concerning torque tube noises

[jim ross]

Fellow 928 ers'. I have recently heard a disconcerning rattle and clanking noise coming from torque tube area on my 1984 928 auto. hard to trace source..sometimes from rear or from flywheel... it is intermittent. and doesnt seem to effect performance.oil pressure and other guages read perfect. i was under the impression that 1984 and older cars didnt suffer from thrust bearing failure. And if it was T.B. failure it would be permanent noises or engine siesure.. just to be sure i accessed the jack shaft bolt through a peep hole in the bell housing and loosened the bolt. i heard a slight "snap" . sound remains. I am guessing perhaps a bad bearing in an aftermarket starter could cause this noise? as the starter is constantly engaged w/ flywheel and must have a free floating bearing when not in cranking mode? any help?? thnx James

[Pete R]

As far as I know the starter shouldn't stay engaged. It should thrust forward and engage the ring gears and then return once it starts. If it's still engaged that could be your noise. Can you rule out all the accessories on the front of the motor by listening? There's probably a dozen spinning bearings in the front of your motor in various places.

[jim ross]

thnx PeteR..i will double check the starter..i think its always engaged w/ the flywheel gears. thought that was normal. starter works fine. when i listen at front of engine i hear no bad sounds..just the clicking of the injectors..sounds great. the sound is definatly coming from the bell housing area.

[Maleficio]

Weird.

Try out a tube of cermet from CermetLab - Nano-Particle Ceramic Conditioner for Metal Surfaces. It's worked wonders on the bearings in all of my cars.

[Landseer]

Pull the bell housing cover off and take some pictures.
Drop exhaust if you have to.

Get snapshots of the backside and frontside of flexplate to start with.

You shouldn't be cranking on the front clamp bolt with the cover on. Need to take inventory of what you have under there. Could be simple.

Sometimes the flexplates will work harden and break.


Maleficio, you are a snake oil salesman. Lets see what's wrong before we spray bactine on it.

[jim ross]

thnx Landseer. ill take a look.maybe it is a broken flexplate makeing all that noise.-J