AllenM

First off, 1992 968 ~60k miles, LSD, daily driver.
So I haven't had time to crawl under the car and check out the clutch wear through the peak hole. However, the clutch seems to be getting 'softer' lately. It engages at the very top of the pedal travel and in general hasn't seemed to bite as hard. It hasn't been slipping on me, but I've also just been doing day to day driving, nothing spirited or fun.

When has everyone else had to replace their clutch? I know that it depends drastically on how the car was driven. Mine has been mostly around town type of stuff with occasional trips to the mountains. It currently has ~60k+ and I'm thinking I'm due for a replacement in the next year (based solely on age, mileage and feel).

When it comes time I'll probably tackle it myself, so any advice on that end? Stock Porsche parts is what I planned on. Anything special to watch out for while replacing? Any specialty P-car tools needed?

Thanks,
A

968workaholic

60k isn't that high. How are the clutch hydraulics on the car? The special tools you will need are a flywheel lock as well as some triple square sockets. If you are looking for something that will make your car a little more fun to drive consider a light weight flywheel. It is cheaper than the factory setup, if you don't mind a little gear buzz around 2k.

FRporscheman

Hey Allen,
My '95 is on its original clutch at 180k+, and it still grabs great. The '93 is on either its second or third clutch. It's of course COMPLETELY a coincidence that the '93 has been owned by women and the '95 by men.

PorscheDude1

I did mine at 125k miles.

AllenM

I really don't know anything about the original driver who owned the car from 1992-2001, so they may have been riding the clutch like crazy. The other thing is that the odometer stopped working a year or two ago, so the mileage is somewhat of an estimate. (I already replaced the odo gear, but it has an electrical issue with the stepper motor which made it quit.) So the mileage may be closer to 70k.

I did do a brake job last year and obviously had to flush the entire brake/clutch hydraulics. The feel of the clutch is fine, it just engages high. I'll check for air bubble in the line before buying a new clutch for sure.

No LW flywheel for me. I drive the car most days to work and it rattles enough going over the rough pavement and speedbumps. I don't need a flywheel buzz adding to it.

Hopefully I'm just psyching myself out and nothing at all is wrong with it.

dturney1031

I recently bought a 968 with bad clutch that wasn't running and I went with the light weight flywheel from Fidanza. Only negative I see is the rpms drop quickly and if you are not used to that it can cause problems.

For me, it is like riding my Aprilia V Twin moto which if you don't control the rpms on downshifts the rear hops and upsets the suspension.

I bought the 12 point 12 m flywheel tool from Vertex Auto because it was the shortest I could find and there is little room to work.

Also, didn't buy a flywheel lock, just had a friend put a socket on the crank at front of engine and hold it. Also, makes it easier to have someone turn the crank to get at all the bolts.


Only problem we had was getting out the release fork retaining bolt. Had to bend some angle iron and force it out by turning a longer bolt in the end of it.
That took longer than anything else. You probably won't have that problem.

FRporscheman

dturney, welcome to rennlist! With your fidanza, how is the quality of engagement? And do you feel any vibrations, rattling or buzzing from the drivetrain?

dturney1031

I had several 944's before, and I think the engagement on the new set up on the 968 is much more positive. By son compared it to driving a 951 and he too felt it was much more positive. As to vibrations, perhaps a little more buzz, but I think if I isolate the catalytic converter better that sympathetic most of the noise will go away.

So far I am very happy, and the car really pulls in every gear and particularly at low rpm's

Thanks for the welcome.

And, with the Fidanza if you need to replace a clutch you can easily replace the face on the Fidanza without removing the flywheel.

FRporscheman

Very cool. I'm battling some buzzy-ness issues that I can't simply tolerate. Most people I ask say that some buzz is introduced with a LWF but it's tolerable. Maybe my flywheel is just poorly balanced... even though it was resurfaced right before I put it in.

kwikt

Just replaced the clutch and duel mass flywheel at 120,000 miles. The disk on the flywheel side was totally gone. Driving home in 1st gear was no fun but only a few miles from home when it took a s##t.

Kevin

dturney1031

I had the flywheel and pressure plate balanced at a machine shop before installation. Interesting part was the pressure plate was in balance, but the flywheel needed one small notch taken out.

Also, I was told one can not resurface a dual face flywheel. So I bought the Fidanza which can be fixed by adding a new surface plate without taking it out.

Hope that helps. Again, the only buzziness I get is through the catalytic converter which I think I can isolate noise.

Very happy so far. The increase in performance is amazing. Now to make it breathe better and I think I am fine.

AllenM

So I finally crawled under and took a peek through the clutch inspection hole.
I measured 27mm and according to Clarks Garage, 18mm = new clutch and 34mm = replacement time. I also took it out for some highspeed runs and shifted hard 1-2-3 a few times and it grabbed hard enough with no slipping. So I should have some more years in this clutch.

It seems like the engagement point moved up and started feeling softer after doing a full brake job, clutch master, clutch slave, SS Clutch and brake hoses. I was expecting it to feel more solid after the new hydraulics and SS clutch hose. I spent a lot of time bleeding the clutch making sure to get it right, but maybe there is a bubble trapped in there making it feel soft. The only thing is that I would think that would move the engagement down not up. I'll have to investigate further.

Any other ideas? Maybe I need to drive someone else's 968 for a comparison. Any Atl 968 owners willing to meet up and do some driving?

Todd951968

I also have a '92 and noticed the clutch was off at almost the exact same milage as yours. I took it to the dealer and they said it wasn't the clutch but sure enough, by 64k miles I took it back and they confirmed it was. Flywheel was fine.

Symptoms were also that it was a little softer with no bite but little to no slip. It eventually did start slipping in higher gears under load. I'd say there is a good chance its the clutch.

Also, FWIW, a woman owned the car prior to me, up to 42k miles. Maybe the same one that owned FRporscheman's?

FRporscheman

LOL. I'm sure my P-PO is the only woman who has worn out a clutch though!

Allen, by softer, what do you mean exactly? Is it just easier to push the pedal, or did it become squishy, or longer total travel from engagement to disengagement? Clutches are fickle systems, I find.

BTW I ended up buying a harmonic balancer pulley (944S2) new from Porsche. I will put it on this weekend and then I can finally drive the car again! I was too scared to drive the car with that rattling - I just couldn't shake the image of cracked pickup tube.

trackdaycareracer

Are the numbers (18mm = new clutch and 34mm = replacement time) valid for 968s as well? The Clark's Garage write-up is for 944s, and the clutch housing, fork, flywheel, etc. are different from the 968.