Re: Mysterious TQC drivetrain noise

[jakov@myri.com (Jakov Seizovic)]

I changed the clutch on an 82 Coupe (at around 130K), and on an 86 5000 TQ
(at around 125K). The first one had your exact same symptoms, the second one
had no noise, just started to slip. The noise was coming from the badly warned
pressure-plate fingers and the bearing. A few of the fingers were almost 
cut in two. The clutch was still engaging fine.

The replacement was laborious but fairly straight-forward, no surprises
whatsoever. I drove the front wheels on ramps, and removed the tranny after
disconnecting it from the engine.  The special tools were the 12-point bit
for the front half-shafts and the $2 plastic clutch-alignment tool. You'll also
need a jack that can lift rather high (in retrospect, two jacks would have been
even better). On the Coupe, I did it myself in one weekend, on the 5000 TQ the
tranny (with the center differential) was too heavy and I had a friend help me
maneuver it in and out.

Now I remember, the one catch was that you have to support the front of the
engine while the tranny is out. Otherwise, the engine will lean forward and
you won't be able to align it with the transmission.

If you need more specific details, let me know. There is quite a lot of stuff
to disconnect, so I strongly suggest that you use Bentley. I used Haynes at
the time, and have cursed myself ever since (the pressure plate on 5000 TQ
requires higher torque than on a regular 5000, the one talked about in Haynes).
This is the only reason why I haven't installed the IA mods yet. I'll just
wait until the next clutch change :)

	Jakov

	82 Coupe		(173K)
	86 5000 TQ wagon	(168K)