[rl968]

Was on the track yesterday and going down a straight, I tried to upshift from 3rd to 4th at about 6k rpms, but clutch pedal drops to the floor and I can't engage any gears. I get towed off track and bleed the clutch, fluid flows fine, don't see any air and clutch pedal comes back as it was., moving freely, but only when car is turned off.



When I turn the car on, engage clutch, put into gear and then let clutch out, there is a lot of vibration/shuddering as the clutch comes out and I can't let it all the way up. It sounds like a metallic grinding noise. Is this a bad clutch?



With the car on and clutch pressed in, I can move the gearshift into all gears with no noise or stiffness. It also sounds like the noise I am hearing from the clutch is coming from the front of the car. Car is not drivable at this point.



Thanks

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[flash]

sounds like you fragged the friction disk - it happens - i did it

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[rl968]

that's what the consensus at the track seemed to be....thanks. Is it made of rubber?



Been reading up, seems like it's a relatively easy fix, no special tools, just taking time to get to it. Anything I need to watch out for while doing it? Also, what do you recommend replacing it with, stock disk or is there a performance disc? lastly, is there anything else I should do "while I'm in there?"

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[flash]

no - that was a 944 thing



this car uses an unsprung steel center organic compound disk



it is relatively easy to change, with the book speccing 4 hours



you wil need a flywheel lock and a 12pt (tri square or cheesehead) bit



you will need to replace the bolts that mount the pressure plate to the flywheel - you will also need to replace the bolts that mount the flywheel to the crank if you pull the flywheel



carefully inspect the DMF for rebound and surface



replace the pressure plate - be aware that the less expensive aftermarket ones do not have the same geometry and the resultant clutch pedal feel may not please you



there are stiffer pressure plates out there too



replace the fork bearings while you are in there, and of course the release bearing



if you are tracking the car, there is now a PCA approved 18lb flywheel available at RS Barn - they even have a special going right now!

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[flash]

side note:



never ever ever just stick in a friction disk without surfacing the flywheel (at least scuffing it) but more importantly ensuring the pressure plate is completely free of any deposits - surfacing or replacing is almost the only way to do that - failure to remove deposits will result in glazing of the disk, and chatter will quickly ensue



if there are any grooves whatsoever in either one, they must be replaced



also, while the DMF "absorbs" pretty much any out of balance mass, you lose power in any absorbing it has to do, and balancing the entire setup will provide optimal power transmission - you may find it hard to locate a machinist who will do it though



hope all that helps

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[craigawoodman]

Sounds like exactly what happenned to me when my first clutch went, pedal to the floor and nothing. Broke the finger springs on the pressure plate. So you are probably up for the clutch and the pressure plate as well.



Be careful with the clutch, we replaced mine with an OEM clutch and it failed about 9 months later (about 1/6th of the friction material came off) and I then had a gearbox rebuild on my hands (see separate post). Suggest you get a motorsport clutch if you are looking to do trackdays.

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[rl968]

did your clutch pedal come back up or did it stay on the floor. Mine came back up after it cooled down.

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[craigawoodman]

Yes, it came back up after I got back to the pits (and lifted it the first time), but the clutch would not work properly.



Sounds just like what happenned to me.

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[rl968]

This doesn't look right! My mechanic got to my clutch issue today...clearly there is a problem here. Thanks to all who posted, it was the disc as you can see. Having him change the master and slave as well,hose changed earlier this year after it ballooned.

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[flash]

yup - that's what i figured - pretty typical when you overheat it - that's what mine looked like - like me, it looks like somebody needs to work on that heel/toe rev matching thing

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[rl968]

I think it's age more than anything. I was a cool day and I wasn't running that hot and I only shift in 3rd and 4th on the track. It blew out at the beginning of the second session of the day. It's possible this was an original disc.

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[flash]

you would be amazed at how little it takes - all you need to do to blow a clutch is use the engine to do your braking 5 or 6 times from 90 down to 30 - common mistake too - on the street it's generally ok to let the clutch out slowly when slowing down - on the track it's fatal - i forgot that one day, having not been on the track in years and having developed the bad habit of engine braking - since then i have re-learned gear matching - that being said, i still catch myself from time to time being lazy

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