[968bill]

I finally got around to pulling the clutch on my 106K mi. 93' 968. I should have done it a little sooner as the rivets on the flywheel side of the clutch plate were just starting to wear into the flywheel, not allot but just enough to feel it on the flywheel.



Question - has anyone had luck getting a machine shop to resurface the dual mass flywheel? I've called 2 local shops and when I tell them dual mass they say no.



As for other issues, the pressure plate bolts I ordered/received were M8 x 50 when the correct bolts should be M8 x 40 (999.510.015.02) (9 bolts). Also the flywheel bolts were wrong, the bolts are M10 x 1.25 x 62mm (999.119.017.01) (9 bolts). Corrections have been made to the web site (I ordered on-line NOT by phone), they offered to have me return the bolts but I declined and just asked to have the correct bolts shipped priority mail. Paragon was more than willing to correct this issue but I consider it my error too for not double-checking (via PET) what I should be ordering.



The Clutch Replace instructions posted by Eric K. have been VERY helpful, thanks. The only issues I've had were the exhaust bolts/nuts after the cat were difficult, (one had to be cut w/ a drimmel) and the clutch release shaft wes very stubborn about coming out. I had to put a large washer on the bolt and use a combination of pry-bar against the bell housing and a hammer to get it out.



I have yet to thoroughly check the rear main seal but there was no dampness in the bell housing area. I plan to keep this updated with my progress.

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[flash]

my machinist here said he'll do it, but it will cost more than normal - they expect to break a bit, so they charge for a new one up front



there are now only 2 new flywheels in the country, and they are at dealerships:

milwakee has one at 414-604-6021

carrie has one at 919-481-4453



if you order one from sunset, unless they arrange a transfer, it will come in from germany, where there are now only 31 left



cost is $767.52

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[968bill]

Thanks for the info, I didn't realize they were that scarce, hope I don't need a new one.



If I can't find a machinist local I may take you up on sending to your guy, apx. what does he charge? (not inc. shipping)



Glad this isn't my daily driver.

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[flash]

i think it was somewhere about $100 - i can't remember now - it was 2 years ago, and i was asking in passing when i was talking to him about balancing flywheels and pressure plates, and how far out they are from the factory



he's good - he also has no problem turning drilled rotors - had some done a couple of times now

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[TheMirror]

Wow, everyone should prepare to get used to Fidanza gear rattle at some point down the road. 31 left in Germany. Sheesh.



[quote name='flash' date='May 22 2006, 12:53 PM']there are now only 2 new flywheels in the country, and they are at dealerships:

milwakee has one at 414-604-6021

carrie has one at 919-481-4453



if you order one from sunset, unless they arrange a transfer, it will come in from germany, where there are now only 31 left



cost is $767.52

[right][post="21403"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

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[Brian]

that's odd. i've replaced a ton of parts in my car, some of them very obscure. never had a hard time getting anything in.



i wonder if it's because we share so many parts with the 944,928,959? maybe the 968 specific parts (are there any?) are going to disappear quickly.



wasn't there someone out there who was developing a mid-range flywheel? i haven't seen the posts in a while.

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[flash]

the dmf is 968 specific - that may indeed be a part of the problem



i just called to check on it yesterday, knowing stock was getting low from the last time i had checked



and yes, there are now a couple of people working on a new solution

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[968bill]

[quote name='flash' date='May 23 2006, 07:27 AM']the dmf is 968 specific - that may indeed be a part of the problem

[right][post="21442"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Are you sure about that? PET has the 968 DMF part number as 944.114.012.01 which would tell me it's a 944 part too. I did not check PET for 944 flywheel number as it's not loaded on my hard drive.



A guy on ebay has a 964 (C2) clutch kit anf flywheel for sale and just for kicks I emailed him for part numers on the flywheel, the numbers on my flywheel are LUK 458 04 and 106 00, the numbers on his were LUK 458 04 and 106 04, close but no cigar.



I'd love to have another option than the Fedanza (sp?) but that won't help me now.

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[flash]

i haven't found it in any other car yet - if somebody knows another model it came in, please let us know - it might give me a clue for another project



the 968 is a 944 - it was actually intended to be designated a 944 S3, but the marketing people changed their mind - you will find that most of the parts on the car have the 944 prefix - some have 951 - others have 964 and 928



that's why i call it a "franken-porsche"

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[Renalicious]

31 DMF's left? Yikes! Lets hope someone comes up with an alternative <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Maybe I should get that clutch job done now before they run out of parts. Better safe than sorry?

