Rick Lee

My clutch pedal felt fine last weekend when I drove. Last night I fired her up and the pedal now goes loosely about half way down before it begins to engage. And there's not much space between that point and floor. It still shifts very well and does not slip at all. I can redline it up a hill on wet pavement and there is absolutely no slippage. As well as it still shifts, it takes a little getting used to, what with the increased pedal play.

All my local Porsche buddies are at the track (Summit Point) this weekend, which is about 80 miles from me. I'm afraid to drive her so far now. Is my clutch shot? Or is there just some adjustment I can tweak?

Background info: car has 80k miles and I believe the original clutch. Others who have driven it have all said the clutch felt fine, with plenty of life left. I flushed the brakes last weekend and checked the fluid level last night, which was fine. As this happened pretty suddenly, I don't think the clutch is ready to replace yet. I have been planning on doing the replacement myself, but really can't afford to buy the kit and tools at the moment. Please tell me there is some cheap and easy fix to this. Thanks.

andy sanborn

Rick;

do you think you got air into the rear slave cylinder? Also, the one replaceable hose can go too

andy

Richard Pankhurst

I know the early G50's have a problem with weak clutch release shaft bearings. I have not had the symptoms you describe in my 87 Targa but this item was replaced when my engine was rebuilt. Maybe someone else has had the release shaft fail and can describe what it felt like...

Lane

My '88 Targa did this about a month ago. I found that it was the master cylinder down at the pedal that had gone bad. Bought a new one and replaced it and all is fine now.

Rick Lee

Thanks guys. The consensus on Pelican and from my local PCA buddies is we got an air bubble in there during the brake flush last weekend. I think it's a little strange that the pedal felt better yesterday and none of this happened for a few days after the brake flush. But it could just be that the flush brought an ailing master or slave cylinder to light. I wasn't able to get any help with it when I went to the DE at Summit Point yesterday, as it was very cold and rainy. But I'll probably have some help with it next Sat. and will post results.

Jeff Curtis

Damn! Rick, I was at Summit over the weekend, I wish you would've found me. Not that I could've provided "the difinitive answer" but I surely could've sent you in the right direction.

I think, first of all...you should bleed the system again with a pressure bleeder!

Did you originally flush with a pressure bleeder or use the "buddy system"?? Also, did you crack the bleed screw on your slave cylinder??

All this aside, once you rebleed, bleeding the slave cylinder as well...if you still experience the previously described symptoms, I would consider the clutch master cylinder.

When you do decide to go for a clutch changeout, be sure you get the release fork and bearing/guide tube update, they're cheap...and worth it in longevity! Heck, if you're a pretty good "sweet talker" drive yer sled down to VB and we'll take a day and hook you up...for a fee of course, usually, lots O' beer will suffice!

Still...wish I could've checked it out for you. I was the white 964, (pictured in my personal avatar).

Rick Lee

Sorry I missed you Jeff. I made it to SP on Sunday, but by then a lot of folks had left. A friend there told me to come by later in the week and he'd help me with it. We did it last last night, just the buddy system. I've never been more satisfied or noticed a bigger difference after a repair. It feels like a brand new clutch - even better than when I bought the car in July. A lot of hideous, bubble-laden fluid came out of there. I'll probably do another flush at the tech session in two weeks. Now it feels like a whole new car. As much as I want to do my own clutch replacement, I'm in no hurry to do it prematurely. We'll hook up some other time at SP. Thanks.

Carrera51

Jeff:
You are such a swell guy
Always willing to help others out with their 911s in exchange for beer <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />


Maybe at Mid-Ohio, I chase you around in my dad's 964 and see how it stacks up to yours.

Mark Francis <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />