Thank you to all who replied on my recent clutch chatter question. For those who didn't see my first message, I had taken my '86 245 with 220,000 mi. in to have a stiff, chattering clutch replaced. When I got it back, the clutch was still stiff and chattering. The shop asked me to put a few hundred miles on it before deciding the clutch was faulty.

Well I put about 400 miles on the new clutch and there was no improvement. In fact, the shop manager thought it had gotten worse. They did not argue at all but took the car right back in and put in another clutch kit (Sachs). Now the clutch is smooth and easy. The problem was a loose rivet holding the spring on the pressure plate. This resulted in the pressure plate and the flywheel being out of parallel. My original chatter on the old clutch was due to a broken spring which gave the same symptoms.

So now I'm happy. The shop that put in the clutch was "The Clutch Doctors" and they did the job, including a new rear main seal, for about $350 US.