clutch woes

[mikester]

Okay - I did a bit of a search to find the problem I started having today and I simply don't see it.

Today on the way home the clutch started getting less and less effective. When I got home I drove the back end up on my ramps and got underneath to take a look at it and see if the cable. Everything looked good though, the springs were all in place and the cable looked intact. So...I went into the pedal cluster - all good looking there too. I'm no expert though so I thought I'd ask here like I always do.

Whatcha think?

In my 914 if I saw this behavior I would (and did) think that the cable was about to go. That being my first instinct I think I'll likely replace it this weekend or take it the shop on Monday. Is replacing the clutch cable on a 911 any harder than on a 914? It was pretty easy on the 914 and from what I looked at today on the 911 it doesn't seem like a much different process.

Thanks!

[mikester]

Bump!

I'm going to call and order the clutch cable today...hopefully they'll let me will call if they have it in stock...

[mikester]

Well. The new cable didn't work...no help from the peanut gallery? The old cable looked fine I will say but I can't see the metal on the whole length to I replaced it just the same. Only took a few minutes too - it was actually easier than the 914's or the fact that I've done two 914's made me better at it. Still - no joy. It was slightly better but I'm not getting any real clutch action until I have the pedal past half way. I have a sinking feeling in my wallet...

Seriously guys...I'm going to have to rent a car next week it looks like and take her to the shop when I get the chance.

[gabenheimer]

What did you mean by "less effective?" Is the clutch slipping, or do you just have to push the pedal further to engage the clutch? Are there any new and expensive sounds when you use the clutch? It may be the throw out bearing arm. These are somewhat prone to breaking on the 915 transmissions.

[bigchillcar]

not clear on the symptoms here either..is it grinding when you shift more and more? like it's losing adjustment? just before they go, that happens more and more. is your clutch freeplay adjusted correctly? i suppose you've already tried adjusting it at the rear?
ryan

[wilke3169]

My clutch became "less effective" over a period of a week or so. I checked all adjustments and such which were fine. Turns out the clutch fork failed. This requires an engine drop to confim and correct. So, while I was in there...

[efhughes3]

Originally posted by wilke3169
My clutch became "less effective" over a period of a week or so. I checked all adjustments and such which were fine. Turns out the clutch fork failed. This requires an engine drop to confim and correct. So, while I was in there...

I'm in with the others in asking for more description. I think wilke3169 may be on to something here if this all happened in one drive.

Or, if you mean the clutch started slipping, you may have a seal problem letting oil get onto the clutch.

[mikester]

Sorry if m description was lacking.

What I am seeing is that the clutch does not start to disengage until I'm in the last 3rd of depressing it. Obviously shifting isn't easy right now and I'm not driving it. I didn't notice any odd or expensive noises in all this.

is that better?

I appreciate the help - I'll likely be calling the shop on Monday and trying to take if over there Tuesday or so.

[Navaros911]

Same symptom here...

Just adjusted (tightened) the cable (litterally 10 minutes ago) and haven't tested it. And will not test it until somewhere next week... working on it till then.

Have you adjusted your clutch?

I have the old style clutch (unlike you I believe) where adjustment is a bit of a try, and re-try and retry... until good.

I'll be following this very closely.

[thabaer]

There's also the slight possibility of the curse of the rubber center, when my original disc broke it happened a lot like what you describe. By now (hopefully) most SCs have had them tossed out. If you have the old style rubber-centered disc, you may have chunks of rubber preventing the disc from turning free of the outer metal surfaces.

[efhughes3]

I don't know, if it came on all of a sudden, and still worsens, that clutch fork may be failing, they're prone to cracks. If you're sure the cable isn't it, then a drop/inspection may be in thye cards...

[radcon]

I have had this happen to me twice. Make sure that the shear pin on your clutch pedal isn't partially sheared. You're probably to the point where you have to have the pedal to the floor to get the clutch to start to disengage. Remove the floorboard and hold the arm connected to the cable with one hand and push the clutch pedal back and forth with the other hand. You should be able to see some relative movement between the end of the shaft and the clutch pedal arm.

[mikester]

I checked and when I move the clutch pedal the clutch lever that holds the cable to the pedal cluster moves equally.

