pbkirby

Picked up a used '04 Boxster S Anniversary Edition two months ago with clean PPI. Good service record, recommended maintenance every 10K. I just changed the oil at 5K and cut the filter apart and saw no metal shavings. Recent inspection at the dealer noted "late clutch pickup" and recommended a clutch service in 10K-15K, the car has 48K on it now and is on the original clutch. This is a weekend car that may see a DE or autocross or two but will likely get driven 6-8K a year. I plan to replace the IMS bearing with the LN retrofit (have bearing in hand) but am wondering how long to wait for the clutch service. Part of me says pull the trigger now for peace of mind but wasn't sure how long a Boxster clutch usually lasts. Any recommendations are appreciated.

Byprodriver

By all means do not wait for the stars to align any better than they are now for you. Just think how you would feel if your IMSB failed. Boxsters are much more enjoyable to drive with a unworn clutch & replacing early rather than late helps insure you can reuse the flywheel. You're so close to the ultimate 986 don't stop now!

Macster

The Boxster clutches can fail at any time. Ignoring abuse, misuse and the rare mechanical failure they can deliver well over 48K miles of service sometimes reaching into the hundreds of thousands of miles.

Late clutch pickup? New one on me. These clutches have a bit of a high engagement point. The few times the engagement of my car's clutch felt not quite right a brake and clutch fluid flush/bleed had the clutch engagement feeling just fine.

Generally the clutch will let you know when it needs replacing. The usual symptoms are of course slipping, which if you detect any at all means you should not delay in getting the clutch taken care of to avoid possibly ruining the flywheel from the overheating that results from the slippage.

Another sign is the clutch pedal gets hard to depress. This arises from wear that reduces the mechanical advantage and thus requires more effort on the part of the driver.

Yet another sign is the clutch does not enage smoothly or when shifting the gears they grind because the clutch does not release completely.

There are of course problems arising from the clutch's hydraulic system developing a problem but these are rather rare.

There are too the possible hardware failures one of which is the release bearing seizes.

Now if you want to do the IMSB at the same time as the clutch, since the effects a failed IMSB are most severe one could argue that sacrificing some possible clutch life for the sake of doing the IMSB upgrade is worth it and if you believe the IMSB worth it then I can't argue with you.

I would hate to have you postpone the IMSB upgrade to get some more miles out of the clutch only to have the IMSB fail before the clutch required attention.

Added: Running around the last couple of days in/around AZ/CA and stopped into a dealer and spotted a Cayman in for a clutch job. The tech told me that along with the signs above, a very high clutch engagement can also be a sign of a bad clutch. In the case of the Cayman, it had that, but it also had a slipping clutch along with abnormal clutch pedal feel (according to the tech that confirmed the clutch was bad).

Sincerely,

Macster.

pbkirby

So for first clutch replacement is the pressure plate usually replaced as well or just the clutch and throw out bearing ? I need to know what parts to buy from Pelican.

Phi1720

You'll need clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, and new hardware for the pressure plate.

If you need a new flywheel, get new flywheel hardware too.

Pelican's tech article on Boxster clutches is a great read if you plan to DIY. Also, order the triple square bit for the single bell housing bolt if you're doing DIY.

harryrcb

as phi720 said you purchase a clutch "kit" and if you plan on doing the IMS upgrade you should buy new flywheel bolts as well. BTW you will need to purches the removal tool for the IMS swap and for $20 more you replace the RMS