Alright....showing my incompetence (story time).
Last year, I took the car out after sitting for a couple weeks, to find that any time I get on the power, the engine would rev to the moon and the car wouldn't go anywhere. It was a metallic-y, clutch slipping kind of sound. To this day, I will swear I could smell clutch material.
Over the winter, pulled the engine with the intention of rebuilding the clutch. As previously shown, there were hot spots, and some disc wear, but nothing that indicated the clutch was shot. The right front axle had a CV boot tear, that threw grease everywhere. I assumed maybe I got some grease in the discs. Cleaned everything up and put it back together.
This spring I took the car out for a quick spin. Still "slipping" like crazy. Also, still a metallic-y noise. Seems like clutch still slipping, but I keep trying to put some miles on it in case the clutch just needs to bed. After about 6 miles, as the trans fluid, etc, start to get warm, it gets to the point where the car won't even move, it's slipping so bad. There is no way it's the clutch...it's not even holding 100 lb-ft. Get it up on a lift and run through gears. With no load its slipping. Sounds like it's coming from the back of the trans, where the center diff is. Lock up the rears and the fronts mostly stop, with the engine still revving. At this point I conclude the center diff is effed and scramble to find a replacement with the intention of rebuilding mine.
After pulling mine out, I tore it down and didn't see any signs of high wear and definitely no hot-spotting I would expect to see with how much it would have had to be slipping. Figure, "what do I know." Put a used one in. In the meantime, I take my (Driveshaft Shop) carbon fiber driveshaft to a local shop to have them rebalance it--it threw the weights...they look at it for 5 seconds and go, "your driveshaft is twisted." I stare at the guy baffled..."what are you talking about, how can CF twist?"
He grabs a mallet and hits the yoke end that goes into the transmission and it half pops out...."your yoke isn't bonded to the shaft anymore. These DSS driveshafts are garbage."
Eff me. The whole time, the effing yoke has been spinning inside the tube. Explains everything...and I feel like an effin idiot. They're building me a new CF shaft for a fraction of the price DSS is charging, and they can rivet the balance weights on, so they can't come off.
Adding DSS to my shit list...good times.
Dust and "witness" wear from spinning, that they caught instantly. Didn't get pics at the shop.
