G50 Grinding

[TwoTarga]

Just bought a 1987 Targa (G50 tranny). Tranny is mostly awesome, it seems, except for one quirk: depress the clutch pedal beyond the engagement zone, to within maybe an inch of the floor, and you hear a grinding noise. It sounds a lot like the noise you get in any manual when trying to shift into gear without the clutch pedal depressed.

FYI, the PO had replaced the clutch a few thousand miles ago. I don't see any leaking fluid around the pedals, not sure what else to try. I'm tempted to just build a clutch pedal stop, to prevent the clutch pedal from dipping into the grindy zone (the current rubber stop seems small/worn, though not sure exactly what a 'good' one should look like)... just not sure if this sound is indicative of a problem that might get worse?

Thank you!

[bcoats]

May just need an adjustment or perhaps the shift couple out of adjustment as well

[sugarwood]

I know nothing, but did some searching.
A few people have suggested "throw out bearing"

Clutch grinding noise - 996 Series (Carrera, Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Targa) - RennTech.org Forums
clutch issue, grinding when fully depressed - Rennlist Discussion Forums

Clutch Noise - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[tdw28210]

Sugarbritches is right. Throw-out bearing is the classic culprit in most of these cases.

[Josh D]

Impossible!

The G50 is the Porsche Gods gift to 911 shifting!!

Sorry, non-constructive.........

[Steve@Rennsport]

If the clutch (and presumably) the TO bearing were replaced a few thousand miles ago, I would not expect those to be the problem, but if they were improperly installed, that can do it.

I would look at the PO's records to see specifically what was replaced and see if they replaced the release fork bearings/bushings as well. Hopefully, they replaced the slave when the clutch was done.

[CCM911]

I think it is due to the clutch pedal going down too far. A buddy had the same issue, and it was definitely not the TO bearing. You may want to do a bit more searching, as I am pretty sure this is a known issue for the G50.

[Matt Monson]

Old release fork broke after new clutch installed?
Hopefully not this.

[JasonAndreas]

Originally Posted by TwoTarga

1987 Targa (G50 tranny)... depress the clutch pedal beyond the engagement zone, to within maybe an inch of the floor, and you hear a grinding noise.

The back of the release fork is being pushed up against and making contact with the outer ring of the pressure plate. If you look at the PP you'll notice the lettering on the front is now (scraped away) gone. Total pedal travel is supposed to be 140-150mm.

[TwoTarga]

Thank you so much for the advice, all. I should have posted the resolution before now, my apologies... turns out it was a simple fix. There is a movable clutch stop behind the clutch pedal, visible by peeling away the carpet under the pedals. The purpose of the stop is to, well, stop the pedal from travelling too far. It had loosened and slid all the way up, allowing maximum pedal travel. A couple of trial-and-error locations, and (angels singing)... perfection.

Turns out that Josh D was right... the G50 really is God's gift to Porsche shifting! (assuming the owner knows about the silly clutch stop).

-Dirk.

[spidklr]

Yeah, my '88 had the same issue when I got it (it would go CLINK CLINK CLINK when the pedal was depressed too far). In my case I needed not only an adjustment, but a new stop (bent) and pedal box rebuild (worn out bushings) and - unrelated to the noise - a clutch master cylinder (leaking everywhere)