spikesdad

Here's one that has me baffled for now.
I got a clutch job six months ago. Everything is great.
Lately, but not always and only when the car is warm and the engine is running, I will depress the clutch and it feels "crunchy" at a certain point in the travel. That point in travel is when it's almost depressed 1/2 inch from bottom of travel. It almost feels like a crunch throw-out bearing, but I'll drive it later in the day, and the problem will not be there. Sometimes it will re-appear again. It doesn't effect shifting or anything, but it bothers me that it is there. It doesn't do it at all ever if the engine is off.
I have a warranty on this clutch job, but it would be nice to know what's up before I go down to complain, especially because it is sometimes intermmentent.
Has anyone ever had this phenom before??

Gary 83 SC

Edgy01

Have you ever replaced your pedal bushings with the bronze ones?

Mike Murphy

How long is the warranty good for?

I drove my 3.2 Carrera over Thanksgiving in warm weather and noticed that the clutch was "different" for some reason. A little like crunching I guess. It bothered me too, but then it just went away. Weird. I figured that I would change the hydro fluid and see what happens. On my car, it felt a little like something needed to be greased or lubed.

psalt

An 83 SC has a cable clutch, no hydro fluid involved.

When was the last time the pedal cluster was out ? Take a look at a diagram of the pedals. The clutch pedal motion is transferred to the shaft that both pedals ride on with a roll pin. When the roll pin begins to shear, the pedal feel gets weird, usually not returning all the way. If you did have the bronze bushings installed, the aftermarket pins are not as strong as the factory part and often fail. At the other end of the shaft there is a lever that connects to the cable. There is a nylon bushing at the end that wears and eventually the lever wears oval. Both of these parts are suspect after 23 years. My advice is first get under the car and check the clutch cable adjustment. If it is OK, and the pedal cluster is original, I would remove the cluster and rebuild it. Only use a factory roll pin. It is also possible that the cable is frayed and rubbing inside the lining. There are several types of cables out there and if you do not know its age or origin, you may want to replace it.

Paul

spikesdad

If it was the pedal assy. ,would it still do it when the engine is off?
Mine feels great when the engineis off. It only feels that way when the engine is running.

Mike Murphy

Duh! That was a brain fart on my part

psalt

I can't say without driving the car. If you paid someone recently to work on the clutch, my advice would be to ask them about it. If the pedal cluster bushings and pin are original, I would replace them. I've seen several failures and had one while I was driving. It is possible to drive a 911 without a clutch, but driving through intesections on the starter should be avoided. The design of the cluster results in several high wear points and after 23 years, they usually need service. When the nylon lever bushing fails it usually means a new shaft. It is not a hard job, the cluster has to come out and once on the bench the only issue is the roll pin. The throttle bushings, especially the bellcrank, are another high wear area. You would be amazed at how many 911's owned by "enthusiasts" never reach full throttle.

Paul

Peter Zimmermann

Paul's post has sound advice, but I have to go a little further. Was the clutch cable replaced when the clutch was done? If yes (I've posted warnings about this in the past) you have to go under the car and inspect the black portion of the clutch cable (usually called the Bowden Tube) where it passes by the left (driver's) side of the transmission. If it says "Made in Western Germany" in white letters on the Bowden Tube it's an aftermarket cable. Your symptom sounds very similar to one that I've seen on customer cars, those cables are bad news. Yes, Paul is correct to check the forward bushing and clevis pin, but inspecting the cable doesn't require anything but a hoist. Hopefully the shop that you use will put the car up and let you take a peek. If it does have an aftermarket cable don't be mean to your mechanic. Those cables are so cleverly marketed that he might not know that it's aftermarket stuff. That said, if the cable is original replace it (with an o.e. cable from the dealer!!), and at the same time check/replace the items that Paul talks about. I've seen that little bushing that wears into an oval wear completely through, which created a metal to metal situation which usually destroys the clutch shaft part of the pedal cluster. We saw that often enough at my shop that we kept new shafts, along with roll pins, in stock for both SCs and Turbos!
Pete

spikesdad

Not to beat a dead horse, but if it was the cable, would I feel the same crunchy thing with the engine off?
It seems fine with the engine off.
I feel it with the engine running.
But since I have to do some stuff on it, I will check the cable for OEM and look at my pedal assy.

Thanks....

Peter Zimmermann

Please remember, a diagnosis on this forum is at a distinct disadvantage from the start - we can only use your post and experience, we can't drive your car. Based on that I think that the most logical start point is to do what's easiest first. We know, at this point, that if your car has its original cable, or has been fitted with an aftermarket one, that issue must be addressed first. If it fixes the car, great! If it doesn't then we proceed to the next item on the list. For now we must assume (yep, I know how to break down that word) that the mechanic did the job right, so we can assume that the hard stuff is OK. As to your question about engine on/off, I think that's not valid here because of the significant change in system loads that occur during the two conditions. Good luck with your diagnosis!
Pete

spikesdad

Thanks all....
I guess I didn't realize that system loads would effect that. I guess that was kinda the answer I was looking for.
I'll check it out.
Thanks again