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I have a 944S which I put a new clutch in a few months ago and have put a few thousand miles on. Everything this was good till I will driving and it became harder and harder to shift into gear and then I heard a noise coming from the bellhousing and then the car wouldn’t move. After further inspection I realized it was my clutch. The center of the clutch disconnected from the outer friction disc. Does anyone know what would have caused this? I also put in a new sachs pressure plate. The pressure plate looked 100% fine. And so did the flywheel.
This has happened a few times in the past but I don't think it's happened soon after installation in a street car. Odds are there was driveline misalignment that caused the clutch center to flex a tiny bit which fatigued the tabs between the center and the friction material section.
The torque shaft could have been slightly bent during installation or something wedged between the torque tube and bellhousing. Or the pilot bushing is really bad.
...or maybe the torque tube bearings are way out of place and/or bad? That could put a lot of force on those tabs.
And equally important: what application was it made for?
This does not look to me like a 944 clutch disk. The center of a 944 disk is offset to the friction surface. On one side, the center is recessed and on the other, it protrudes from the friction surface. My guess is that this disk was receiving an axial load that stressed the metal drive plate, which eventually work hardened and failed.
This has happened a few times in the past but I don't think it's happened soon after installation in a street car. Odds are there was driveline misalignment that caused the clutch center to flex a tiny bit which fatigued the tabs between the center and the friction material section.
The torque shaft could have been slightly bent during installation or something wedged between the torque tube and bellhousing. Or the pilot bushing is really bad.
...or maybe the torque tube bearings are way out of place and/or bad? That could put a lot of force on those tabs.
-Joel.
Thanks for all the ideas to check! I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had this issue before. I’m going to really dive into it tomorrow and I will update everyone with the findings.
This is what the correct Sachs clutch disc should look like for the 944S.
interesting. The original clutch and the clutch on my s2 are both the same as the one that broke on me. 944online sells the clutch I put in as the correct one for the 944S also.
interesting. The original clutch and the clutch on my s2 are both the same as the one that broke on me. 944online sells the clutch I put in as the correct one for the 944S also.
I do not see any clutch disc like the one that broke on the 944 online website...
Pelican lists that 4-spring clutch disc as part of a kit for 924S,944,944S and S2. They also sell that 6-spring disc for the same cars. There's nothing on Pelican to indicate why you might choose one or the other.
If you look at Tim's video closely, you will see that the center is attached to the friction surface with round rivets, not the type of attachments circled in the picture.
It might have come in a Sachs box, but it is definitely not manufactured by Sachs. Lots of counterfeits on ebay. Good luck with the seller.
Take a picture of the warranty replacement and we can tell you if it's authentic.
I am running the Sachs KF29802 clutch kit on my S2 for about 3-4 years now with no issues. That includes a number of hard launches for autox and other competitions. Mine was purchased from FCP
Perhaps the OP has some other issue going on, such as the clutch not fully disengaging--the car getting harder and harder to shift seems to indicate something was going on (improperly bled system, issue with clutch fork or throwout bearing, improper shims, etc)
Or maybe the part just failed, in which case I would seek a warranty claim with Sachs.
Last edited by walfreyydo; May 19, 2025 at 02:28 PM.
From: Formerly the DPRK, now seeking political asylum in Oregon
OK, I'll throw out my wild-*** guess....
Angular misalignment between the TT input splines and the crank, causing the sheetmetal drive tabs to flex with every revolution.
Work harden, then break.
Could originate with the bellhousing fit against the block, or TT to bellhousing.
Maybe W-W/O a sloppy pilot.
It's just a guess!
Edit: Cracked bellhousing?
Last edited by Nowanker; May 20, 2025 at 11:51 AM.
Broken spring centered clutch
