[rkeysor]

I normally depress my clutch when starting my car. Lately I have been feeling just a little "pull" on the clutch when I start up. It immediately goes away. However, I find I am depressing the pedal rather deeply during gear changes. Does the slave need bleeding, or is it clutch wear?

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[SILVY968]

As it is a hydraulic system it needs bleeding. The fluid needs to be changed in both the master and slave cylinder. I would be concerned about the hose between the 2 going out. At the age of these cars, it has been a recurring issue on this forum. I and others have replaced the hose with a stainless steel one supplied by RS.

I do not know about the "pull" but if the clutch is worn it will take more to get it to disengage, but it should be gradual as it wears and not sudden.

The hose would be a good thing to do in any case. A failed hose will blow when you push in the clutch and stay on the floor. A change now could save you a tow and repair later. Call Pete at RS.

Brian

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[Scott Collins]

Rkeysor,,



I do the same thing when starting, and I always press the clutch to the floor every time - don't want to "ride" it.



I agree with Brian about replacing the clutch hose with the RS Barn stainless model. It's a really nice piece

of equipment. I have one on my car, and my clutch feel became much firmer as soon as I put it on.

It's possible you are feeling your OE hose expanding a bit when you hit the clutch pedal. If that's the case, it

won't be long before it goes. You'll be stuck wherever that happens. There's

a video of one of those about to fail clutch hoses on this site, that looks like a snake that just ate a mouse. The

bulge in the hose is huge!



The new hose is relatively easy to install, and if you get the Motive Power Bleeder, you can do this job in about

an hour.



Best of luck.



-Scott

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[firefish]

A little off topic but...

I used to press down the clutch for engine start . That was until someone pointed out the following:

Bearings in car engines aren't designed to deal with any substantial loads pressing the crank forwards (or backwards for that matter). Bearings can handle the force from the clutch but not too much, especially without oil pressure (like when starting) and in a hi po applications (ie bear of a clutch) and the 968 would qualify as such me thinks. The only reason for depressing the clutch is to relieve stress from the starter and battery during startup and while this is all and good replacing the starter and battery is far more easy than overhauling the engine.

I'm not saying that the above is something that must be done and that it is the only thing that will keep yout engine from eventually grenading but it is food for thought and may qualify as something on the "careful engine management" list.

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[RDKeysor]

Having started this discussion more than a decade ago and forgotten my posting, I will finally report what was happening with my car.  This began when I would shift out of first gear and the clutch pedal would not return immediately to its rearward position as it had in the past.  I eventually took the car to a professional shop and was given a demonstration.  With me looking down at the clutch cylinder in the engine bay, the garage pro operated the clutch.  The clutch cylinder moved to the side when that was done. This shop wanted nothing to do with fixing the problem, that being the partial failure of the firewall where the cylinder mounts.  I repaired this problem by removing the plastic inner fender lining and bolting through the inside of the fender well.  Exact details have been forgotten, but I can go look at it if anyone is interested in how I did that.  So a decade later the clutch is still working fine.  Most 968 owners have probably read about the firewall failures at the clutch cylinder by this time.  The first event I read about, probably on this forum, was an owner who replaced everything in the clutch system before discovering the cracked firewall. He went to major expense to fix that.  My fix wasn't expensive at all, and it worked.   My current issue is that I must fully depress the clutch to shift gears.  I think the remedy is to adjust out a thread or two on the threaded spindle that controls the amount of movement of the clutch rod that enters the back of the clutch cylinder.  I haven't gone to the trouble to lift the car and check measurement as shown in Clark's Garage's explanation for 944 cars.  My car has a bit more than 165,000 miles, more than half of those by me without clutch replacement.  I am very gentle on brakes and clutches but the clutch may be coming due.

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[Chris Vais]

I am at about the same mileage as you and I recently replaced the clutch. I also had the firewall failure. My shop backed up the firewall with a gusset plate that was welded to the firewall. I also reinforced this fix using the Design 1 Racing firewall brace. No further issues. The clutch I recently replaced lasted more than 100,000 miles. It sounds like you are between 80K and 90K on your current clutch, so you may need to replace the clutch.

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[94SilverCab]

I know it's too late for you, But I installed the D1R Strut Brace and firewall brace BEFORE I had any issues. Some of the cheapest insurance I ever bought.

 

Jay

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[Waylander]

I borrowed a guide on getting the right pressure plate, that might be helpful,

 

If the wrong one is in there so much more force is required to push the pedal down, that wont help with the firewall cracking

 

http://www.pdlibrary.co.uk/Engine.php

 

clutch guide

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[Roboman]

I believe there are a number of factors "at play" here (sorry about the pun) .....

1. An experienced mechanic friend of mine informed me years back that depressing the clutch and engaging the starter was not a good idea as it put undue forces onto a cold crankshaft bearings .... fair enough I thought, and given that I was taught to park in neutral unless on a steep hill, no worries.  But these days many cars have a "safety feature" of pressing clutch prior to starting .... is this a long term spare parts replacement strategy??

2. The clutch release on the 968 (I'm making an educated guess here because of my 944 ownership) is a combination of two adjustments; one of which actually releases/engages the clutch plate, and the other assists the pedal return. If these are not correctly set then one will get clutch slippage and/or the clutch will engage "early" and the cruise control will not work.

3. Worn/leaking master/slave sytem/aerated clutch fluid - the usual maintenance.

4. I was unaware on fire wall cracking .... great piece of information, thank you!

 

Item 2 is interesting ... I recall a thread about "why doesn't my cruise control work?", but at that time I had only just joined 968Forums so was busy scanning the various threads instead of trying to help ..... if whoever has a cruise control that doesn't work, please ensure the clutch release switch is functioning/correctly set.

 

I know nothing about 968 pressure plate selection.

 

Cheers

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[Waylander]

your cruise wont work if you have a brake light out, 

 

there are quite a few factors to it not working

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[Ernie]

I think replacing the third brake light with LED's effects it too. Mine worked until Ireplaced those old bulbs with an LED strip.
Sorry, off topic!

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