hi cd- curious as hell about your story. in my many clutch changes on rwd cars since the war, most were for severe chattering or slippage but after 100k miles.have seen all friction facing completely gone from the clutch discs and its rivets gouging the pressure plate. my 92 245 with the m47 has 248k miles. have seen t/o bearings worn out and noisy but never disintegrating. every time you step on that clutch heavy stress is placed on the t/o which is why you shouldnt sit for long periods at the light with the trans in gear and clutch down. overheats the bearing and can melt out the lubricant hastening bearing wear. anyway only problem ive noticed is when hot from long driving, the clutch will chatter making the car shudder in 1st gear starts. when it cools down and on short trips no problem-operates smoothly. have checked all the usual suspects( mounts, ujoints, cable, trans oil leaking on clutch) and no soap. what think you? experienced this? thanks tons oldduke