More clutch sounds

[Walker944]

I've got an early 944 with manual transmision. About two months ago I started experiencing a strange moaning sound when letting the clutch out in 1st gear. The sound went away for awhile, so naturally I conveniently forgot the problem. Well, about a month ago the groaning sound came back with a vengence. It's not only loader than it was before, but now happens almost constantly when letting the clutch out in first gear.

I have no history of the clutch. I'm assuming it has the rubber center.

Has anyone had a similar sound from their clutch? If so, what was the problem? I'm assuming I've got significant expense ahead. I'm just trying to get a handle on the specific cause.

[Dave951]

Is it a squeaky moan? If so, the problem is probably a deteriorating throwout bearing. If it is your TO bearing, the sound will get worse to the point that it will do it whenever you have the clutch engaged. It is $150 part, with the cost of a clutch repair in labor. If this is the problem, you might as well replace your whole clutch. Hope this helps.

Dave

[Walker944]

No squeeky sound, just a loud moaning, groaning kind of sound. It's highly embarassing at stop signs or especially in stop and go traffic.

If I'm going to replacing the clutch, is there a clutch type or brand that is sufficiently economical, but that is hardy enough to not cause me to be back in this situation again soon? Also, what is the life expectancy of the standard, rubber-centered clutch? Is it rebuildable if rubber deterioration is found?

[Dave951]

Are you sure the noise isn't coming from the transmission? I have a turbo, so I don't really know much about the rubber disk. If you have anymore info, let me know.

Dave

[Walker944]

It's definitely clutch related. The only time the noise is present is exactly at the point of letting the clutch out. It goes away as soon as the clutch petal is either pushed back in or let all the way out.

You made an interesting comment about having a turbo. Does the turbo not have the rubber centered clutch? I also have a turbo and assumed the rubber clutch failure could happen to it as well. Just want to store the info away for knowledge sake.

[Dave951]

The turbo cars have a clutch disk with a spring assembly in the center instead of a rubber disk. This makes it stronger, stiffer, and less prone to failure internally(disk still wears down). Your problem cannot be rubber related then if you have a turbo(I'm assuming it was always a turbo and not originally a 944NA). I would still be suspicious of the TO bearing since it happens when you let the clutch out. Either that or the disk is shot??? I'm not positive. Usually the TO bearings sound squeaky when they go, but I could imagine it being a groaning noise also. Your best bet is to get everything apart and count on doing a full clutch job anyways. The TO bearing is a $150 part, but the disk and flexplate add around $500. Since it would be apart, I would replace the pilot bearing($10) and the needle bearings in the throwout lever(pulls on the TO bearing), those are about $20 for the two. Master or slave cylinder problems would cause your sounds, so I'm it is probably an internal clutch problem. Sorry I can't help you much more.

Dave

PS- Doing your own clutch job isn't bad if you have patience/tools/place. It just requires taking alot of junk off of the car and remembering what goes where

[Walker944]

I appreciate the replies, Dave. I wasn't very clear about the turbo comments. The car I'm having clutch problems with is an '85 n/a 944. However, I also have an '86 951. So, I was just asking about the rubber center on 951s for general information purposes. Thanks for clarifying.

Also, thanks for the list of parts to replace. I've heard the clutch is quite a bear to get to. I haven't quite decided whether I have the time and patience to do it. I'm not certain I'd know which parts were bad once I got to the clutch assembly. I've got the service manual (set of 6), but this may be just a bit bigger than I'm willing to persue.

Again, thanks for all the help.

--Mike

[Dave951]

Good luck on whatever you do. When you find out what the problem part was, I'd be interested to know. Might help me diagnose future problems.

Dave

[Walker944]

You got it. It will probably be another few weeks or so, but I'll let you know what I (or the mechanic) finds.

--Mike