Play in Transmission

[Keggers]

For quite a while I've had a problem with the car jerking quite strongly when I come on and off the throttle at low revs in first or second gear. Have had myself convinced for quite a while that my rubber damper in the clutch was gone and this was causing the problem, but I've just tried testing it by trying to turn the torque tube with the gearbox in neutral and there is no movement at all. Also checked the clutch wear indicator and its fine also. Have looked at the obvious things on the engine/fuel such as the TPS etc. and everything seems fine there too so I'm pretty sure its something from the clutch back.

What I did discover though is that there seems to be a lot of play in the transmission. If I put it in gear (any gear) and jack up one side I can turn one of the wheels about 2 inches (i.e. if I grab the outside of the wheel I can turn it so that my hand moves about 2 inches before the transmission grabs). If I have both sides jacked up I can move both wheels in the same direction about the same amount before it grabs.

So, am I right in assuming this is not normal, and if not then is there anything obvious that might be causing this is a transmission rebuild likely needed?

By the way, its a standard transmission (i.e. not an LSD).

Cheers
Greg

 

[TTM]

2" seems like too much play.

Can you hear "slightly loud" bearings noises on the overrun ?
If yes I would think at least differential bearings need replacement.

 

[Keggers]

I hadn't noticed a specific noise on the overrun but do have the usual transmission whine at higher speeds.

Will take a listen and see if there's anything there!

 

[Indi9xx]

If your clutch centre has gone for some time, the safety catch in the clutch centre has probably become quite burred up, so the backlash, transition from the locks hitting one side of travel, to the other side, will only happen when some considerable force is used, therefore you will not be able to spin the torque tube by hand by reaching through the inspection hatch.

My advice would be to try using more force or use a stilson or adjustable wrench on the flats of the torque tube coupling to see if it will break free of the burrs.

with the car jacked up, you will be able to turn the wheel through several degrees of backlash one way and another even with a new gearbox.

Having said that, I would not mind betting that the cv joints and your gearbox will have some considerable wear.