968Forums.com

Evening all,





I'm having a comprehension issue with the idea of clutch wear. My 968 is sitting at a very reputable shop in northern Maryland ( the owner is well know in the Porsche club racing scene ) the car went in for motor mounts, it turns out i'm just finicky and the vibration is " normal" for the big 4 cylinder <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />



What i didn't expect was the opinion that the clutch is on its way out. The car has 100K, and the previous owner had the clutch done at 96k 3 years ago.....



Symptoms are as follows:



The clutch engages early, i.e. very close to the firewall.

The clutch is apparently "a bit stiff"



I never thought it felt bad ( similar to a modern mustang GT)



Do 968 clutches engage sooner as they wear? I thought it would be the opposite..



Is is there any way of telling if the clutch is worn without clutch removal?

most likely they installed the wrong pressure plate. this is VERY common. the only place you can get the right one is from the dealer. the ones that are out there from other suppliers are for a different model, and while they "work" they are stiff, and frequently damage the firewall (if it isn't damaged already).



the other thing that may be going on is the fork shaft may be worn. this will cause a stiff pedal. it will also alter the engagement position.



weak hydraulics can cause this too. failure occurs from the inside, so external inspection is useless. unless you have a leak or a bulging hose under pressure, you won't know.



the unfortunate part is that you may not be able to determine what the problem is without taking it apart

I just had a new clutch installed and also discovered the firewall was badly cracked, over 16 hours of labor to properly weld it. Don't skimp on parts, it will cost you!

You can measure it through the inspection port. My clutch seemed to work perfectly some years ago, but when measured it was "beyond worn". When getting it out of the car, the flywheel was already eating the rivets of the pressure plate. Do a search for "checking clutch disk wear" on Clark's; it has a picture and info.



http://www.clarks-garage.com