urgent help needed
- Thread starter AntB
- Start date
PSH
PCGB Member
Without hearing it for myself it's difficult to diagnose but I would agree with AntB that the clutch has broken. Mine did the same thing a few years back, the noise was very loud , it turned out to be broken clutch plate springs which had come away from the assembly and were rattling away in the housing. I could still drive the car as normal with no problem changing gear, I drove the car home from work ( about 10 miles) and parked it till I could get the parts and replace the clutch. I would advise you to do the same until you can get it checked by someone who knows 944's. Regards Pete
i have a 1986 944 and about 30 minutes ago i was driving along and started to hear loud rattling and clunking noises from the back when i put my foot on the clutch the noise went away the engine seems fine i pulled over and everything seemed ok when stationary when i pulled away the car shuddered and the noises were back louder in 4th and 5th gear is this maybe a drive shaft or gearbox problem
any advice will be great
thanks spence
any advice will be great
thanks spence
PSH
PCGB Member
The clutch is indeed at the front , but sound acts in funny ways and will travel down the torque tube, Mine sounded like a dif/gearbox issue and I was sure this would be the case, so much so that I asked my son to source a replacement gearbox until he checked it properly and informed me of the real problem. Don't be fooled by sound, it can be very misleading at times....
as i said all the noise is coming from the back and dissapears when i put my foot on the clutch pedal gear change seems ok but there is a rubbing shuddering sound too if i am looking at a new clutch kit will that be about £400 for an 86 944 lux 2.5 and with fitting a lot more
My guess is the clutch and yes £400 for the bits. There is a lot of work to change the clutch, dropping gearbox torque tube etc. Mike
pauljmcnulty
Active member
But, to be positive about it, it's likely to be a once-in-100K miles expense.
pauljmcnulty
Active member
Not picking on you at all here, just a general observation. These cars were around £30K new, and that was 20 years ago. It's one of the most respected cars, from one of the most respected car-makers of all time. I know that you can now buy a half-decent 944 for a few thousand pounds, we do need to accept that running one reliably will cost some money. You've had the car for two years, how much has it cost you in depreciation? I'd suggest that you have to accept that any old car will cost money to run, an old Porsche will cost a lot of money but deliver good value, and a new car will cost even more overall. [8|]
Skitts, Hopefully it is not the clutch but remember they are a wear and tear item,bite the bullet and stick with it chances are this will only be the only big expenditure for the next 2 years or so, ask yourself what would give you as much pleasure should you get rid. Plus being brutally honest whats it worth with a duff clutch (if that is the case) get it fixed and stick it on the plastic...........................long time dead!
Copperman05
New member
The clutch in these cars is a costly item when it goes, but we really shouldnt be that suprised when it does considering the age of these cars, once done at least its something you wont have to worry about for a long time. As Paul says you need to be prepared to spend money keeping any car on the road, these cars may cost a little more on occasion but thats more to do with high mileage wear and tear than any reliability issues, if you enjoy the car then it'll be worth it. Edd
Ez_101
New member
Agreed with above statements matey, iv always loved old cars and when iv owned them you have to expect to fork out at some point to keep it on the road, but in my eyes thats all part of being into the retro/old school car scene! also stated above you wouldn't be looking at much money if you were to try and sell it with a big problem like the clutch (if it is that). My advise as others have said, get it fixed and fall in love again!!
Spence, Before condemning the clutch, give us some more symptoms. Was the lutch behaving badly before this problem? Before the clutches fail they usually get hard to use, and become quite 'snatchy', particularly when hot. Was it like this? Did it operate smoothly - both smooth travel on the pedal and smooth when pulling away? What about in reverse? Did it slip at all? EVen when giving it the beans in lower gears? Were there any other symptoms? How hard was it to change gear before the incident? Had it become any harder (or easier) to change gear after the incident? How did it drive after the incident? As it was before, but with extra sound effects, or was it clunky? Did it accelerate smoothly, or lumpily? Did it feel like anything was dragging? When the rubbers fail they will contimue to drive, but very harshly, very lumpily and with a huge lash in the system - were there any of these symptoms? I can only echo the comments from Paul about the cost of running these cars. They were very expensive machines, and expensive machines cost a lot to maintain - even when they have depreciated to sub-ford-fiesta money (which they almost all have now.) And if it is a clutch, it's not a hard job to change if you have a set of spanners and a practical outlook on things. That will easily halve the bill to fix it. Oli.
just to answer your question there were no problems at all with the clutch before this happened and yes all the symptoms you mentioned are there apart from all the noise lumpy acceleration which was fine before also very loud and clunky and it does feel like its dragging and rubbing at the back rubbing noise getting faster as the car gets faster what do you mean when you say when the rubbers fail do you mean the part of the clutch many thanks to all of you for your help i am getting it to the mechanic on monday morning to find out the bad news
Rubbers - yes, the standard clutch has a rubber centre, where most clutches have springs to form a cush-drive. Replacement clutches are sprung; the rubber was a poor design. From those symptoms I'd possibly agree that it is a clutch, although I wouldn't be 100% certain. See what the mechanic has to say. Oli.
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