Andywarhola82

Dear Porsche owners!

Last year I bought my first Porsche, a 2003 996 Carrera. I haven't had many issues with it for almost a year, until recently my clutch pedal started to creak when depressing. It got louder with time and is mostly audible on the top 15% of the movement range. I made an audio recording of me repeatedly pressing and depressing the clutch (attached). Is this something I should be worried about or is it normal? I also noticed there is side-play in the clutch pedal, it does not seem to be huge though.

BTW, I bought WD Specialist Dry lubricant and sprayed it onto any part that was moving (from what I could see from under the wheel), this did not help at all.

Has anyone had similar issues before?

Thank you for your help in advance!

neilll

Mine makes a similar noise and I think it more originates in the slave cylinder pressure plate bell housing area. Not sure how ominous it should be considered.

yelcab

Audible and strange noise from that area is never anything good.

De Jeeper

Look up broken clutch helper spring. Maybe it has failed if the noise is up by the dash.

Andywarhola82

Thank you for your answers! I am thinking of taking it to the shop, hopefully it is not a massive cost to replace, everything Porsche tends to be overpriced as far as I saw..

Andywarhola82

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction! I looked up the clutch helper spring and got this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ing-broke.html

Seems people just ignore the spring and drive anyways? Sounds odd that it has no function besides adjusting the clutch feel. TBH I am still on the fence if I should preemptively to a shop and bite the bullet on the repair costs.

Type65

All that spring does is make the clutch easier to press. I recently removed mine and the clutch pedal feel is dramatically improved. Removing that spring is the first thing I will do on any 996 I buy. The clutch is not even heavy, so I am not sure why they ever put it there in the first place.

So long as you aren't a big guy, the spring is very easy to remove yourself.

GC996

Yeah, you don't need the spring. Harder throw, but IMHO a better throw. Mine broke and fell off while on the track. Didn't replace it for close to 10 years. Then my daughter had to learn how to drive a 6 speed and I put a new one on. Relatively inexpensive part.

Andywarhola82

Thank you everyone, this is great news! What are the odds it is something else, not the spring? How much of a DIY is it to remove the spring? Unfortunately I don't have access to a garage at the moment, is it OK to just leave it in pieces?

GC996

Did it break and the spring/mechanism fall to your feet or is it just making a bunch of noise. If it fell, put it on your shelf and forget about it. If it's still up there making a bunch of noise, it will eventually break off. But you can drive without it. Just a tougher throw. You will know if you have a clutch problem. Ou won't be able to change gears without a he'll of a lot of grinding.

GC996

Obviously if it falls at an inopportune time, it can create some problems as it rolls around at your feet. When it happened to me on the track, I kicked it backwards towards the seat and got off the track to figure out what happened. Just don't be surprised when it does fall. Easy enough and cheap enough to replace at any time.

Type65

My car is an early build so it mounts differently but I had mine out in under 10 minutes with a piece of safety wire and a flat head screwdriver. The hardest part is just squeezing yourself up under the dash. To get yours off you just need to put safety wire or a nail or something through the hole in the back to hold the spring in place and then undo the bolt that holds it to the clutch pedal, and then when you depress the clutch pedal it should fall out. This thread should have all of the information on how to remove it a page or two in, several, diagrams, and testimonials from many happy 996 owners after removal.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...matically.html

The only issue with leaving it in is the annoying noise, and as GC996 said if it fails completely and falls out at an inopportune time.

Andywarhola82

Amazing, this forum is a wealth of information, thank you for your replies and the link! I will leave it as is for the moment, unless there is a real issue with the clutch, I will let it fall out on its own.

GC996

Good news is that it doesn't create bore scoring, aos or imsb failure. But you will develop larger leg muscles in your left leg when you do remove it.

dsbl

Removing this spring may cause issues with cruise control, as that spring helps hold the pedal when not engaged. Without the spring it may trip the sensor indicating pedal movement, which disables cruise control. If you don't use cruise control this obviously isn't much of an issue.