More and more this seems like it's going to the shop.

Oh well; I knew what I was getting into when I bought it so I won't lament too much. Would have been nice to be an easy fix. The clutch was originally replaced in '86 from what I see in the records so I hope it isn't the rubber center.

Well - I appreciate all the help but unless someone has some other magic she's going to the shop on Wednesday if they will take her.

[mikester]

Well, got the call from the shop today after he dropped the engine out. The clutch is worn to the rivets and the fork is bent and cracked.

New clutch for me!

Everything I expected and the bill to go along with it.

+Valve Adjustment+Oil Change+Turbo Tierods+New GearOil+Alighnment.

I'm looking forward to getting it back hopefully friday.

[FrayAdjacent911]

My clutch failed recently... turns out the throwout bearing ripped out of the pressure plate. Wrench didn't mention if the fork was OK. The clutch lining was pretty worn, so he replaced the whole thing.

[mikester]

OooooooOOOoooo that's nice.

That new fork is nice - let me tell you the clutch is softer than it has ever been. I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with an aftermarket fork to replace the stock cast unit.

The new tie rods and the alignment (and wheel balancing) really smoothed it out too. It's almost a whole new car except now it seems to be running waaaaay rich almost. It just doesn't have the pep in the low end. It's not quitting and it doesn't seem to be backfiring and I would say it's "stumbling" but it almost is.

If I could have I would have left it at the shop but it's my daily driver and I need it next week.

After that - it goes back unless I can figure it out myself.

[efhughes3]

The new clutch does feel nice, doesn't it? I did mine a few weeks ago. Maybe the valve adjust "didn't take", hence the rough running?

[mikester]

Well, I gotta say while the clutch feels great and the turbo tie-rods are great too but the engine is running completely different and not for the better. It's smoking like heck and I can't tell if it is from the oil change or because of a leak - plus at low speed it's making an odd almost rubbing sound.

It's going back to the shop ASAP and I'm not too thrilled about it. The shop has a very good reputation and they have been working on this car since before I owned it (which has only been a year or so) so I feel that they "know" the car probably better than I do. But after he was finished up he said the car felt "flat" but that he wasn't sure if it was like that when I brought it in - fair enough I suppose. Well - it wasn't and I told him so after the test drive but I had to have it next week because I'm travelling - I needed it last week but I rented a car instead. I don't want to rent another one and frankly they don't open up the shop early enough for me to get it to them and be where I have to be (whine). I would have left it there but it just didn't seem that bad when I Was there.

The littlest thing is driving me over the edge right now because I looked under it as I had it running in my driveway and it looks like oil is just dripping down onto the exhaust - I don't know what that oil is from either so now I'm really worried. That isn't the littlest thing either - he balanced all the wheels and put the balance weights on the outside - I've seen plenty of 911s out there without the balance weights on the outside so I think it's pretty commmon - why he would do that I just don't know but it irritates the heck out of me because unless someone tells me different it just is not needed - they can go on the inside just fine.

FRACK!



You know, I'm a mechanically inclined fellow - I worked as a low end mechanic in my early years through college. Is it reasonable that I'm really kind of pissed that he did all this work; removed the engine - identified a few small problems that were fixed while he had it out and now it runs like crap or worse could be on the road to more trouble. Of course I'll be calling him first thing on monday and discussing this with him but what should I expect from him regarding labor charges?

I mean I've read plenty of times on the board that when a mechanic breaks something while trying to fix something else that it's a subjective situation. Either he was trying something with too much force or it was simply ready to go. I'm more inclined to give the mechanic the benefit of the doubt, especially considering his reputation but he identified that it was running real bad before he even gave it to me. Before it simply had a little backfire problem when cold. Now it has no power in the low end AND it smells terribly rich AND its smoking more than it ever has AND it's making noises it never has before.

Considering all those symptoms I'm more inclined at this time not to pay for labor for him to figure out what is wrong unless it is totally unrelated somehow.

Am I off base?

Flame on.

[creaturecat]

Was the car overfilled with oil? Symptoms seem indicative of this being possible. Good luck!

[mikester]

That was my first thought but when I checked it (while not completely warm) it was about half way between min and max mark. So if it is - it's only a half quart or so over full.