Hi folks,

I'm in the middle of replacing my 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

 

You need a set of these



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

I know that auction is closed but email the seller and I am sure she will be happy to sell you a set.

I bought some and had her overnight them to me when I changed out my clutch. They made flywheel removal an easy job.

The "tripe square" tools available at all my local stores were too long to use on the flywheel, you need short tools to be able to get a ratchet in there.

I used the 12mm out of this set attached to the longest 3/8" ratchet that sears sells with a vice grip on the end to break the flywheel bolts loose. Before attaching the ratchet I tapped the "triple sqaure" into the bolt with a hammer to make sure it was fully seated and to "wake" the bolt. I did not have any problems with bolts or tools stripping.

I had removed the clutch bolts with a tool from autozone, using it several of the heads were damaged but none stripped fully.

I replaced all the clutch and flywheel bolts with new ones when reassembling.

I have used the "triple sqaure" set several times since.

 

Bruce,

That's perfect. Thanks for the link. There's actually a couple of other auctions going right now for the same thing. I'm sure I'll follow your technique for removing the bolts. Did you use new triple square bolts on your clutch?

Thanks again,
Tom

 

Yes, I put new bolts in both of them. They are expensive bolts but hopefully you do not do it too often.

I also replaced the exhaust bolts. I did not use factory exhaust bolts, Paragon sold me bolts and locking nuts designed to be used on exhausts, I believe they may have been zinc plated, they have not rusted in about 1400 miles.

Probably the only bolts I reused were the ones that hold the side of the bell housing on.

 

I ordered up one of the triple point sets. I guess the thing to do is replace one of the bolts with a class 12.9 hex socket head bolt, put the cover back on, and rotate the engine through a revolution or two to see if it hits anything. If it doesn't, I'll 86 the 12 points bolts.

I have the exhaust removed and apart so that I can TIG up some leaks. I've got new gaskets and new 316 stainless steel hardware, which should hold up better than just about anything.

Thanks again, Bruce.
Tom

 

The triple squares are not difficult with the right tools, so other than cost I cannot see any reason not to use them. I believe Porsche used them because they work better in high torque situations. I know many people replace the cv joint triple squares with allen head, but I have taken out and replaced the clutch, flywheel and cv joint bolts and it is not any more difficult to use triple squares.

 

My bad luck with them is probably the result of using those long wrenches from autozone. Hopefully it will work out much better with these new wrenches.

Thanks again,
Tom

 

How did the new tools work for you?

 

Well, I got some bad news on Friday in that the company I'm refinancing my mortgage through said that I couldn't have any unfinished rooms in my house in order to close, which had to happen by yesterday. My dining room was torn down to the studs and ceiling joists, and wasn't fully wired or insulated. So, I had to spend all weekend working on that (slept 7 hours across 3 nights). Thanks to the help of some friends, I was able to finish, but needless to say I couldn't work on the car. I'm out in CA the end of this week and the weekend for a wedding, so it looks like I'll have to wait until next week. Getting close to the Mont Tremblant DE, so I hope I can get everything done in time!

I'll post with results when it happens.

Thanks again for the help,
Tom

 

That sounds like quite a project. Good luck getting the car back together!