FRporscheman

Sorry, I guess "sucks" isn't very descriptive, is it??

The pedal has a large dead zone at the top of the travel, and then it very abruptly hits the engagement zone. Like only 1 inch from engagement to disengagement... So what I'm trying to say is the clutch is very "on-off". This freaks out my mom while she's driving, and she used to stall a lot, then she started REALLY riding the clutch in order to cope. Well, now she isn't stalling it, but the flywheel is kentucky fried chicken. There is chattering and other awful clink clunking noises during clutch engagement.

It does not feel spongy at all.

Allen, thanks for the tips. I did exactly what you said already. I used the 2-man pedal pumping method, then used the motive, then did another round of 2-man pedal pumping. My brother and I have done many cars with this method so we're good at coordinating and not moving the pedal when we shouldn't.

There were two parts of your instructions that I didn't do, though! When bleeding I had the front of the car up. Maybe this is my problem? Also I never thought of using the motive with the pedal down, and then again with the pedal up. I only did it with the pedal up.

Raj, I had the motive about 1/2 to 1/3 full with fluid, and I could see it was flowing to the reservoir fine. The reservoir was therefore quite full. I hope I can figure this out. My mom's been talking about getting a civic to avoid this "headache"... O ye of little faith... the Porsche will come through, just have patience.

RajDatta

Seems like you are using the Motive right. I just did a clutch job last night and the pedal is very linear and smooth. It has the same engagement point time and time again.
Strange.
Raj

FRporscheman

Go ahead, RUB IT IN

So you R&R the clutch components and the feeling is the same? I'm not surprised and I have always experienced the same thing. For my mom's car the clutch pedal was always like this and R&Ring the clutch/fw didn't change it at all. I know if this thing just gets bled right it will feel right.

All the while the beat-up ugly 944 is sitting there with its perfect clutch pedal, laughing at me.

RajDatta

If it makes you feel better, I need to add a little play to the clutch pedal .
So, its not over yet.
Raj

FRporscheman

I heard some people like to detach the slave cylinder and manually pump the pushrod in and out to bleed it.

Another method I read about was connecting the Motive's tube to the slave's bleed nipple and bleeding it backwards, the idea being to push everything (bubble) up into the reservoir.

Any of these ideas really work?

RajDatta

I know the 2nd method is something Scott posted about and if I remember correctly, it works pretty well.
Raj

FRporscheman

I think I'll have to try every possible method, one at a time, until the system works as it should. I always heard rumors that the 944 clutch system was a pain to bleed, and when I did it the first time on the 944 it was super easy so I thought everyone else was just wrong. Turns out I was lucky that time!

968workaholic

It could be that the clutch master/slave cylinder is bad and this is what is causing the abrupt engagemnet.

kwikt

Hey... about how much time did it take to replace the clutch for a DIY? Thanks!

RajDatta

At max 4-5 hrs. The bolts on the exhaust will be jammed and rusted. That should take the longest time. Sometimes, you are better off removing the entire exhaust as 1 piece and then disconnecting it in the middle. Its hard to get a good grip on the top nuts/bolts that hold the cat to the cat back section. Don't forget to disconnect the O2 sensor wire before you drop the cat section.
The rest is not that bad. Just make sure, you get a good contact on the triple squares for the pressure plate. Also, the most important part that a lot of people overlook is lubing the system. Make sure the guide tube, fork bearing, fork pin, clutch hub and any other parts are lubed for smooth motion. Use a lube that is water resistant or else it will wash off.
I recently fixed Steve's grabby clutch, all by just removing it, cleaning it, and lubing it and putting it back together.
Ask him how it feels now? Its pure butter. All it took was time, no $$$.
If you guys want a DIY, I plan to be swapping Steve's flywheel soon, so I can do the work while Steve does the pics and write up. Its about time we start building a DIY library for the 968 here.
Regards.
Raj

FRporscheman

The master, slave, and hose are all relatively new (less than a few years old). I highly doubt any parts are messed up but it sure is possible! I'm going to give it a solid day of persistent bleeding efforts until I give up.

When doing the clutch job, I always take out the whole exhaust behind the headers. It's MUCH easier for me to undo some hangers than all the flange bolts.

Raj, A DIY library would be pretty sweet and I'd love to contribute! I'm working on a heater core DIY, without removing the dash!

RajDatta

That would be awesome. I did the same with my 1st 968, and same as you, without removing the dash. It can be done!
Raj

968workaholic

Arash, check to make sure that your firewall isn't cracked. If it is it will cause the clutch to engage right off of the floor and will make it very diffcult to bleed. I just worked on a car that was having the same problems as yours. Turns out the firewall was cracked. So it would be worth looking into.

luckett

I'm a victim of hte firewall crack also. I remember telling arash to verify that his firewall is not cracked, but I don't know if he did.

FRporscheman

I'm not how I can tell. On my own car, I took a look as closely as I could around the brake master cylinder area of the firewall. I didn't see any evident cracks... I have never looked that closely on the blue car. True, the car has high mileage, but the car has been owned by 2 women before my mom, and the 2 POs were the type of owner to take their cars into the dealer for the smallest things, like a burned turn signal. The maintenance and receipt book is literally 1.5" thick. I doubt these owners drove hard enough to crack the firewall.

I've heard that cracked firewalls can also cause stiff clutches, and my car has a very stiff clutch, so that's why I went to look. Can someone post a pic of a firewall crack, so I can know what to look for on both cars?