coming apart. This is due to the split allowing the torque tube to spread too much and losing its ID to hold the front bearing in place. We just came up with a fix for it due to a customer warranty claim after we rebuilt one.

Simply the 924/944/968 torque tubes internals are going away. We have designed new bearing units and have replicated the 944 5 speed drive shafts out of a stronger material to continue providing customers with a reasonable alternative to Porsche rebuilt torque tubes. However our rebuilds are not inexpensive.

We figured that after a 12 or more hour torque tube R&R no one wants to go back in there anytime soon. Especially if you are paying for the R&R.

Cheers,

Eric_Oz_S2

Having done this myself, it is not something I would choose to do again. In the US, you have many options from getting someone to rebuild or a used part from a wrecker. Over here in oz, I was forced to repair my TT myself. It is an extremely painful process, not including getting the damn thing out of the car first.

86 951 Driver

I was really hoping that my car was not making a Torque Tube noise. But pretty much I have replaced everything else besides the rear shocks and exhaust. I have had multiple people listen and most have been stumped. If that fixes my issue then I will be the happiest little kid on the block(I said that after my trans swap and the noise was still there), it not then I know I have a crazy torque tube issue. It only happens when hot/warmed up and under load. Its not the typical hissing/coffee grinder noise for a torque tube bearing.

Up to this point I have had some serious issues, but I know when that day comes when all the noises are gone and I have this car cranked up with the boost, I will never stop smiling. I just keep that little thought in my head.

V2Rocket

what do you use for the bearing bushings? your picture looks like rubber or maybe some black plastic.

i made the bad decision to try ALUMINUM bushings that were on ebay for the 944 tube...they wore out FAST, and wore down my driveshaft a few mils in each bearing location and left nice shiny aluminum stripes. had to reposition my new bearings after that.

Cole

This is why I rebuilt mine. Bearings were "fine". But the tip of the shaft had been abused and the splines were toast.

If I had the chioce I would pick up Contantine's super bearings. For many reasons these would just be easier and better to use. (They were not available when I did mine).

FWIW, I have an extra "empty" TT and shaft (no bearings) if anyone around Colorado wants one.