[RESOLVED] Slippage on acceleration...not the clutch [carrier bolts]

[BoostedPhoenix]

I'll start out by saying, im not new to cars, and im actually a technician at a Saab dealership and feel embarassed to say im ASE certified to the point of Master tecnician, but have absolutely no experience with the guts of an all wheel drive transmission. My car is a '94 Talon TSi AWD manual transmission. My problem started last night when i was driving home (150 miles) and as i exited the interstate and tried to accelerate onto the highway, the engine practically free reved and the car didnt accelerate. I say practically because it did go a little but i recognized the problem right away and let off. As happens always in these situations i attempted it again, and the car would slowly accelerate if i nursed it up to speed, almost as if i had completely destroyed my clutch. I was not near a place where i could pull over and it seemed to be cruising just fine in 5th gear so i stayed with traffic and continued home. I arrived in my home town and was then forced to slow down and try my luck through the stop lights. The trans will slip like crazy when in gears 1, 2, and 3, but i left it in 3rd in town and tried to time the stoplights so i didnt stop. One thing i noticed was that while cruising in town i turned the radio off and listened for any noises, there sounds like a whining noise when at a steady speed that is accompanied by a slight clunk that is felt through the car at slower speeds. Once in my driveway i tried reverse and 1st back and forth and the gears are all there as they should be. What leads me away from the clutch itself is that in reverse i can hear the reverse gear whining inside the transmission spinning at the same speed as the engine while the rest of the car only seems to be going at half that at best.

My orginal diagnosis would have been clutch until i heard reverse, and now im thinking more like center differential. From my searches though i have read that the center diff usually causes alot of jerking when going around turns and such but i really dont know powerflow through one of these with that viscous clutch there it seemed like a possability.

My question is this, anyone else ever see a problem similar or know what direction to point me...if i dont have to pull the trans i dont really want to we all know how much fun that is.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

Your AWD car has equal length half shafts. The driver side axle is a "2 peice" equiped with a carrier bearing and bracket which bolts to the back of the block. If these bolts break/come loose and fall out, the axle will sag down and slip out of the tranny. Your car will behaive exactly as if it has a worn out slipping clutch when this happens.

 

[BoostedPhoenix]

Man you are quick...I actually commented that to my buddy that it felt like what i imagine an axle were broken when i called him to say i may need a ride home if the car quit moving . But i figured if that were the case that i would hear some thumping under the car as it spun, guess not. I got home really late last night and didnt have any light to look at it. Now isnt any better but i have just enough to see where im reaching and can feel grease splattered on the subframe from the CV boot. I grabbed it, and can feel some up and down movement from the little area i have to stick my arm in there. The car is lowered so i cant get underneath it right now but i'll get my jack back tomorrow and inspect the damage.

The car did engage in a little "spirited driving" this weekend so i was planning for the worst, guess im a pessimist when it comes to my own car after seeing other dsmers break just about anything that can be broken on a car

 

[RoasT BeeF]

Yeah, well the only reason I know this can be a possiblity is because Ive had the pleasure of dealing with it myself, more than once. Mine had slung axle grease everywhere when the bracket bolts broke so it sounds like that's probably what has happened. Let me know what you find!

 

[BoostedPhoenix]

Got the car up on the jacks last night...drivers side axle was popped out of the splines due to the bolts breaking/pulling out of the bosses on the block. One of them just dissapeared and the other is broken off flush with the block . I stuck another bolt in the hole that the one was missing from, it felt like the threads were a little jacked up but it threaded in smoothly after a few turns. So i have one bolt securing the carrier bearing right now, so at least i can drive it to my shop and get it on a lift. I figure thats easier than trying to take it apart in the driveway, specially since im gonna have to drill out a bolt, replace the CV boot, and ###### put in a new axle seal in the transmission just as a precaution. Better than breaking a trans i guess but still not a good deal. Could be worse

 

[Defiant]

You ain't in a SAAB no more. Sorry.