LyonLance

Hi all, I'm new to this forum but have owned and done all the mechanical work on my '94 Coupe for the last 14-years. It looks like I need to replace my RMS; has anyone done this with success? I'm understanding that there is a particular brand (color?) that is preferable over a black seal that is available. Any advice on this?

Also, does anyone have the magic touch for bleeding the clutch on the 968?

Thanks in advance!
LyonLance

J1NX3D

Subscribed. Mine was changed last year. Moved cities and new shop has noticed its leaking

Yogii

I'm in the same boat, 88K miles. I understand that getting at the bugger is such a PITA that you might as well do the clutch and torque tube bears to-assuming milage warrants that.
No sure of the best seal.
Let us know what you find....

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

chudson

The "proper" way to replace the crank rear seal is to have the bell housing removed and that requires a lot of work. The seal may be able to be replaced through the access area for the clutch and flywheel, but I've never tried and don't see that as being super easy. You certainly won't be able to get a mallet to the new seal to "bang" it in. I've pondered trying, but don't have any that are leaking at this time so no need for me to go experimenting.

And yes, if done properly, the transmission, torsion tube, torque tube and clutch / flywheel will be out of the car so that's the time to perform any other preventative maintenance desired and with all that laying on the ground there is a LOT to consider (I'm doing this at this time). NOW, if you have a split torque tube, most companies who rebuild tubes will NOT replace the bearings in a split tube so that opens up another can of worms....

Cliff

Yogii

For now, I just top up with oil about 3/4 quart every 1,000 miles or when the oil light comes on. I park over an oil mat that only has a few "spots".

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

When my clutch starts slipping or I hear the TT whine I will properly address it. Sounds like, RMS, gearbox freshening, new clutch, and new TT bearings is a major $$$. Any estimates for all that work?

RajDatta

Recently performed this. Had an issue with the clutch fork needle locknut being stripped off. had to end up dropping transmission and pulling back torquetube to remove the bell housing. Made life much easier. Had the Porsche factory rear main seal tool to assist. Made it a 10 min job. It would be much harder if doing it with the bell-housing in place.

Nathan J.

I would be interested to find out the time investment required to remove and replace the trans, torque tube and clutch that people have experienced? I bought a solid torque tube last year, and am getting psyched up for doing all these jobs in succession.

Yogii

LyonLance and Nathan J-
How many miles are on your cars? Seems if it is close to 100K, may want to look at the gear-box and transaxle(I assume that the LSD wears a bit more than a non-LSD?).
I'm assuming that at over a 100K one or more of my sychros made need rebuilding?

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

chudson

Raj - did you have to lower the torsion tube any in order for the “ears” to clear? I’m referring to the tabs welded to the torque tube and the torsion tube that are designed to restrict movement in the event of a collision. Curious because lowering the torsion is certainly easier than removing it and I’ve never had an opportunity to attempt that. Every one I have done required removing the TT for other reasons.

As to the other posters question regarding time, there are too many variables to answer that. It is a lot of work (I’ve done it several times - doing one now) but I own a shop and have been in the industry for decades. A DIY working on the ground with no lift and a rusted / corroded car could take days. If I were to put a seal in my track car that has already been apart and there is nothing to struggle with, no surprises and nothing to clean, I could be driving the car the same day that I started the repair.

The problem is that the cars that need crank seals are typically higher mileage so rarely do you ever take one apart and find nothing else to do. All of the additional needs and / or cleaning tremendously slows the process. I hope this helps.

Cliff

RajDatta

Cliff, no issues at all. I disconnected the shifter linkage and pulled it out. This way I was able to spin the torque tube to be able to get additional clearance. I didn't need to completely remove. That would require dropping the torsion bar carrier to achieve.
All in all, probably about 8 hrs for everything for me but I have the luxury of having a lift as well as tons of experience in doing this before.
I would never recommend anyone doing refresh on transmission and such just based on mileage. If there is an issue, I can understand addressing it but transmission build should not be mileage based.

chudson

Agreed. But if a car has an original clutch, I’m of the opinion that it should not be reinstalled regardless of visual condition. I’ve had 2 old clutch disc sling apart on me. If it’s removed and original, replace it with all of the related components.

Cliff

RajDatta

Cliff, as a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I had to remove the transmission mount from the cross member to get additional clearance to pull the tt back. Getting the latches/hooks over was easy, just lift the tt over the torsion bar carrier to clear it.

RajDatta

Here are some pics.

Yogii

How much more difficult, if any, would an Limited Slip differential add?

Thanks,

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

chudson

If you are asking if it’s more difficult or complex to remove a 220 trans vs an open diff trans the answer is no. The housings are identical.

Cliff