[madridcab]

My clutch has been feeling a bit spongy, and the pedal has occasionally not been coming all the way back up recently. Yesterday, while out driving, it got a lot worse, and I got stuck without getting any gears (after struggeling to get out of 2nd) Stopped the car, started again, and managed to get 1st, 2nd , to 4th and drove home. Clutch was actually more or less working the last leg, with several gear changes. Plan to find a low traffic hour to take it to the shop. First suspect is slave cylinder, clutch hose, although the brake reservoir was full, and no obvious signs of leakage anywhere. Clutch is original with 160K km, so could be on its way out as well, but would have thought bad clutch would show itself through slippage, not not being able to get gears. Other ideas?

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[xrad]

I would change both the master and slave cylinders and put in a braided clutch hose, and check the pedal arm bushing while you are at it.

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[Duckman]

Assuming you have fluid, it's most likely a clutch slave cylinder failure.

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[banditsc]

Change that rubber house out with a braided stainless one. You can get it at www.rsbarn.com

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[madridcab]

Update: Changed the full clutch hydraulics; master, lines and slave, and now OK. Mechanic said the clutch was OK, within spec still (measured 30mm in inspection hole, with range being 18-34mm), so will save clutch money for later I guess.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Bought the parts at OPC, and found prices to be not dissimilar to may internet sources (actually find this for lots of parts, so normally check parts cost on the Porsche techinfo page and compare with internet, to see if it is worth the hassle..) I was considering getting the braided hose, but if the original worked 16 years OK, I guess that is OK for me..

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[flash]

not sure what measurement he was looking at - the disk isn't nearly that thick - it's closer to 8mm total



nothing wrong with a new oem hose, though the braided one seems to give better clutch feel - no reason to change it out now that you have a new one though

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[madridcab]

I believe the specification measurement he is referring to is from the front of the inspection hole to the plunger, new clutch should give 18mm, and it goes out of spec and needs changing at 35mm, 30mm should mean the clutch disk is around 70% worn.., I think I read that on here somewhere as well..

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[flash]

hmmm - sounds fishy - not sure how you would ever get 17mm of change, since the disk isn't half that thick, and generally 3 - 4 mm of wear means you need a new disk

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[Cloud9...68]

I generally adhere to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it rule," but in this case, given all the incidents of hydraulic line failure that have been popping up, I went ahead and replaced my high pressure clutch line with the steel braided line, and replaced the master and slave cylinder as well. Even though my clutch wasn't giving any symptoms, I was amazed at the improvement in clutch feel. I'm not sure how much of it I can ascribe to the steel braided line, but I am SO glad I did this. One less thing to worry about.

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[rickh]

So, I've been having a simular problem with my clutch pedal. Mine would be a little low in the morning. I would lift it up with my foot and it would be fine. Today, when pulling into the driveway, the pedal went to the floor and didn't come back up. Sounds like I need to do the master and slave cylinder along with the line between too? The clutch has never sliped and never have any problem shifting before so I expect it is fine. The clutch uses the brake resovour for it's fluid?



Are there good DIY instructions for this? I haven't had to dig into my car much yet... or is this better left to the pros?



Do you buy the cylinders at the local Porsche dealer or???



Thanks!

Rick

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[madridcab]

Bought the parts at OPC, brought everything to my mechanic, I think he charged me 2 or 3 hours for the whole thing, complained about the bleeding being a PITA, I think he had to remove the starter as well..

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[flash]

pretty easy job, though brake fluid is a pain, and i hate the mess i often manage to make



parts have so far been cheapest at sunset



stainless line eliminates the failure issue in the future



bleeding is easy with the motive power bleeder - very difficult without

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[mick968]

<!--quoteo(post=61818:date=Oct 18 2008, 05:49 AM:name=madridcab)-->QUOTE (madridcab @ Oct 18 2008, 05:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->My clutch has been feeling a bit spongy, and the pedal has occasionally not been coming all the way back up recently. Yesterday, while out driving, it got a lot worse, and I got stuck without getting any gears (after struggeling to get out of 2nd) Stopped the car, started again, and managed to get 1st, 2nd , to 4th and drove home. Clutch was actually more or less working the last leg, with several gear changes. Plan to find a low traffic hour to take it to the shop. First suspect is slave cylinder, clutch hose, although the brake reservoir was full, and no obvious signs of leakage anywhere. Clutch is original with 160K km, so could be on its way out as well, but would have thought bad clutch would show itself through slippage, not not being able to get gears. Other ideas?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Must be that time of year.Mine(92' 968 coupe)(aprox.95,000) started the same thing(pedal feel mushy and occasionally not come all the way out).Seems the more I drive it(especially at speed) the better it works.Shift fine.I am hoping it's not a complete clutch install.Had 944 turbo that had slave cylinder failure but had clear liquid all over my garage floor first.Haven't had that sceanrio yet.

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[DaveN]

I just had a bad master on my 944 S2 and the exact symptons were that the pedal was failing to come back all the way 50% of the time.

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[mick968]

Took mine to shop this morning(actually it's not getting worse but not better either).Don't want to end up stranded or in rush hr. with clutch to the floor!Waiting to hear the verdict.

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[madridcab]

Since I started this thread a few months back, I should probably give the follow on... Changed the master, slave, and hoses, and was back on the road again, although it had me started thinking about doing clutch just as preventive maintenance.. Just did not do it fast enough, a couple of weeks ago, was all of a sudden without gears again, and this time the only way to get to my mechanic was on a flat-bed, it was the clutch disc, which had one quarter of friction material just come off on the pressure plate side. Flywheel was fine, the car is having clutch disc, release bearing, pressure plate, pilot bearing, rear main seal (while in there), and clutch fork bearings done as we speak. Sometimes I get the feeling there are components with a "use by date". I have now done the complete steering (rack & hoses) complete clutch (hydraulics and clutch), and decided to do suspension since the car is in anyways (Koni yellows), the original shocks with 100K miles was showing some signs of leakage. Hope no other full systems will need replacement anytime soon..

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[Johannvb]

I would be very interested in knowing how much you paid for the clutch job. I am in the same situation as you and i am just waiting for the clutch to fail. I am hoping to have the funds together before the clutch fails, but I am worried the dealer is going to charge me upwards of 2000 euro for the clutch job.

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[DaveN]

If you don't get the flywheel replaced (just machined) it shouldn't be that bad. I think the book time is about 4.5-5 hours? It's a lot easier than a 944. Parts are 5-600 USD. I'd guess 1000.00 for a reasonable shop.

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[mick968]

<!--quoteo(post=69343:date=Mar 25 2009, 11:36 AM:name=mick968)-->QUOTE (mick968 @ Mar 25 2009, 11:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Took mine to shop this morning(actually it's not getting worse but not better either).Don't want to end up stranded or in rush hr. with clutch to the floor!Waiting to hear the verdict.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Amazing result!Thought I was looking down barrel of 1500 -2000 clutch job and all they did was adjust and it runs(clutch tighter and shifts better than ever).One thing I did notice was that the power range now seems to be around 3000 rpm's through all gears(always seemed a little lower than that before).Anyway,didn't charge me a penny.(did say that at some point will need clutch job but OK for now-that could be said for any car with clutch).

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