rmira

I have a 2006 997 C2 - my 1st Porsche and it's everthing I'd hoped for. I've owned a 1998 M3, and a 2001 M5; loved them both for what they were, world class sport sedans, but the 997 is...well everyone here knows.

I'm concerned about a change in clutch engagement. After a hard shift from 1st to 2nd yesterday my clutch engagement point changed. I drove it again today, and it seems worse. Isn't this a sign of a worn clutch? I only have 3000 miles on the car. Any feedback would be appreciated.

P.S. I observed the 2K break-in. I dumped the clutch twice after the break-in period, experienced tramp, and have not done it again. I don't beat it up, but I do have fun with it.

Thanks

ronmart

The S models have a self adjusting clutch and I've never dumped mine so I haven't seen what you are talking about, but it doesn't sound good. It is under warranty, so I'd say take it to the dealership quick before it gets worse and play dumb. Skip the dumped clutch stories!

B-Line

Someone once told me, everytime you dump a clutch on a 911, put $100 into a jar to help pay for your new clutch. It does not sound like your clutch is gone however, maybe it just got a little hot or sticky.

You know your clutch is gone when you press the accelerator and the engine spins up to higher RPM's but that power does not get transfered to wheels.
The car will drive in the low RPM range but as soon as you go above 3000 rpm or so, the motor spins up but no gain in speed.

It's one of those things, you know when your clutch is going because you will do an aggressive shift, hit the gas, RPM's spin up, but car lags.

B

SYMA

These are not Mustangs.....

Edgy01

After about 350,000 miles in Porsches I think I can rightfully say that to dump the clutch on a Porsche is going in the wrong direction with the car. Go buy yourself a sprint car or something but don't do that to a Porsche. First of all, with all that rubber on the back end it's not the TIRES that will be breaking loose. Something ELSE has to give and what that is is expensive. I like the $100 idea in the jar, but with these cars I think you'll need to up the figure.

PTEC

Does the engagement point seem lower?

rmira

Yes - in fact the manual says if you have a sudden increase in free travel contact the dealer because you may a malfuntioning clutch. I'll be doing that soon and post what they say.

Trust me I will not dump my clutch again. I did it twice a month ago at 2100 miles, experienced severe tramping, (once with PSM on, and once with it off). I figured, that can't be good. I sinced joined this forum and have read all the posts concerning this issue. I've since put another 1K miles on my car - the change in clutch travel occurred two days ago.


P.S. I live in the mountains and enjoy the handling characteristics far more than 0-60 or 1/4 runs.

Porky

Slightly off topic but still clutch related.

I recently was given a new C4 Cab by Porsche to drive and give them bit of a report. I took it up to the mountains and did 800 Km all up. The car only had 300 when I got it. Without ONCE dumping the clutch, the pedal started sticking - I would lift my foot of the clutch but it would only return slowly.....

Eventually, I could not get the car into first gear!!! Going up the gears was OK but going down was virtually impossible!! In the end I had to actually turn the engine off and start the car in First!!!!!! Could not believe it. I returned the car very frustrated. I got a call a few hours later from the sales guy who didn't know what the problem was exactly but said it was already fixed.....So far I have never driven two 997's with an identical clutch! Very strange...

How about you guys? How have the different clutches of the 997's you have driven compare?

rmira

It seems the clutch does not spring back with as much force as it did before, and it is a little more difficult to shift gears.

It's funny the manual says the following, (page 65 in the '06 manual):

"Should the free travel of the clutch suddenly become larger, it could mean a malfuntion of the clutch."

"See your Porsche dealer for correction"

I'll report back after the dealer takes a look.

JasonAndreas

If the clutch pedal is not returning properly, sticking and giving you problems with shifting you more than likely have air in the system. A long mountain drive could contribute to the brake fluid starting to boil but there are a bunch of other possibilities for getting air in the system too. Your dealer may have bled the clutch slave cylinder to get the air out and if that didn't work they might have replaced it.

Porky

Jason

Thanks for the comments - makes sense.

rmira

The tech reported that the problem was due to the flywheel bolts backing out. He said they've seen this problem on several Boxsters but not 911s. I'll be picking up the car tomorrow and advise further.

Anyone else heard of this?

500

Interesting info, next time you talk with the tech ask him about the vibration some of us have felt when pushing in the clutch pedal 4000+rpm

Thanks

rmira

In addition to the engagment point changing, I also experienced and reported the vibration problem. I assume the fix is for all the problems I reported. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Bullet

I have found the clutch on my 997 (M97) to be very vague compared to my 996 (M96). he engagement point does not seem consistent, but the diferences are very small. My M96 was much easier to launch also.

Keen to hear where this is all going . . .