God_Bot

I let an inexperienced standard driver (potential buyer) drive my car today, killed it twice, etc. Might not have anything to do with it or could have been the last straw.

Anyway I was getting on the interstate, or rather my girlfriend was (she can drive stick just fine) and we lost power shifting from fourth to fifth. I thought she missed the gear and was only in neutral, downshifted to fourth with no luck. Tried all gears and there's no motion. No loud bang or any other sign other than no power making to to the wheels. Instantly dreaded timing belt until we switched so I could do some troubleshooting.

Engine sounds normal.
Gearbox shifts fine now. It did seem to catch a little when trying to shift for the first few shifts I tried (all while stopped).
In gear with the clutch let out there was a slight knocking/grinding like a muffled blender chopping ice.
Clutch feels normal pressure-wise, couldn't really feel any hint of an engagement like I used to. There hasn't been any slipping prior.
Axles slide in and out but have no movement in any other direction (I tried the stirring method).

Now I had a clunk develop on quick clutch releases a few months back that I attributed to a worn transmission mount. The clutch was new as of five or six years ago (right before I bought the car) and the clutch measured 24mm in the inspection port last weekend. I'm afraid that maybe it was the tabs after all and that now I've sheared them off. Would that be part of the new clutch or something else? There was a bit of a whine decelerating in 2nd gear occasionally if that matters.

Did I have a clutch failure followed by a shearing of the limp home tabs? Could it be something else? I'm leaning towards the clutch but I don't really know how to check anything more than I already have. A search turned up a few threads with similar symptoms that turned out to be a few different issues but no help in diagnosing.


Oh, and while I can't say this is the first time I've had a car on a tow truck I can say it was the first time I've had a 944 on a tow truck.

Arominus

Pop the inspection cover on the torque tube to transaxle interface where the coupler is and see if its exploded. if not see what happens when you release the clutch with the car in gear and up in the air. With 2 helpers you shouldn't be able to turn the wheels in the same direction, if they do move in the same direction with the car in gear its the clutch or a spline failure up front on the torque tube, you'll be able to see the driveshaft spin through the inspection port if you do this and its up front. It could also be a diff failure i suppose? that would be where you have the car running, in the air, in gear and you can see the coupler/input shaft spinning into the transaxle. Make sure the car is very secure if you have to do this. Safety first!

odonnell

Very similar thing happened to me two weeks ago - I lost power in third. Goes into gear, but makes a howling noise and doesn't move in any gear.

My gut reaction was the diff, since it does the same thing in all gear. I'm 3 hours away from my car, the first thing I'll be doing inspecting the coupler, although I'm 75% sure it's the diff or some major internal trans damage.

Dougs951S

Sounds like catastrophic diff failure, which almost certainly has nothing to do with the (presumably a kid) who drove your car and stalled it. I've broken an N/A diff before when I launched it and got lots of wheel spin, then dead hooked. Forward motion seized and it sounded like rocks in a blender. The car would go into gear fine, but would not move forward at all. I pulled the inspection plate off and my diff was in pieces.

fejjj

Based on your description, I would say it is likely your CV which you can buy a new one for $100.

Van

Yeah, check your axles. Sounds like a CV joint has come unbolted.

Arominus

Do, I didn't even think of that. I went for worst case in my head lol

Sterlingx2011

If you end up needing some I have 2 from an 88 N/A with 44k miles on them.

God_Bot

When I grabbed the axles last night the slid in and out but not around, I thought that ruled out a CV? I'd be stoked if that's all it is. I plan on getting it up on stands after work tonight. I usually try to keep at least two of my three cars running but the only one driveable right now has developed a transmission slip...

turboS_swede

Your broke your fitzer-valve..... you should get some new ball bearings for it

The whine on decel in gear and the other noises tends to point towards a differential or perhaps another issue with the drivetrain (torque tube, input shaft).

It would be worth it to change the transaxle fluid while you're under the car checking things out. Swepco is the preferred fluid, but fresh dino oil is ok.

Anyway, if the fluid comes out full of silver or golf flecks you should plan on at least swapping the transaxle with another one, if not rebuilding it.

bordin34

Sounds very similar to when I killed my diff.

wildcat077

Just wondering if you didn't have a rubber centered clutch disc explode on you ... did you smell burning rubber or find rubber pieces of what was once your clutch ?

Cheers
Phil

God_Bot

Wheels off the ground, parking brake on and in first gear I could turn the shaft almost a full 1/4 turn.





Changed the fluid two years ago (maybe 8k miles) and it was old but free of debris. Looks like there might be a leak around the input shaft (correct nomenclature?) on the transaxle now.

Pulled my hi-tourque starter that's apparently missing a bolt (gotta go find me one of those real quick) and I found this.



Pretty much feels like the ground rubber that you can find in playgrounds, tracks, etc.

This car has 237K miles on it and this clutch was about halfway through it's life (measured 24mm in the inspection hole) so I'm guessing someone decided to use a rubber centered clutch for a third damn time.

Anyway, I have two guys interested in it, the kid who test drove it last week (was going to sell to him for $3500) and another guy who's apparently driving into town today. I've told both of them I'd sell it for $2000 now because I've heard that shops charge around $1500 for a clutch job on here. I have also seen that DIY is about $500-$700.

Now I guess I've got to figure out why my 3000gt VR4 is dumping oil out at idle.

944Ross

Rubber-center clutches have "dogs" to continue function if the rubber shears. I suppose if you were driving on the dogs for a long time they could fail, too, but I think you'd have to hammer it.

God_Bot

Yeah, I'm guessing that's the clunk I was starting to hear.