[tekuhn]

Good timing on your posting this. I find that my shaft bearings/transaxle bearings are pretty noisy. Unfortunately, I have no previous experience with these cars to know what is normal. When in neutral, with the clutch out and the shaft spinning, there is a fair amount of noise that is very hard to pinpoint front-to-back, but it seems louder toward the front. Pressing in the clutch and allowing it to stop rotating eliminates the sound. The clutch itself also behaves badly. When I begin to release the clutch pedal from the floor, the clutch begins to engage (pull the car slightly) at about the right position close to the floor, but then I have to continue moving the pedal several inches almost completely to the top before it fully engages. It is very hard to get used to. It makes me wonder if the clutch disc is not perfectly parallel to the flywheel/pressureplate and only the edge is touching initially until I fully release. It is also very prone to chatter.

I know the ropeshaft is in a flexed position in the tube, but I assume it is supposed to be perfectly perpendicular to the engine/flywheel when it meets the engine. If there were wear on the front shaft bearing, could it allow the shaft to flex where it is not aligned with the engine properly? I know the shaft itself does not fully pass through the clutch to the pilot bearing, but there is an intermediate splined shaft that does that.

If I do take this apart to diagnose, it would be foolish not to replace the ropeshaft bearings while in there.

I'm just thinking through this issue before I spend too much time and effort taking it apart. I'm told from someone with good experience that it will not be a fun experience.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.