[Ocharlas]

I searched for a while but I'm having a harding even thinking of search terms so I figured my own words were going to be the easiest way to go about this. Car has 125k on (I believe) stock clutch/tranny/etc...

I've been having trouble shifting and it's manifesting itself in several different ways, which is making me second guess myself trying to figure out what's going on. Here's a list of what's happening:

1) There's a rattle (almost like a light grind) on idle that goes away when I press down the clutch pedal. I've seen a lot of people say throw out bearing, definitely seems the most likely candidate.

2) When I shift, there's noise and movement - not like the typical "clunk" that's there if you don't shift these cars right, but it feels like there's play somewhere in the drivetrain. If I blip the throttle in gear it makes a sound like a quick chatter, and it feels like the transmission first moves forward and then settles back in place.

3) When I'm driving and actually press the pedal to shift, there's like a "wind down" noise that feels like the car doesn't come out of gear instantly, and I can sometimes feel the transmission "drop." If I shift too quickly (especially going to 3rd) it will grind lightly.

4) When I step on the throttle, there's a momentary hesitation that feels like something's winding up (or yeah, maybe slipping), and then it catches.

5) More recently (I need to confirm this now that it isn't 10 degrees anymore), the car sounds a little different while cruising. I've noticed a couple different sounds at different times. One sounds like a continuation of problem #1 (rattle) that continues once I'm in gear and accelerating, and the other is a low hum. But the latter is only in the last day or two and the former maybe a week.

Sorry I know my descriptions suck, and since it happens when I'm driving/shifting, I can't really make a video

Over the time I've had it, I did the CDV pretty early on (before it felt like this), brake fluid, then the engine mounts (unrelated, did turbo rebuild), and more recently the transmission mounts and fluid. Since I did those last two things is when it's really gotten worse, and is getting worse faster. The cold seems to exacerbate it, but it does that for everything on cars so who knows. My first shift into second in the morning is HARD though. A little scary.


I looked underneath at the giubo/flex disc and it looks a little dry with some hairline cracks, and there's a some play/movement but I'm not sure if there is supposed to be. Part of me a) wants that to be the problem and b) thinks maybe it is because of the way it feels like the driveshaft and transmission aren't moving as a single unit. But it's so hard to tell what's going on.

Any ideas? Does it sound like anything specific? I know several things point to clutch, but some of these symptoms don't seem like that. Or did I just hit the lottery and it's like 4 things going at once?

[Ocharlas]

I just realized this is the section for modded N54's...if a moderator sees this please feel free to move it to the right section. Thanks!