LOL, i HAVEN'T DRIVEN A TURBO 7 IN AGES. It's about time. Dropped the car off a lil bit ago.

Keep me updated, I am REALLY curious about the outcome.

it's BS! THey say it's the exhaust.

So to recap. Car has issues with the clutch/tranny. 1st shop says it's the brakes, 2nd shop says it's the exhaust.

:dunno: what else to do other than just drive it till it breaks and start sourcing TII swap parts.

Those guys are winners.

Drive up there open header and tell them you think somethings wrong with the exhaust, see what they say.

:lol: i'll be deaf! the NA open header is ear-bleedingly loud!

So it does it on decel and reverse only?

If this is the case, I would think it points squarely at the front U-joint! If it is the front U-joint, replace it NOW! If it fails, It will take out the tail shaft of teh tranny and the shifter assembly! (Ask me how I know!)

just drive it til it goes nuclear.

Buy a spare tranny, have it rebuilt, and put it in before you blow this one up.

All we need is a flywheel, starter and new DS.

Aluminum drive shaft from Mazdatrix is the sex.

Thought I'd add some drivetrain info from my experience.
Let me just start at the beginning.

My '89 GTU n/a, It had 145k miles on it when I got it, Nov '05.

A year later (Nov '06) the clutch started slipping in 5th, then 4th, and so on.
I got a $100 e-bay clutch kit, which Ive been warned about later on that those are std's for your drivetrain.

Almost a year after that (Sep '07) my driveshaft (front U-joint) went bad, luckily it didn't explode, just vibration and vibration noise. I replaced it with another used one.

Now (Aug '08) another driveshaft U-joint went bad. Over the weekend, I noticed the vibration & noise (that sounds familiar), thats when I knew it was the driveshaft.
Today Ive replaced it with another used one.

After driving around on it, (btw: no noises) Ive realized what all those noises Ive been hearing before are coming from, the driveshaft.

The noises:
When going forward from a stop, there is a loud "Tink" sound. This is like right after the clutch pedal is out (not pressed).

Some times I have some bucking issues at low rpms cause of the engine, anyway when that happens, I hear a "tinka tinka tinka tinka".

Another noise, when comming to a stop in slow driving, like in traffic or a parking lot, when pressing the clutch pedal, some times there is this horrible noise like "CH CH CH CHU CHU CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!!" maybe not that long.

And another, Im not sure how to describe it, its like a mix between a wering and a squealing or squeaking and maybe a chattering noise, high pitched and fast.
That happens on acceleration and deceleration.

So IMO every noise except that last one makes sense that they are cause by a bad driveshaft.

Even though I have a crappy e-bay clutch, Ive had no problems with it, no slipping or anything like that, and Ive been driving on it daily for near 2 years now.

As far as driveshafts go I need to find a place that can rebuild them, or buy a new one like mentioned above.
I'm going to try to invest in a good driveshaft, so when the one Ive got on there now, goes bad, I can finally replace it with one that will last for a few years or more.