cs pilot

I am helping a friend look for a 997 4s. We feel like we may have found a winner (30k miles). After calling the dealership and talking for a bit, they mentioned the pressure plate had to be replaced 7k miles ago. The said the clutch was replaced while the pressure plate was being replaced. Is this common practice?

mdr2001

CS,

this is common when replacing a clutch - see the attached from Suncoast to see what the kit contains.

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...netransmission

Since the work to remove the transmission is substantial, they replace the 3 critical components all at once. If you want to see this in action (on a lesser car) search youtube.

I will say that replacing a clutch on a car at 23K miles seems a little early and can be an indication of abuse (dumping the clutch) or excessive "slipping the clutch" behavior. If the pressure plate was bad and the clutch friction material was ok - it may have simply been a defective pressure plate and should be ok.

Good luck with purchase.

Edgy01

I never consider a car a "winner" when it needs clutch work at 30,000 miles. It sounds like it was abused. Let the buyer beware!

Bruce In Philly

What is worse, a clutch replaced "early", or buying a car with one "about to go"?

I know more than a few folks that are really poor with the clutch. This does not mean they abused the car, it is just they are not good with the clutch. These drivers may have had low-HP cars before their Porsche and now with these high-HP cars, poor skills can result in low clutch life. I would not worry about a car with a new clutch.

When I purchased my first Porsche in 2000, there were threads on forums complaining about Porsche's poor or defective clutches that were going at 20 -30K miles on the car/model/year of mine. Well, mine lasted 197K miles!!! Then the engine blew and the car was done.... so I am not really sure how long the clutch would have lasted.

When other posters challenged these complainers suggesting their skills were not optimal, well.... you can imagine the flames.

I recommend not worrying about the clutch... indeed I am probably one of the few who think a new clutch is a good thing.... but I would have them dump the computer and check for over revs... now that would tell you more relevant information about the driver.

How did I get 197K miles on that clutch? Rev matching... pure and simple. I heel-toe (actually roll over my foot) all the time. And that clutch had quite a few track days on it too.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

utkinpol

sure, it is good to replace all you can while gearbox comes off, also check RMS and if you got more than 40k miles on AOS - replace it too.
Flywheel can be replaced optionally if it gets worn too much.

as of 197k miles from clutch - it is impressive but sort of defeats the purpose of a sports car IMHO. I killed my clutch at 55k miles, but I was doing AX with a lot of drag racing style startups.

MJBird993

A friend of mine has an Aston Martin that needed a new clutch at 5K. He bought it at 4K. The car wasn't abused, it was simply that the previous owner didn't know how to drive.

Yeah, and don't ask what that job costs.

johnsjmc

I bought a 944 turbo new in 1986 I had 3 complete clutch assemblies under warranty. They would start to chatter after about 7500 miles. I know how to drive . Driven 911,s since 1972 and have a 993 now. The dealer eventually figured out the clutch master cylinder was leaking down and was allowing the clutch to drag. the dragging clutch would overheat the disc and cause the chatter.After replacing the clutch master no more premature clutch failures.
I have also had a cracked pressure plate spring in a 911 carrera discovered when the clutch was replaced because of slippage. Normal clutch life about 55000 mi so routine replacement but the disc wasn,t as worn as expected it was the plate.
I would consider a new clutch at any mileage a bonus on a used car.