mr pg

Have owned my 964 targa for just a week now. The clutch is very stiff and a friend (who has owned one for 17 years!) has said it's not right. Anyone know what would cause it to be stiff. I regulary have to take it out of gear in traffic, as the effort is too much. Anothers friends 996 GT3 is much lighter than this.

Pedro356C

Definitely not normal...I drove a 964 last week and although my former 993 had a lighter clutch, changing gears on a 964 is not suppose to be "work out"... time to visit a good independent Porsche mechanic...

Jim Howley

Definitely not normal. When you have a new clutch in a 964 you will stall it a lot because the clutch is so light! Makes such a huge difference.

garrett376

Sounds like you might have an old clutch that needs replacement. They get very heavy when they're on their last leg... (or is it you that's got the leg problem!!! )

74carreraturbo

could it be an aftermarket racing spec clutch kit?? I have one in mine and its definitely pretty stiff, quite the workout in stop and go traffic!

Chris M.

The one 964 I've driven with a light weight flywheel had a very stiff clutch, the release point was right off the floor, and the total pedal travel much shorter than mine. Is it possible you have a LWF? If not I'd say you might need a new clutch.

Superunknown

My clutch was really stiff, I also had problems shifting into 1st and reverse. I replaced the clutch for a lightweight one and the difference is remarkable. Clutch is now really light and no problems with shifting They replaced all the fluids etc as well...

J.PELLEGRINO

Assuming the car is not fitted with a very stiff race clutch, I would say the problem is likely the clutch itself or the release lever/shaft/bearing assembly. As a clutch ages the action of the pressure plate becomes stiffer increasing the resistance of the clutch pedal itself. This will not only cause higher pedal effort, but it can also contribute to the clamping plate not retracting in a parallel plane to the flywheel. This can lead to the clutch dragging as well. This problem will present as the gear shift "popping" out of gear and or some added resistance in selecting 1st gear when the car is not moving. The release fork/shaft/bearing issue can show the same symptoms, and can also keep the pedal itself from returning to it uppermost "rest" position on occasion as well. Both causes should be looked at sooner than later in the interest of not causing serious damage to the gearbox and or the flywheel assembly.

boxsey911

Compared to most cars I think the pedal action on mine is stiff. I too always go to neutral when waiting in traffic. At first I thought the clutch could be on its way out, yet it (and the flywheel) were changed only 25,000 miles ago. And at a recent checkover of the car (including test drive) my independent Pcar specialist didn't mention anything about the clutch. From other posts I've read, bleeding it might make it lighten up a bit.

Yet, I have to say that whilst feeling stiff, it has without doubt the best feel to a clutch I have ever experienced. I can feel exactly where the bite point is and it's nice and near to the floor. After only a minute after starting, gears slip into place beautifully. I recently tried out a 997 and found that the clutch was so light there was no feel to it. The bite point was too high up which all meant that I was either riding or dumping the clutch. I much, much prefer the feel of my own 964 clutch (and the rest of the car actually )

This leads me to the question of how do we quantify stiffness of the clutch? In my case I would say that the pedal requires a firm press and I would not want to hold the pedal down for more than 30 seconds while stationary.

garrett376

You should try someone's new clutch - it's truly night and day between a worn/rusted clutch and a new one! After realizing what a new clutch feels like, it's easy to spot an old one!! There is really that much difference. Be careful because it will spoil you - I bought a 964 a while back - clutch worked just fine, but it was heavy. Since I knew how light the new clutch felt, I changed the clutch anyways and it feels so nice.

Superunknown

I agree with that last statement! I would say my new clutch is about as light as a ford ka's clutch!!!! Before i changed it though I would frequently get bouts of cramp after trying to do 3 point turns and the like.

boxsey911

Yes I need to do that. So far I've only tried one other and it felt similarly heavy. It would be silly to go and change mine and find that it feels hardly any different. Especially since, similar to yourself, I find it works just fine and has loads of feel. I think having it bled as part of the next service would be a sensible option first.

I'll have to try and meet up with Superunknown sometime to see what his new one is like. BTW Justin, have you got past the on/off feeling yet that you mentioned on another forum?

Superunknown

Well i thought long and hard about going to Bedford but considering its a few hours drive and the fact that I wouldnt have passed the noise test i decided to give it a miss. Maybe the next trackday i'll make more of an effort!

Still getting used to the on/off feeling. Its as if you get to the biting point then a fraction more an the car lurches forward. Great for getting away from a standstill rapidly but takes a bit of practice to pull off slowly. Im having great fun getting used to it though! Pushing the clutch in really is like a hot knife through butter. Before i had to push my leg with my hands to depress the clutch!!

boxsey911

Mine sounds like it is bang in the middle of those two

We'll have to look into doing Oulton later in the year (105 db static). There's a PCGB day in early November and no doubt there will be easytrack days before then.

bawmnot

Hi boxey911 and superunknown,

I am in cheshire and was also planning to go to the oulton park day in nov, partly to race (currently very much a novice) and partly to get feedback from other 964 owners on how the cars perform. I don't know any other 964ers personally (boo-hoo!), and would appreciate feedback on my car's engine, handling and suspension.
can you confirm oulton would be a good event for this, and also any others up this way (north/midlands/wales) i might give a try?

cheers

andrew.