Porsche Repair: Porsche 1984 944, pitched whine, torque tube


Question
Dear sir,

My 944 has developed a high pitched whine that is definitely Rpm driven. The noise seems to be coming from the rear of the engine where the flex plate, and drive shaft are located. This model has a rear mounted torque converter, and automatic transmission. Have you ever encountered this problem before, and how do I fix it?

Thanks,
Ken Ellis  

Answer
Hi Ken,

I assume you mean speed driven rather than rpm driven.  In other words, as you go faster the sound is worse.  Have you ever heard a water pump give up because the bearings were shot?  It's not a whine exactly but it could be described that way.

Well...imagine a similar set of bearings at the connection of the "torque tube" and the engine.  Inside the torque tube is the driveshaft and it is centered in the tube by locating bearings at each end.  I've heard of these failing but I don't remember anybody describing the sound as they were dying.

From the location of your sound I can't imagine there would be anything else as the culprit.

Dave