Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

What can I say. I've been driving it like I stole it since I bought it and now I have a horrible sound like a lose belt coming from the rear end.

Given the gears have been bulky to engage and gets little no better after warming up I'm going to assume it's the clutch (suspected it was iffy when I bought it). Especially as the noise gets worse after running for awhile and really only when you take your foot off the clutch peddle.

Can someone suggest what else I should get replaced while they've got it apart and is it best to stick to a specialist.

I'm becoming a little dishearten by local specialists. Mainly because they tend to be in really inconvenient locations and in my experience tend not to be much cheaper. May be I'm just unlucky.

Andy S

Cheaper than?

Id expect a specialist to be more expensive than the average garage, because you are paying for knowledge and experience of a more unusual product. So if you got a specialist whos cheaper than your average garage on the corner and they are doing the work to a decent standard, id stick with them

The clutch is at the front, so the noise from the rear must be something else. When the clutch goes on these (especially if its original) they tend to clunk when they engage. This is due to the rubber bush having broken down, they have big rubber donuts instead of central springs. Worn gear stick linkage mount and selector on the gearbox is a more likely cause of finding gears difficult to engage.

Is the noise from the rear a whining? Could be something worn in the gearbox or differential, or UV joint on half axle maybe.

Getting the clutch out is quite a big job as the trans-axle needs to be removed so the that the torque tube can be slid back to disengage the shaft from the pilot bearing. So, if it does transpire that the clutch needs replaced you should consider the whole lot, cover plate, friction plate, pilot bearing and slave cylinder / clutch release bearing. The labour bill for going back in a second time will far exceed the cost of the part you didn't replace.

Before taking any drastic measures perhaps get someone knowledgeable out in the car for a second opinion.

Changing the oil in the trans-axle is a relatively cheap and simple thing to do, I would give that a go first.

Thank you both for your advice.

I must admit I had it in my mind that it was going to be the clutch because of the change being clunky and the difference in noise between peddle in/peddle out.

I will indeed try a specialist again. However, it's the usual trouble with any type of classic. You have to find someone you can trust and who is fairly local.

Andy S

Where are you located ?

Hi Jason,

I'm in Sussex near Brighton. I've just booked it into Precision Porsche. They are out at the Bluebell Railway. Not the most convenient location to get to and from.

Andy S

That's true about location but they certainly know their Porsches. I've used them a few times and been very pleased

Thanks,

They seem pretty good, I used them to do the belts when I bought the car.

Decided to ask them to check the tension on the belts as well while its in. After all it's only money.

Andy S

You are looking at 500 for clutch kit plus 8hrs fitting

Get the slave replaced as well

If the belts haven't been done for over three years, get these done too

It's going to be expensive whatever it is.

Amusingly, I popped into to local Porsche dealer and ordered connecting rod for central looking that was a quarter of the price people are charging on eBay!

Andy S

Sounds to me like a bearing in the gear box. Whine from the CWP is common sometimes reduced by an oil change perhaps to a thicker grade, Unit11 use a heavier duty Fuchs oil, though it does make the gear change a bit stiffer when cold. 75w/140 iirc but I went back to the recommended 75w/90 (Mobil) which improved the change and made no difference to the diff whine
Is the rear linkage ok, if it's not been done by now it's probably got massive play, not too difficult or expensive to fix. The short shifter from Only944 is excellent.

Thanks, sounds very plausible. I've decided to avoid thrashing it until Precision Porsche have had a look.

Linkage wear could go someways to explaining the bulky change. Unfortunately, being a novice, I assumed the gear change was never going to great given the location of the gearbox. Don't hate me but I had a Volvo 360 that had a rear gearbox and that change was pretty imprecise.

Andy S

You want to try an Alfa transaxle they are terrible. From experience most 944s have a gearbox whine. My son's Lux had one and eventually blew up probably due to missed oil changes. With the Only 944 fix front and rear the gear changes are much better but not as slick as the 993. Since I fitted a semi-solid gearbox mount on the 944 the whine has become more noticable but the gearchange improved dramatically as the gearbox mount was totally fubar.

Hi Andy,

I have just been through this pain and replaced a lot of the trans... I am in Brighton and can put you in touch with a good local I have found in Hove and can give you some pointers as to what I have done so far....Send me a pm with your number and I can give you call if you like..

Steve

The problem is solved and it turned out to be somewhat surprising.

Majority of the noise was down to the torque tube being lose. A previous specialist had probably not torqued up the bolts correctly and they had worked lose.

Hopefully, this is a one-off and others won’t experience a similar issue.

Needless to say I had the rest of the car checked for other bodges.

Andy S