427grips

Is it OK to hold the clutch in on a G50 while waiting for the light to turn green? Peter Zimmermann states in his book that you can do so in an earlier car without damage to the throw out bearing etc.. But can you do so in a G50 equipped 87- 89?

Raj

ron mcatee

I never have held in the clutch on any of my Porsche's. The earlier year cars had a tendency for the cable to stretch, maybe not a lot, but readjusting was necessary at times. with my 88 Carrera/G50, I don't want to put additional strain on the clutch slave and reservoir. the reservoir is common to the brake and clutch. Anything I can do to prolong wear is a good thing. The T.O. bearing does get additional wear when the clutch is in, so I wouldn't do it, but it's your choice.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Raj:

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you, Sir. Hope you & your family had a great one.

FWIW, its VERY poor practice to hold the clutch pedal down while waiting for the light to change oin ANY car and the Carrera is no exception to that rule.

The throwout bearing (release bearing) is heavily loaded at that moment and such practices truly shortens the life of that component. Further, it adds more wear to the crankshaft thrust bearings which are the bearings that maintain the crank's fore-and-aft position in the case.

Just slip it into neutral and your car (and your wallet) will be happier for it.

rnln

427grips,

NO you CAN NOT for too long. Otherwise, you will walk like a handicap

Uli911

Yes.
....And just ignore that rumble&rattle from your G50 in neutral position.

427grips

That's what I thought!!!

Peter Zimmermann

Ah ha! I knew that Steve and I would disagree on something, some day! (Hi Steve!) My view regarding holding the clutch in on an SC to protect the 1st gear synchro, and the SC owner's nervous system, is based on years of never finding an SC with a thrust bearing/crank problem, or a prematurely worn out T.O. bearing, combined with having to fix many, many 915 first gear issues that could have gone down the road a little further. Also, I have driven SCs almost 300K miles in the way that I recommend, and I stand by it. However, I agree with Steve that, with the G50, it is no longer necessary to hold in the clutch at an intersection, but if you can ANTICIPATE (an important ingredient of my driving method!) the light and know it's already amber for cross traffic leave it in first. The G50 synchros are very forgiving, and those transmissions shift into first, from neutral, without effort, which 915s, especially those with a little wear, won't. A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on this forum!
Pete

Shark Attack

learn something new every day.... i never thought about it and hold my clutch in at every lite on every stick car i have... hmmmmm and i just replaced a master cyl on a 2001 model year...

427grips

Pete nice book, as you can see I am reading and enjoying it thoroughly...

Raj

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hiya Pete:

LOL,..I suppose we become the total sum of all our own experiences,....

I've seen quite a few "rattly/noisy" throwout bearings from driver's with bad habits over the years so I caution people not to hold the clutch down at a light. You raise a good point about the relatively fragile 915 syncro's and I also tell my clients to first select 2nd or 3rd gear from neutral before selecting 1st gear. Man, that really saves wear & tear on these poor things. Like you, I am very gentle with these things and my own transmission internals look like new at 155K.

Regarding crankshaft thrust bearings,...............

Its true that the older 2.0-2.2-2.4-2.7-3.0-3.2-3.3 & 3.6 air-cooled engines have not shown accelerated wear, in and of themselves, but I have seen enough variations in wear that I've chalked that up to driver habits since all the dimensions (crank & case) were well within spec. I will say that the later 996 TT & GT-3 engines HAVE experienced heavy thrust bearing wear primarily from the built-in, mandatory interlock that prevents engine start unless the clutch is depressed.

I've recommended that people not hold the clutch pedal down in these cars to prevent someone from developing and practicing bad habits that could translate into other cars that someone might buy.

Nevertheless, this is just one man's opinion of course,....

murfysflaw

I routinely held my clutch in on all the manual transmissions I drove.... until... one day my Porsche mechanic asked me for a ride when I picked my car up. When he asked, I told him I'd be glad to give him a lift as long as he didn't laugh at my driving (hadn't really driven the car many miles at that point, so I was still getting accustomed to it). He had just a short distance to go, but there were several stop lights along the way. First light we get to... he looks down and tells me... you really should put the car in neutral when you're stopped at a light. Next light we get to he says... it'll help shift into 1st if you slip it down into 2nd first... same thing for reverse, only go to 4th or 5th first.

Man... I felt like a dunce, but am very glad he gave me the pointers.

Kolbjorn S

Sounds just like my 5-sp 928! Stupid question perhaps, but what is causing the rattling noise in the G50? I've been trying to diagnose the neutral "rumble&rattle" on my 928 without success...which by the way only is there on a warmed-up system, and goes away when I press in the clutch pedal. Is it like this on G50 (and 915?) boxes as well?

ked

"I knew that Steve and I would disagree on something, some day!"
We live to reveal a contention between you guys. That's why there are so many weird questions from low-post members.

Uli911

What I heared is that the G50 was at first planned as a six speed box. With 5 gears, the axle is somehow too long which leads to oscillation.

BtW:

I wonder, why so many people prefer that G50 box. IMHO, compared to the 915, the G50

- is more heavy
- cost nearly doppel the price to change a clutch or to be rebuilt
- makes more rattle
- eats more horsepower

I agree, gear change is shorter.

But what was good in a 73 carrera RS cant be bad in a 3.2 carrera - or?


(Oh, did I say that my C1 has a 930/20 engine with 915?)

Peter Zimmermann

Hey Steve, I've forgotten what it's like to drive in a location where the guy behind you at the light is going to give you sufficient time to put your trans in 2nd, or 3rd, or... before engaging 1st! In L.A. they count to one, quickly, then lean on their #@!*&# horn, which does wonders for your stomach, your attitude, your nerves... well, you know. 99% of my driving experience has been in an environment that is not warm & fuzzy. More often than not flipping someone off, during almost every drive, is a real temptation. What I've done by making certain recommendations is try to make driving, even in a hostile surrounding, as much fun as possible. I envy those with late model pavement burners, but haven't spent nearly enough time in them to try to maximize their reliability, but my wife and I shared a '96 993 for a period of time. We know that some are replacing clutches in those cars at 30K miles, we had 50K+ on ours when we sold the car, and the clutch was still working perfectly even with many miles of SoCal canyon driving. Believe me, I envy all of you who live in kinder, gentler places, even Bakersfield has become somewhat hurried compared to when we moved here. It's been a hot real estate market; many, many people have moved here from the coast (estimated locally at 800 - 1000/month!) and brought their bad habits with them. Oh well, that's progress, eh? Here's to not having someone behind you that's in a big hurry, and to your left foot resting on a dead pedal!!
Pete