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[flash]

not only that, but it is a porsche protocol to raise the price of an item as it becomes more scarce



something to think about - it is ALWAYS better to do a clutch sooner than later - if you wait to do it until it shows symptoms, you will likely be replacing the flywheel - if you do it before that, you can get away with just a disk, and maybe a pressure plate, depending on its condition - unless you screw it up, a pressure plate should last two full disks



i plan to change my disk at the same time as my belts - that way the entire job costs me very little

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[flash]

not only that, but it is a porsche protocol to raise the price of an item as it becomes more scarce



something to think about - it is ALWAYS better to do a clutch sooner than later - if you wait to do it until it shows symptoms, you will likely be replacing the flywheel - if you do it before that, you can get away with just a disk, and maybe a pressure plate, depending on its condition - unless you screw it up, a pressure plate should last two full disks



i plan to change my disk at the same time as my belts - that way the entire job costs me very little

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[flash]

not only that, but it is a porsche protocol to raise the price of an item as it becomes more scarce



something to think about - it is ALWAYS better to do a clutch sooner than later - if you wait to do it until it shows symptoms, you will likely be replacing the flywheel - if you do it before that, you can get away with just a disk, and maybe a pressure plate, depending on its condition - unless you screw it up, a pressure plate should last two full disks



i plan to change my disk at the same time as my belts - that way the entire job costs me very little

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[flash]

not only that, but it is a porsche protocol to raise the price of an item as it becomes more scarce



something to think about - it is ALWAYS better to do a clutch sooner than later - if you wait to do it until it shows symptoms, you will likely be replacing the flywheel - if you do it before that, you can get away with just a disk, and maybe a pressure plate, depending on its condition - unless you screw it up, a pressure plate should last two full disks



i plan to change my disk at the same time as my belts - that way the entire job costs me very little

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[Renalicious]

Yeah, I'm thinking I need to bite the bullet and get just get the DMF + clutch kit soon, I don't want to be stuck needing a new DMF when there won't be any left. With 120K coming up fast (pun) I think it may be time to replace everything anyways. I'll have peice of mind as well.



Anything other part shortage we should be awear of? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[TheMirror]

[quote name='Renalicious' date='May 23 2006, 03:10 PM']Anything other part shortage we should be awear of? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

[right][post="21511"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Rear hatch glass and frame assemblies. You can still get them from Germany, but if you break yours be prepared to fork over $5000 for a new one.

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[968bill]

Due to a number of issues I hadn't spent much time on this project until this week. Suffice to say I had more shipping problems w/ a parts vendor (NOT Paragon) that screwed up my schedule. I wound up needing the fork shaft and they failed to ship it 3-day as requested and w/ the Mem. Day holiday it was very late getting to me.



Lesson learned - order all possible parts needed (Paragon will accept excess parts returned) before starting project.



Flywheel status - it could not be resurfaced by any local machine shop. Most local repair shops just replace them. We have one local independent that "polishes" his own, he's highly respected and does many of the local 944 ect. race/track cars. He polished mine up for me, said he would have no issue putting it back in the car. He wasn't able to get out the groove but it's quite small. My original flywheel went back into the car.



Lesson Learned - Replace the clutch plate BEFORE it needs replacing, it's much cheaper/easier that way. Keep an eye on the Fork Arm/Slave cyl. measurement to have a good idea how much plate you have left.



Pressure Plate - I always replace the PP and Throw-out bearing when I replace a clutch plate, this time was no diff. However, according to the 968 Service Manual (pg 30-4b I think) the 968 plate should have a green marking stripe, mine had blue which the manual said was a 911 C2/C4. I called Jason at Paragon who said he never heard of the color code but said the Clutch Kit I received was the correct one for the 968. Has anyone else encountered the color code issue before? Also, there was no instruct for how to assemble the throw-out bearing to the PP but if you look closely at your old PP it's not hard to figure out and it makes sense too.



I would have the car back together by now except after assembling all the clutch parts in the car I wanted to test the feel of the clutch, when pressing the clutch pedal it didn't feel right. Turns out the clutch slave cyl needs to be bled, badly. Unfortunately, since the car is on an upward slant on my jackstands and since the reservoir for the clutch is so small I wound up getting more air in when I tried to bleed the system, I'll have to lower the front of the car before I can bleed it properly.



I expect to have the car put back together before the w/e is up. I went very slow on this task, next one I do will go much faster. Will update again after test drive.

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[968bill]

After further investigation on the clutch hydraulics I discovered the clutch master cylinder is leaking. I'll order the C.M.C., the pressure hose and the braided supply hose on Mon. I hope it's easier to get out than it looks, esp the pressure hose.



I'm going to forget what it's like to drive this thing....

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[Dave]

if you wait to do it until it shows symptoms, you will likely be replacing the flywheel

I can attest to this. Blown clutch at 130k+ miles took the DMF with it. OUCH!



Get one now, do it now, be done.



If Porsche stops making the DMF, I wonder if PCA will let us all dump half the flywheel weight and run non-DM flywheels? One can only hope!

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[Dobie]

Just to let you all know, Paragon has flywheels available, and no problem getting more, OEM, for about $615 or so.

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