Mysterious TQC drivetrain noise

[Dave Lawson <dlawson@ball.com>]

Hi all,

Looking for some net wisdom here... While driving home last night in my 83 
TQC, I started to notice a funny noise associated with the drivetrain. Upon 
arriving home, the noise was quite obvious, as I was sitting still with the 
clutch in. As I was leaving the car to listen for the noise from outside, I 
let out the clutch and the frequency and amplitude of the noise changed, but 
it was still there. I then proceeded to engage and disengage the clutch with 
the car in neutral and  both forms of the noise were present. The noise 
seems to be comming from the bellhousing/transmission area on the car.

So folks, what's happening with my car? Is the throw-out bearing giving up 
after approx 140k miles? I don't think the clutch is shot as the car can 
still be driven and the clutch engages fine. I think the driveshaft bearing 
can be ruled out as the noise happens with the car sitting still.

As mentioned above, the odometer shows 126k miles but I think the true 
milage is closer to 140k because the odo worked intermittantly for some 
period until it was fixed(typical Audi feature). The clutch/pressure 
plate/flywheel are original.

Any and all input appreciated. If anyone has any experiences with changing 
the clutch system in a quattro model, I would like to hear them. Difficulty? 
Special tools? Can it be performed on jackstands in ones garage?

Thanks.
 -
Dave Lawson  dlawson@ball.com
86 coupe GT
83 TQC w/ mysterious drivetrain noise