JasonE's Torque Tube Journey (Long!)

[Rob]

Some of you 944 lovers would have endured JasonE’s moaning about the “moan” from the torque tube of his S2.  Well – over the last couple of months we:

Removed the gearbox and pulled the TT back enough to do a clutch and RMS job, then reassembled everything, as the bearings in the TT didn’t seem all that bad.  NB that the S2 TT has a 3mm wide split along part of its lower surface, reputedly to quieten down harmonics from the big 3L engine.  The bad news for S2s is that the split can widen with use and can allow the four bearings supporting the quill shaft (the inner driveshaft) to move within the TT.   Anyway, the clutch needed replacing along with the pressure plate, throw-out bearing, RMS and spigot bearing, so that was a good job done.  Not too bad with two people (even if one was an apprentice – could lift heavy things), a hoist and a transmission jack…

With it all back together, clutch was working nicely but of course the noise persisted as we hadn’t really done anything to fix it, apart from spinning the quill shaft and scratching our… beards.

Well, Jason was moaning more loudly and nearly as often as the TT, so he obtained a 944T TT from a chap in SA.  When it arrived, we looked at the worn splines on the clutch end of the quill shaft and decided the quill shaft was not a good prospect, so we decided to:

• ·         Purchase some “Super Bearings” from Black Sea in the US
• ·         Drive the bad quill shaft out of the 944T TT, using a 3M threaded rod and rattle gun
• ·         Do a clean and paint on the 944 TT
•  
• ·         Fit the new super bearings into the 944T TT
• ·         Allow the bearings to “sit and set” in the 944T TT for a couple of weeks while we got into the mood to pull the S2 transmission and TT
• ·         Got into the mood, and this time knew in advance which spanner to use on which fastener, so work progressed at a good, if steady rate.  Didn’t have to mess with the engine bell housing, as we did when doing the clutch
• 
• ·         Had to drop the rear suspension torsion bar tube about 30 cm to allow the TT to be removed from the vehicle with clearance for the TT bell housing at the transmission end
• 
• ·         Degreased and cleaned the gearbox and fitted a short-shift linkage that Jason had purchased during one of his internet buying frenzies
• 
• 
• ·         Drove the good quill shaft out of the S2 TT again using the threaded rod technique
• ·         Spline on the S2 quill shaft was in excellent condition (sigh of relief here) so the shaft was cleaned (although it came out of the TT pretty clean)
• 
• ·         Lube up the S2 TT and, using one of the old bearing holders as a guide, pushed the quill shaft into the welcoming super bearings in the 944T TT.  Only needed a few taps with a soft-faced hammer to do the final length adjustment
• 
• ·         Put it all back together, not forgetting to bleed the brakes (after having to disconnect lines to drop the torsion bar tube) and put in new insulating foam around gear lever
• ·         Test drive car

Not a bad job, if you have 2 people, a hoist and a transmission jack...

NOISE IS STILL THERE!

[brian in buddina]

bugger... eh

so where to from here?

[TINGY]

https://i.imgur.com/tB7vEo8.jpg

Look at him making out like he knows what he is doing

[OzJustin]

Haha great read Rob. You weren't joking when you said the wheelbarrow played a major part!

Jason - What short shifter did you go with and how is it performing?

[Jason E]

Rob tells a good story doesn't he??

In all seriousness, many thanks to Rob for such generousity with his time & expertise putting this basket case slowly back together.  It's getting there slowly.  I've been having a bunch of fun getting it sorted out.

cheers