Gattopardo

I bought a 2008 S with 40k miles. Love the car, great value. One problem. My banged up knee hates the clutch.

I drive manual trans rental cars in Europe for weeks at a time (ok, so not literally weeks straight!). No issue. But those Lancia and Fiat pedals are soft. Maybe the higher seat position matters, since you’re sitting on the floor in a Boxster, for sure 3” or more lower.

The clutch *is* pretty stiff. But it obviously wasn’t so stiff as to stop me when test driving. All I thought was “hmm, wife can’t drive it…perfect.” The Porsche repair shop I use checked the pedal and confirmed it’s stiff, but not the stiffest they’ve seen. They think replacing it would help, but not necessarily THAT much.

So I’m looking for ideas…other than switching to a PDK. I wonder if anyone has come up with a stronger pedal spring or something.

Thoughts?

TIA

Mansu944

Stuff is very subjective. My old keep was a bear in stop and go. My 987.1 S not at all.

Gattopardo

I wouldn’t say it’s subjective, I’d say it’s relative. I’ve driven some really stiff clutches, years before the knee problem. ‘70s Camaro, trucks, etc. This Boxster is about a 7 on the 10 scale. It’s stiffer than various Caymans and other P cars I have jumped in to test. And funny, the repair shop mentioned the 987 is super light. Maybe I can figure out how to get it like that.

palestar

My 2007 987S with 70k had a VERY stiff clutch.. Almost as stiff as some of the 80's 911s I've driven in the past. I just changed out the whole clutch/flywheel/pressure plate assembly, and it made a huge difference. I'd say the clutch is about 50% lighter now and on par with other modern cars like the 2018 GTI I had recently.

Unfortunately it's a rather big/expensive undertaking if you're not doing the work yourself, but I'm pretty positive it will noticeably help the clutch feel.

Dave in Chicago

Might try a good fluid change (brake & clutch) as it’s a shared system. The clutch slave provides hydraulic assist and may not being doing its job well enough.

I’ve switched back to the Porsche spec fluid and seems to work well. This service would be cheaper and less invasive than replacing the clutch.

Process is a bit more involved than most weekend mechanics are up to, so may be a shop gig. If you’re due for brake fluid flush (every two years), then it’s a no brainer. Insist they flush the clutch slave in process of the fluid change and follow the Porsche procedure.

If that slave cylinder is leaking at all, it would be evident in performing the above.

Good luck!

vanlieremead

My 987.1S is also stiff. My wife won’t drive it (had to buy her Z4 as a result). I didn’t think much of it. I’ve had stiff clutches before on trucks so I’m a bit immune. The stiffness is caused by the design of the pressure plate leaf springs and not the hydraulics. I kind of figured a stiff clutch was needed to prevent slippage.

I’d also prefer a softer clutch but with an OEM one (at 45k mi), I figured the car was as Porsche intended.

Gattopardo

Right, that's what I've been thinking, it's probably (close to) what they intended, so even a new clutch/flush may not make THAT much difference. I see there's a pretty hefty return spring up top, but then considering the length of that clutch pedal, you have a pretty high mechanical advantage against it. IOW, it can't be adding that much tension when you push it in.

Sucks giving up a 6 speed. I had a F430 before this and I erred massively getting the F1 trans. For 8 years I'd wished I'd bought the 6 speed. And then when I sold it, I'd REALLY wished I bought the 6 speed!!!!!

palestar

When I took my transmission out, the clutch dust had coated more or less everything, including the flywheel to the point where it wouldn't rotate anymore internally (supposed to move a couple degrees). Clutch dust is abrasive and will cause drag on all the parts, making everything bind.

The change on my car was a night and day difference. An hour drive before and I would feel it in my knees the next day, now it's not even noticeable.

Personally I don't think the hydraulics would have anything to do with it. Your fluid would have to be WAY out of spec for it to cause this kind of issue, and realistically you would have noticed it in your brakes before hand.

LimeyBoy

Agree with all the advice above (do several flushes, it could be a component needing replacement etc....)
After I'd been thro it all, done the flushes, checked everything - I realized I just had a clutch that required a lot of pressure. I've driven several 'standard' 964/993 and the pedal efforts are all over the range from normal to racecar.....
Ended up fitting one of these MPL and it has become one of my fav mods:
https://mpl-tuningparts.de/produkt/p...ehmerzylinder/
I don't know if effort was reduced 30% but it reduced enough, a much better feel now, more in balance with the other control effort required. I fitted oem rs clutch and pp and still my wife (who hated the orig) drives it no concern.
I appreciate the link is for 964/993 but maybe there is a 987 solution....?

Schwinn

Yeah, a larger slave will help increase force to the clutch, making it easier for the user. Similarly, I would expect a larger cylinder on the pedal would work this way as well. However, both require custom hardware which doesn't seem to be as easy to find.

It might be easier to hack-in a helper spring somewhere in the system... or to change the pivot point or actuation point of the cylinder on the pedal to increase leverage. Again, these would need custom work, but could be easier than finding suitable hydraulic cylinders.

Dave in Chicago

Hopefully, you can get it sorted into an improved pedal feel.

For reference, my ‘05 Boxster S clutch felt essentially the same before and after a recent new clutch @ 101k miles. I operate the pedal primarily on my big toe, always have, even in the club race car.

I noticed no real difference between this 987 vs my previous 944 or 968 🤷‍♂️. Wife and daughter drive the Boxster without issue or complaints, both are relatively petite. That said, it certainly doesn’t have the same feel as something like a Honda CRX. That was the lightest clutch I’ve ever driven. Great shifter too.

FWIW, first time I bled the clutch slave in each of these 3 Porsches, I got sediment / rusty looking stuff in the first few ounces of fluid. After that, with regular maintenance, never saw it again.

Good luck.

TMc993

The clutch slave cylinder is one of the cheapest yet most neglected drivetrain parts on a Porsche. Oftentimes, they aren't bled routinely (Or at all) and the resulting crud/corrosion buildup results in the symptoms you describe. If your car was my car, I'd take it to a good shop, tell them to humor you and then have them replace the slave cylinder and completely flush the system. Doing so won't cost that much, will give you a baseline from which to work and could significantly improve your driving experience....JMO.

Dave in Chicago

I hear the OP on injury issues, though. Injured my left foot a couple years ago and my spouse ended up commuting in the Boxster for about 10 weeks one summer while I healed and drover her automatic.