I'm screwed, Help!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Clutch release fork pivot pin seems to have sheared off (see pics), I have a new one ordered, but how do I get out the half that's stuck in the tranny? Also, some of the bolts that hold on the starter gear (?) were loose, are these the same shear bolts that hold on the flywheel, or are they different? Can I simply tighten them?

[anh911]

you mentioned pics? You can tighten the ring gear bolts but take everything off first to make sure there's no other problems. If enough of them were loose the threads could be garfed up (technical term).

[onewhippedpuppy]

[onewhippedpuppy]

Hey, pics work better when you post them! Sorry for the quality, my camera sucks, and I've drank entirely too much coffee today.

[anh911]

ccaaassssseee of the coffee jitters? Look over the fork carefully too, it could have bent from pivoting against the case. I would pull the clutch and inspect it. Odd that the bolts are loose. Was the clutch done recently? Oh, the pivot is threaded into the case.
When you re-install the clutch assembly use an alignment tool and tighten the bolts like a wheel, skip from one side to the other, and snug'em down evenly.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Should the fork be perfectly flat? The bigger question is, how do I remove the pivot bolt where it sheared off in the tranny case? Come on, help a brother out, cleaning the engine is nice, but I'd like to get this thing running again someday.

[Jim Smolka]

If the bolt is sheared, then a little heat may be in order. Recommend a good blue flame wrench. Then a pair of vice grips

The bolts that hold the PP to the flywheel may require new lock washers, bolts, and some blue locktite. Recommend cleaning the flywheel threads with break cleaner first.

The 10mm nuts that hold the tranny to the engine have a 15mm hex. Recommend replacing those as well as the spring washers. (available from Pelican)

[anh911]

You should be able to just grab the stub with a pair of vice grips and thread it out. see the pic for fork,

[anh911]

Did you get the clutch apart ok?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thank you, you all have given me hope. Blue wrench it is, followed by vise grips. I didn't figure the fork was bent, it was slightly hitting the pressure plate when the clutch pedal was to the floor, that's what started this whole mess, then the pivot bolt broke. I'll try getting it out first thing in the morning, but tonight I shall pray. Oh yeah, anh911 the clutch was replaced when the tranny was rebuilt about a year and 5000 mi. ago by PO, probably has a lot to do with my current problems.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Didn't see your post anh911, I haven't torn into the clutch or the tranny any further, is it really necessary to take out the clutch, or can I just re-torque the bolts on the pressure plate?

[anh911]

You don't gain anything by not taking it apart. Cuz it's loose and you have to re-center the disc anyway. There's nothing complicated in there, so it's no big deal, pay attention to which way the clutch disc is installed. I wouldn't recommend the quickie tighten and run. Take an hour and make sure its ok first. Jim is right, a little blue loctite (not red) will keep it from happening again.
You have a Haynes manual?

[anh911]

There's an excellent clutch article in the Tech Articles section. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_clutch_replace/911_clutch_replace1.htm

You're actually lucky that the pivot broke before the bolts started falling out.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's not actually loose, there's one bolt that's noticably out a little, and one more that you can see on the lock washer it's starting to back out. The problem is I don't have a centering tool, and if I screw up anything else I have to wait another week for parts, there's not much for Porsche parts in central Kansas. I do have a Haynes manual, and 101 Projects, I've been meaning to get the factory books but my money seems to spend itself elsewhere.

[john walker's workshop]

the clutch is centered unless you remove it. deal with the bolts one at a time. they may just need to be properly tightened. no more than 16# on those long ones, to be safe.
now don't forget about the first problem, where the fork rubbed against the pressure plate. the question is, why? if the flywheel has been machined, you have to compensate for the distance that the machining would move the clutch assembly closer to the engine, and away from the fork. you would add a flat washer under the pivot bolt washer to get back to the original release geometry. this could be the reason that the pivot bolt broke in the first place, as the fork can only pivot on it a certain amount before it wants to break it off. you don't want to go thru this again. around the outside of the pressure plate, you should be able to see the flywheel surface thru the cutout areas. an unmachined flywheel will have circular marks on it's surface, like it was cut in a lathe. a machined flywheel will have swirl marks from being rotated under a spinning stone.

[Wrecked944]

Matt, breathe deeply and slowly for a minute or two. No worries. With Herr Walker and the other Pelicanites, you've got a mighty team on your side. It will be fine. I rebuilt my tranny and broke lots of stuff along the way - including one of the pins in the clutch release fork (and the speedo disc, and the main bearing, and the 27mm input shaft nut etc etc). And with the help of these guys it all worked out okay. PelicanParts was great about sending replacement parts quickly when I broke stuff. And when Pelican didn't have the part I needed, EBS always came through as a backup. So take a break, relax, have another cup of coffee, and check out this webpage...

http://www.fasterfasterfaster.com/Tranny.html

It will, I hope, give you a chuckle and prove beyond any doubt that someone with mechanical skills far inferior to your own can successfully rebuild a Porsche tranny.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Janus, I checked out your site at some point in the past, and laughed my a$s off the entire time. I now believe that I too need a hydraulic press. John, how much of a washer should I use if the flywheel looks like it's been machined?

[onewhippedpuppy]

I just looked, by John's description the flywheel does not look like it was machined. Is it possible the bolt was somehow damaged during the rebuild, maybe not tightened properly, or just fatigued and that's what caused all of this?

[anh911]

It could have broken from age/wear. There's supposed to be a plastic bushing that it rids in the fork. You should get a new one of those as well.
When you put the new pivot in and fork you'll see how much clearance is between the fork and pressure plate. If it's too close then you'll need to add a washer under the pivot like john said.
John - correct me if I'm wrong but won't a worn/thin clutch disc or someone turning the pressure plate also cause this problem? Matt's PO had the clutch apart a year ago, I would still want to take the PP off and take a look see.

[onewhippedpuppy]

anh911, do you know what the proper clearance between the PP and fork should be? Also, do you know the part # for that plastic bushing?