Well the torque tube is dropped. I'm taking a little popsicle break before
I climb back under and start the reassembly and thought I'd give an update.
What a hassle. The rear flex plate sleeve was seized onto the rear splines
of the drive shaft. The tranny simply would not budge of the shaft. I ended
up dropping the front, and used a breaker bar to pry between the rear flange
of the torque tube and the front of the converter housing. This exposed the
sleeve, which I heavily doused with penetrating oil, and lightly tapped a
flat head screwdriver into all three chuck slots of the sleeve to try and
spred the sleeve apart and loosen its grip on the drive shaft splines.
Using two jacks, a cooler, and a milk crate I was able to get the tube
pretty much in a straight line with the tranny, and yanked forward on the
tube like crazy for about 30 seconds. She finally let go.
I'm tempted to use anti seize on the reassembly, but I'm concerned that this
might contribute to slippage in the driveline and the dreaded thrust bearing
failure.
The torque tube is definitely shot. I'm relieved that the Porsche shop's
diagnosis was correct. With the tube out, and spinning the drive shaft the
rear bearing is definitely making a grating noise. The rebuilt tube is dead
silent. It's interesting the effect the torque tube has on the sound of the
bad bearing. I have a whole new understanding of how those bazooka sub
woofers work. :)
Admittedly, its a killer closing this thing back up with the front converter
bearing staring right at me, but I was committed on doing a quick repair so
I could race. No time for this "while I'm there I'll replace" stuff.
Converter bearings and seals will have to wait for another day.
I'm glad that I'm at the half way mark, I may actually get some sleep this
week. :)
-Adam
