DOH! Where does this shiny thing go?

[Dark Skies]

Here's one to puzzle over. If you get it right it means you're more on the ball that Porsche gearheads in Stuttgart.

Can anyone tell me where this bracket is supposed to go?

Some background details.

About three years back the rubber flexidrive (back of flywheel) on my 944 automatic disintigragated on the motorway - causing me to limp back home on the backup lugs.

I phoned the local non-Porsche specialists andasked for a quote using reputable pattern parts. They said I'd get change out of £900 all. Knowing that this particular garage always manages to be at least 50% out by the time them profer their bill I put aside £1800 for the job.

I gingerly drive up to the garage and leave it with them to tackle. A few days later they phone me up and say that it's going to cost at least £3000 because it means taking out the transmission, the suspension arms and torque tube to get at the flywheel. And they say that the flexidrive is seized to the torque tube meaning that may need to be replaced too.

Bollocks! That's way more than they quoted for a reasonably straightforward job - especially as you don't need to pull all the stuff they were saying had to come off.

So I tell them that I'll come pick it up and do it myself. Uhuh - can't pick it up they say - it's all in bits. They bring it back on the a tow truck.

The gearbox is stuck in the footwell on an old newspaper. The driveshafts are in a plastic bag and ALL the nuts and bolts are in an old ice cream tub. No labels to say what goes where or even separately stored with whatever they were holding on. The torque tube is bolted to the bellhousing with a piece of wood jamming the other end to the underbody off the rear axle.


A few days later and I get stuck in. Contrary to what these clowns had told me you CAN do the whole job by only removing the gearbox and rear half shafts. Removing the bellhousing can be done by unbolting the 4 torque shaft bolts (and all the jubille clamps holding the pipes on the tube) and the speed and reference sensors. The flexi-disc is held on the shaft with a simple bolt that tightens a clamp. Seized my arse! It unbolted and freed with nothing more than a tug on my breaker bar. With a bit of elbow grease I pulled the whole lot back and had access to the flywheel. Nothing to it. Boring job made simple. I replaced the disc and painstakingly bolted the car back together by scanning my manual and a process of ellimination.

The car wnt back pretty easily woitn no major hassle and started first turn of the key.

BUT ... I was left with the bracket pictured. I've looked high and low to see where this goes but to no avail. It looks like some kind of bearing retainer except that no bearings were removed. It could be some kind of bracket but nothing is hanging off the car. I emailed the guiys who stripped it and sent a pic. They couldn't remember and didn't recognize it. Porsche head offfice in the UK couldn't find it in any of their drawings. They got in touch with Porsche in Stuttgart and they couldn't figure it out either.
I've contacted a number of Porsche enthusiast clubs and no one knows.

I suppose it could have just been inadvertantly scooped off the garage floor when the remains of my car weret being tossed into the passenger footwell but ...I don't know.

It's roughly 2 inches long by a half inch wide and just under an eighth thick. None of the M6 holes are countersunk. Half way up its length there is a straight edged mark where the plate has been worn off . It is kicked to one side by about 30 degrees. The plate is well-aged but with no signs of corrosion - suggesting that it was originally well covered in grease / oil and muck.

Aside from the sensors the only stuff that has come off the car are the driveshafts, the autobox, the bellhousing, the strarter motor and the exhaust.

I know it didn't come from under the bellhousing as I took that off myself and had noticed the bracket long before then. Anyone know what it might be?

[Roger Hall]

Old Style icecream scoop that was left in the bucket?

Just kidding I would help but I have no idea.

[todwic]

To me, it looks like a wire hanger bracket, or perhaps off of your starter. Did they take the starter off, and undo all the bolts on it? Otherwise I'd say its a bracket they they bolt to the tranny and then have a clasp around some wire. the clasp has a nub at the end and fits into the other hole. that's my guess.

[Dark Skies]

That was my guess too but there are no M6 threaded holes to be seen anywhere on the autobox. It did occur to me that it was some kind of wire retainer off the starter but again their seems to be no place it could go and, in any event, the wires are already held with a conventional rubber over metal hoop.

I wondered if it was thrown in out of spite because I wasn't going to wear the shop's outrageous fee. The only evidence I have for that being that there were no M6 bolts or screws that remained unaccounted for.

If it was accidentally included then it may have come off any number of Porsches - the shop comprises ex-Porsche dealer trained staff - though my account of their treatment of me may make that hard to believe.

[AFJuvat]

Doesn't look like anything I've seen in that area of the car. If it was shaped a little differently, I would venture to guess at one of the spacers from the CV.

3000 pounds for a flex disk??? Insane, yes, the transmission has to come out, no, the torque tube does not need to come out., and they can always get the disk off the torque tube by other means.

AFJuvat

[Dark Skies]

In the end I bought a £300 flexidisc from PorscheApart in the UK - The whole job took me about a day and a half on and off. About twelve hours. I'm sure A Porsche pro could do it in half the time with the aid of decent workshop lifts and jacks etc. So £3000 - £300 = £2700 divided by 6 hours - let's be generous and call it ten hours and forget the tax means they wanted to charge me £270 and hour.

I admire ambition as much as the next man but if they really thought I had that kind of money to chuck around then they must've been crazy to think that I'd take my car to a pokey lil outfit instead of a regular (and cheaper) Porsche dealership with all the trimmings and guarantees.

[SoCal Driver]

You did get the clip back on the end of the drive shaft after you slipped the new flex disc on????

Has to be there or the drive shaft walks out ot the pilot bearing and puts too much pressure on the torq converter.

[Dark Skies]

The circlip, you mean? Sure - after all I went through to get at the disc I was sure to double check everything before putting it all back together.