Hi everyone,

Hope everyone had a good new year. I can't wait to take the '44s out of winter storage and drive them (and I put the last one away last Tuesday). Anyway, hope you had a good holiday.

Have a question that I did not find an answer to in my list search.

My "new" 1988 has an odd noise in the front center of the cockpit. I would say it is a throw out bearing but the noise does not follow the clutch pedal as expected. When the car is rolling the noise(grind) is there whether the clutch is in or out. The noise changes with land speed not engine speed, necessarily. Yes, land speed and engine speed are tied together but I can push the clutch in, returning the engine to idle, the noise stays basically the same.

Does this seem like the torque tube front bearing? If so, is it a tough job to replace the bearings in the tube?

Any advice is helpful and welcome.

Thanks in advance
Ed

 

if the car is in gear and rolling the driveshaft will be spinning.
if the engine is running but car is stopped and you clutch-in, does the noise go away (the driveshaft is stopped)?

 

Does it go away if you shift into neutral with the clutch in? If so you then you have narrowed it down to somewhere in the clutch or torque tube. I'm not sure you can narrow it down further than that really.

 

With the car slowly rolling up to a stop light the noise is there, with the car in neutral or in gear, clutch in or out. When the car stops the noise stops.

 

Noise is not present when the car is not rolling (stopped, in other words), clutch in or out.

 

im thinking more wheel bearing/axle/differential then.

 

In neutral, the torque tube still spins, but with very low torque. I found this out by spinning the axle stubs on a donor trans and was shocked when the input shaft spun although the trans was in neutral. When a friend grabbed the input shaft to keep it stationary it didn't move - suggesting that residual synchro binding kept the input and pinion shafts slightly joined. It had barely enough torque transfer to overcome friction.

I would rev the engine in neutral (clutch out) to see if it's in the torque tube or in the final drive. Other comments are also great advice.

 

"Noise is not present when the car is not rolling (stopped, in other words), clutch in or out."

Agree with V2Rocket_aka944.

If the noise stops when the car stops, its chassis related bearings. Since it seems to be coming from the front, does the noise change when turning the car, or rocking it side to side (twist steering wheel back and forth while going forward at 5-10 MPH).

It could be front wheel bearings.

 

Hi everyone,

All good ideas and thoughts. Living in the cold north the car is 'resting' for the winter. Will definitely check out these ideas in spring.
Cheers
Ed