georgie

Hello,

My '89 C4 is making a "groaning noise" when I release the clutch from a stand still in first gear. My mechanic, who generally works on BMWs, says that this is the release/throw out bearing going bad. Beginning stages of clutch problems.

No slippage and no chatter in the clutch.

Does this sound accurate, or could it be something else?

Rocket Rob

Georgie,

Yes that sounds likely. Ask yourself, does the noise happen when you are letting the clutch out in all gears? Does it make the same noise if the tranny is in neutral? You want to make sure the problem is not elsewhere in the drivetrain.

Adrian

Seeing as the 89C4 has a single mass flywheel and rubber centred clutch and you are not reporting a rubber burning smell I would suggest your mechanic is headed in the right direction. I would advise you check the clutch slave cylinder first but the fork and fork bushings aremost likely worn out along with the thrust bearing. Once you have checked the slave cylinder you will have to drop the engine and transmission then split it to find out the problem. Even if the fork appears okay ensure you replace it with the updated version, replace the bushes and ensure the thrust bearing replacement is identical to the one removed. One problem that often occurs is that mechanics assume all thrust bearings are the same. They are not.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4

georgie

Thank you Rob and Adrian. Thanks, but no thanks as they say......

The "mild low growl" only occurs in first gear letting out the clutch. As the car gets up to full temperature there is more likelihood that the noise will not present itself.

As I'm just beginning to hear the sound, how long can I expect the clutch to last.......again, no slippage or any other noise. Operation of the clutch is perfect and the pedal feel feels normal.

The car only has 55,000 miles on it. Is this odd for the clutch to go this early in the mileage history? I have a BMW that I've owned for 11 years with 117,000 miles on it; and I"m still on the original clutch. Additionally, most of these miles have been around town.

Doesn't say much for Porsche engineering.......

Any further ideas? Thanks again....

georgie

Follow up to the previous post........is this typical to replace a 964 clutch at 50-60,000 miles?

springer3

The PO replaced the clutch in my 1992 C2 at 42,000 miles. Porsche clutches handle a lot of power, and perhaps are driven harder than most sedans. My experience on my 1970 911T was that the clutch went out every 80,000 miles. Mostly depends on how you drive.