drmatara

no vibrations at all

H20NOO

A couple observations... First, with respect to the vibration at the clutch pedal, that is an interesting problem since the clutch pedal is only connected to the clutch and pressure plate via a hydraulic line. So, any vibration you are feeling would be the clutch slave cylinder sending pressure back to the pedal in much the same way a warped brake rotor makes the brake pedal vibrate. Not good in my opinion as it indicates a warped, failing or out of balance clutch assembly. This type of problem never gets better on its own and can get very expensive if parts begin to fail and flail around in the housing.

The clutch photos that started this thread show a pressure plate and clutch plate that have been exposed to extreme heat. This is not necessarily the result of intentional abuse but could also be explained by a failing clutch beginning to vibrate and slip. Slipping will generate extreme heat under any driving conditions and vibration can also generate heat as well as making life miserable for bearings and other components.

Conversely, it's not out of the question that someone took that car for a "spirited" drive prior to current ownership and baked the clutch practicing NHRA drag runs. It really doesn't take much more than 3 or 4 high rpm clutch burns to do permanent damage to the assembly.


I haven't heard much about clutch problems on these cars and mine has held up fine despite over 500 miles of full throttle track use, nearly 20k miles driven, and the extra stress of X51's added torque. Maybe I'm lucky but I tend to believe these cars are often abused by car dealership employees, test drivers, and even some former owners as a more plausible explanation.


MC

dstrimbu

Good write up, MC. I think that a lot of newbies think that a 911 is a drag car... so they wind it up and drop the clutch. That's can be an expensive mistake.

Basic laws of mechanisms say that the clutch will lose every time in a battle with the rear tires...

I find that the 911 accelerates quite nicely with a step-off the clutch around 1500RPM and hard throttle application, but... whatever. Just proves that there are plenty of clueless folks around with access to Porsches.

Kinda sad, actually.

Glad that Doc got coverage on the replacement clutch.

99firehawk

a porsche clutch is no weaker then any other clutch, the clutch will last the same under the same conditions as any other car.
drive a mustang or 911 the same and the clutch will fail the same.
IN all reailty, a 4k dump is better for the clutch then a 2k slip,
dumps generate no slipage and no heat, slips do what the those pictures look like.

the dumps are harder on the diff and axles and the tires

chris walrod

I wish you the best of luck -- just about all 911's are great cars -- Everyone should experience an air cooled 911

Back to the topic - glad to hear the problem is getting taken care of!!