Hi folks,

I'm in the middle of replacing my 968 clutch and I wanted to see if its possible to replace the 12 point pressure plate bolts with regular hex socket head cap screws. I *hate* those damn cheese heads! I'm also having a hell of a time finding a 12 point wrench to replace the nicely rounded one I have. The Pelican site says that for the 944 those bolts are M8x50...is that the same for the 968?

Thanks everyone,
Tom

 

be careful, those triple square bolts have very shallow heads, if you look at an allen head bolt you will see that the head is much deeper, there might not be enough room between the edge of the pressure plate and the inside of the bell-housing to allow the allens. Do not assume that the bolts are the same as the ones for a 944, the 968 uses a dual mass flywheel and a different pressure plate and may use different bolts as well. I just looked in the microfiche and the pp bolts for a 968 are 8mmx40.

 

Thanks MHT. The shallowness of the 12 points bolts is my main reason for wanting to replace them. But it may also be the reason why they used them. Maybe not, though, because Porsche does seem to just have an unhealthy fixation on the bloody things.

Has anyone tried to make the swap to a standard SHCS? I guess if worst comes to worst, I'll just try installing some and see if it works, but if it doesn't I'll lose a few days on the project while I order new hardware. Still, if standard SHCSs don't work, I'd probably rather use shallow SHCSs instead of the 12 points.

Thanks for looking it up for me!

Tom

 

Yes, you can replace them with hex-head bolts. IIRC correctly, when I ordered replacement bolts from Paragon they were hex head. I'm pretty srue car manufacturers use stuff like triple-square and torx bolts to **** off/ discourage the home mechanic.

 

Thanks ilove. Now, was that a 944 you replaced the bolts on? I think you're on to something with the triple square thing...

 

Yes, it was a 944. I saw an Audi chassis at the Chicago auto show, and it was covered in triple-squares. I think torx were invented so home mechanics didn't have the right tools to change otherwise basic stuff, and had to take it back to the dealer. Often times companies use bolt heads like that when they don't want the customer taking something apart.

 

Its too bad, because these cars are really not that difficult to work on in general (at least compared to their Japonese peers). I guess they had to ruin it somehow...

Tom

 

My pressure plate has hex cap screws, do believe they are factory stock on this ole 83. OBTW, torx ect are used because they work better with automated/power assembly methods. Now tamperproof torx, the ones with a little pin in the middle of the recess, are a different story.

bill

 

Na's have allen heads

Turbos have triple squares

They are NOT interchangeable - you will scrape the clutch cover if you put NA or any standard metric bolt on a turbo pressure plate. You need the OEM low clearance bolt, or you need to grind the heads on the NA bolts.

I have done both types several times with my own dirty hands.

 

My 83NA has triple squares.

 

you can use triple squares on an na, but not allens on turbo.

 

Uhh, sorry, you're right. The flywheel of my 83NA has triple suare, the pressure plate uses a allen bolt.

 

Hmmm...well that's good to know. I'll check very carefully before using them on the 968, since there are obviously *some* cases where there is an interference problem.

Thanks guys,
Tom