Taimyshu

Okay everyone I am desperate for help I got a 1985.5 944 2 weeks ago. Today, I was going around a corner, Clutch and engine are fine I shifted in to first and let off the clutch all of a sudden I heard the worst snap , bang, grinding sound, clutch still has pressure car still goes in to gears but hardly goes anywhere it makes a sound like steel is dragging into the pavement and tons of grinding snap popping sounds very load. I limped the car a block to where I could pull over and called a tow truck. The car is in my driveway now nothing is hanging off the drive train. Did I just blow up my tranny or did I shatter the gearbox or rear drivetrain? I do not know what to do.

And thoughts to what I might have broke

John_AZ

Go under the rear and check to see if you snapped the CV joint bolts.

GL
John

ernie9468

Not a very good idea to shift in first going around a corner no need to.Like John mention look at the CV joints first.

Taimyshu

Thanks guys I will look under the car am I looking at the two shafts that go to the rear wheels or the center drive shaft ( the ends on it )

You are absolutely right about the corner and gears I should of mentioned I stopped and was going from a dead stop but I supposed from the dead stop I might have reved up a bit and wanted to spin the tires a little going around a corner. On another note if the cv joints blew up wouldn't the car not drive then or could I have just blown out one side.

Thanks again guys I love the knowledge that is on this site I have learned so much just searching the posts here.

mytrplseven

If you have a Limited Slip Differential, you might well drive a wheel if one is busted. If nothing is evident, I'd jack up the car, put it in neutral and chock the front wheels if you only raise the rear, then turn the wheels by hand. See where the noise is coming from. If that's not enough for you, start the motor and slowly engage 1st gear and have someone else listen from the outside of the car to assist in locating the source of the noise. If that isn't working, try second gear to see if it's any different. Hope it's a CV because they're easy to replace. If it's the tranny, it's a different story.

Taimyshu

I checked the cv joints under the car and they are still attached and do not seem to be broke. I grabbed each one and they seem pretty solid it did notice a little fluid under neath what I believe to be the tranny it is centered right between the two rear wheels. I will do what you suggest tomorrow and let ya know what I come up with

John_AZ

Bad news.

Have you ever changed the clutch disc?

OR

Could be the ring & pinion gear.
Makes a sound like marbles grinding in the transaxle....

John

Taimyshu

I have only had the car 2 weeks not sure when the last time the clutch was changed the car supposedly only has 76000 odometer stopped at 75420 the po. Said he only put on around 300 miles from when the od broke. I had the local import mechanics look over the car last week the only problems they found were leaky steering rack, leaky master brake cylinder which they said are typical problems of a car this year, alternator belt needed to be changed, bad right outer tie rod and hole in the muffler. The sound defiantly sounded a lot worse than broken marbles. One of the neighbors heard the noise of the car over a half a block away ( kinda of embarrassing , I actually had people coming out of there houses and garages to see what all the noise was when I limped the car over to the driveway. ( my ex wife's driveway glad she wasn't home ) that's another whole story in it's self. I will check it out tomorrow and post what I find. I hope it's not too bad because I don't have Huge $$$ right now to fix something major.

xsboost90

sounds to me like the rubber center of the clutch was gone to begin with and banging on the safety straps. WHen you goosed it, it broke the safety straps on the clutch and now its just spinning and catching/grinding on the inside of the clutch.

Yummybud924

could also be one more thing not mentioned yet that happened to me. on my car the coupling mating the torque tube to transmission came loose and stripped teh torque tube end. my car stopped moving and the stripped torque tube was just spinning in the coupling.

to check for this put the car on stands and get under the car and remove the rubber inspection cover under the transaxle. you can then view the couple attached to the torque tube.

it could also be a broken clutch like mentioned.


if is the transmission they are pretty easy to replace. clutch and torque tube replacement is much more work.

Geo

Hate to say it, but I'd guess ring and pinion. It's a known failure point.

carlege

well i hope you're good at fixing things yourself.

Bill Lucas

These cars are old. Things will break...a lot. If you drive the car to show off (trying to smoke tires) things will break faster.

Now you're about to find out they are also expensive to repair.

Good luck to you.

944Ross

If you confirm it's the transaxle, there are plenty of transaxles around (non-turbo, non-LSD) for $300 - $500 that can be changed out pretty quickly. There are worse things. I 'd be tempted to do the clutch while you're in there if you don't KNOW that it's non-rubber, or you'll be right back in there.

John_AZ

Just FYI...to confirm if it's the transaxle...

Check the transaxle fluid.
Before you drain, loosen the top REFILL PLUG to make sure it comes out.

Drain the transaxle fluid in a pan. Have a cloth on top to catch any silver metal slivers there may be.

The transaxle inspection plate/cover is on the passenger side of the transaxle.

Remove the pax side CV joint.
There is a bolt in the transaxle shaft stub--remove it and the shaft comes out.
The seal should be replaced.

Unbolt the cover/inspection plate. 9 bolts.

Peak inside.

When you put it back together, position the cover so the magnet is down.
The magnet catches some chips of metal.

There may not be a seal on the cover on the 85.5, I am not sure.

GL
John