Yep. After my 2000+ mile weekend, the clutch is feeling a little "squoogy" today. A little spongy and softer than the normal feeling, sorta like pushng my foot through margarine, and it's seeming to grab at a different point in pedal travel, as well.
It's to be expected I suppose, after all, I drove her like a raped ape to Anaheim and back!

Clutch itself, master, or slave? We'll find out.

Three choices. The Dealer, Gerber Motorsports , or Squiers

 

Sounds like the slave cylinder is going probobly best to replace the master at the same time too

 

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, I think. Looking closely, I see a little dampness under the brake resevior. I think I remember reading that the clutch also runs off this in some way?
If something's amiss, should it force fluid out of this seal when depressing on the clutch?

Here's a couple pics..

 

Well the clutch runs off the same fluid for the brakes. Looks like the seals on the master cylinder are starting to seep, thats probably the case with the slave cylinder aswell, and why you are feeling a spongy clutch pedal.

 

I assume these seals are replaceable?

 

They are but its usually just cheaper ie piece of mind to not mess doing a rebuild and just buy new units. You never know if they are leaking cause the seals are shot or if somthing more seriouse has happened like the cylinder being scored. I replaced my brake bosted master cylinder and slave cylinder over the summer and it was a huge improvement everything is much more firm and direct then before.

 

True. I priced a few things from the dealer today.
Clutch replacement: $2400.
Master cyl replace: $600 ($165 part)
Slave: $300 ($106 part)

 

Just saw your pics Wolfe. Yeah, there is a little seepage on those grommets, but it isn't the "squoogy" cause (unless the fluid level did drop below the clutch supply hose, as we discussed).

MAINTENANCE! No silver bullet here. Ya got to go thru the whole system, to see whats going on. I told ya on the phone about paying "dealer" prices, and we talked about other places to look. If your gonna play...........your gonna pay. Running a car as hard as you did to CA, is just asking for trouble if its NOT been gone over, and maintained. There is no such thing as a "crystal ball" for anyone to be able to diagnose whats really going on with your car here. All any of us can do is to make a few suggestions, and hope that it gets you to the source of the trouble fairly quickly.

You'd better start collecting tools so ya can deal with some of this kinda stuff, or be prepared to really "pay". Basic tools to start, go from there. GOD, it would KILL me, to pay prices like that for something I know I can do (of course, I do have a lot of tools also). And, I enjoy it all for the most part anyway! (when I can find the time). Like I said before, maybe we can get together, and go thru some of this stuff.

Oh...........I didn't forget the mylar washers in my '83 today..........either.

PO's sure are making my life more interesting in dealing with my cars! Oh well, its still enjoyable! Just makes me shake my head a lot.

 

Hmmm, where do the mylar washers go, and do you install them with a left-handed monkey wrench?
Puzzled Mike.

 

I can't really say if it sounds more like a cylinder or the clutch disc center. But even though you drove 2000 miles or so, I'm assuming most of that was freeway driving (I-5?). Freeway driving isn't what kills clutches, typically. Though with the stoopid rubber-center design, who knows.

My car had something like 95k when I bought it. I replaced the clutch with a Centerforce at roughly 100k. All I can say is, it made a HUGE difference...not only in pedal feel and positive engagement, but also in acceleration. My rubber center was TOAST, and was very close to being completely disintegrated all the way around.

My cylinder also shows the same seepage yours does, if not more so, but it doesn't seem to be causing any issues as I don't have any measurable leak in brake fluid (the level stays constant, I don't ever have to top it off). I wouldn't worry about the seepage until you notice the level in the resevoir running low.

Sounds to me like it may be the clutch itself. However, if that does turn out to be the problem, the good news is it's not *THAT* hard to replace, and a new high-performance clutch can be had for almost the same as buying the master and slave cyls. My Centerforce was somewhere around $350 for the disc and PP. I broke down and had a shop do it last time, and I found a shop to do it for $550 labor (grand total of $900, parts and labor). I was in a hurry at the time and it was my only car, and I was commuting 2x a week between the Bay area and So Cal. $2400 is highway robbery! Having been though clutch jobs as an assistant since then, I would certainly recommend doing it yourself, especially if you can contract some local 'Listers to help you out in exchange for pizza and beer...the wrenching meal of choice for most 'Listers.

 

Yep, I drove her pretty hard. It wasn't unexpected to have something spring up after a drive like that, so it's not like it took me by surprise.
I did pick up some tools when I did my oil change awhile back, too. Not many, but a basic socket wrench set, etc.
I haven't been able to check up under the dash yet, but will soon. I'd also like to get my wife to hit the brakes and clutch to see if it has any effect of the seepage from those seals.

Pelican lists the slave at $73 and the Master at $74. But, it doesn't look like they're OEM which I'd rather have, unless the aftermarkets are improved somehow.

I certainly don't mind paying to play, but I'm glad I love my job as much as I do

 

Heh. When you drive it as hard as I did up the mountains...yes...it does hurt. All I-5 driving, but I pushed her really hard.
The fluid is getting low, I noticed. It is currently right at the lowest point of the "X" in "MAX, with the car level. Granite and I discussed it, and it's possible that it introduced air into the clutch when coming down steep hills. It also should probably be changed, since I haven't done it yet.
I'm probably going to take it by Gerber tomorrow and have Britwrench check it out and go from there.
I'm hoping it's not the clutch itself of course, and $2400 is robbery.
Fortunately, I don't have to drive every day.
I'm not mecahanically inclined towards cars though. That's probably a good thing too. If I were, I'd never stop. I'd start building them from scratch.

 

just fyi 2400 is about 800-1000 too much for a clutch replacement...if you do take it in to have work done, find a good independent porsche mech that doesn't charge $100 an hour for labor...

 

Yeah, the place that did my clutch charges $65/hr labor, but they gave me a flat price of $550 total for the clutch labor. They mainly do 911's, but they get the occaisional wasserpumper. $100/hr is just rediculous...as is being charged the full ~18 book hours, since most proficient techs can complete the job easily in an afternoon.

 

Wolfe, if the clutch master/slave and brake master are made by a company called '***' (no relation to homosexuals...or cigarettes) then they're OEM. IIRC, I got one at Paragon.

Anyway, they're pretty easy to replace. I'd recommend a new line between them as well... it goes under the "better safe than sorry" clause...

Anyway, good luck.