Miles Per Clutch

[Targa Me]

Hey Folks !

I was just wondering; about how many miles do you get out of a clutch disc? I know a lot depends on driving habits and such.
I have almost 100k on my clutch now.

[widgeon13]

In 45 years of driving, I've only replaced one clutch. That was on a 72 BMW Bavaria at 150K. I bought it new when I was in Germany. I've had many std. shift cars w/ over 100K and never replaced a clutch on any of them including my current Pcar. My wife also drove many of those cars and has always been an excellent driver of stick shift cars. In uncongested driving, I usually use the engine to slow the car down before braking, don't know if that helps or hurts but it's always been my driving habit.

As you mention, much depends on how the driver treats the car, I suppose the kind of driving as well, city vs highway.

I have also known people who have gone through a clutch in 30K.

[86 911 Targa]

We replaced the original clutch in our '86 at 103,289 miles.

[jlex]

Not only driving habits, but depends on where you drive. Hilly country is a lot more punishing than driving on flat land.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Targa Me

Hey Folks !

I was just wondering; about how many miles do you get out of a clutch disc? I know a lot depends on driving habits and such.
I have almost 100k on my clutch now.

You need to tell us what your car (year, etc.) is, for instance, some of the original SC clutches (rubber centered) were fairly short lived.

There are WAAAAAY too many variables to give a good answer anyway.

Terrain, driving style (clutch slipper? drag racer?), engine, car...

Could be 30k miles, could be 130k miles.

[carreraken]

I got 125k on the original clutch on my 85. The rivets on the clutch disc were just starting to get ground away.

edit: I didn't replace it because it was showing any signs of slipping - but because I was getting too nervous about taking long trips knowing that my clutch was nearing end of life... turns out it was perfect timing.

[McLovin]

I've replaced a couple of clutches, but only because I had the engine and trans out for other reasons and it was a "while you are in there" thing.

I've never replaced a clutch because it was worn out.

The most miles I've ever done was 180K, and the clutch worked fine when I sold the car.

[Targa Me]

I'm aware of all the variables...
As far as I'm concerned: the car is an '84 Carrera with a stock 3.2 and my driving habits are non racer, not a ride-the-clutch kind of guy, mostly highway driving... but like I said, I was just curious what you guys were getting.

[ChkbookMechanic]

I have an '84 Carrera that I use for track days and an occasional drive to and from work. The drivetrain has never been dropped from the car, so the clutch has 107k on it.

[rnln]

don't remember which year but we have rubber disk clutch which sometimes fail prematurely. Mine is making noise at around 70k+ miles. The rubber disk start cracking and separating

[tcar]

Originally Posted by rnln

don't remember which year but we have rubber disk clutch which sometimes fail prematurely. Mine is making noise at around 70k+ miles. The rubber disk start cracking and separating

Those were only on SC's. 78-83.

[gtc]

Mine was replaced at 87k, 160k, and 210k. The last one was a 'while you're in there' replacement, and was about halfway worn out.

[Peter Zimmermann]

The two primary limiting factors for clutch life on a 915 or earlier P-car are; (1) a leaking main shaft seal that allows trans oil to contaminate the disc, or (2) abuse.

#1 can happen at any time between 30,000 miles and 125,000+ miles, with 75-80,000 miles being typical. Improved seal technology has given clutches extended life.

#2 can be anything from frequent valet parking, to competition use, to poor driving habits.

Other things that can influence clutch life are the throw out bearing release fork (which can break), the crankshaft seal behind the flywheel (which can leak), the throw out bearing (which can get noisy/seize), or a broken pressure plate (extremely rare on pull-type clutches).

Benefits of not trying to set a world record for mileage (the parts replaced with the clutch are not designed to last more than 100,000 miles) are;
1. Replacement of the above-mentioned seals,
2. Replacement of the pilot shaft bushing/bearing (when this part fails it can damage the tip of the transmission main shaft badly enough to require replacement),
3. Replacement/resurface the flywheel,
4. Replacement of the TO bearing fork and its seal (915),
5. Clean & grease the TO bearing fork's shaft,
6. Replace the clutch disc, pressure plate & TO bearing as a kit.

FYI: The spring hub clutch disc, that replaced the rubber hub disc used in early SCs, was fitted to new 1982/83 SCs from the factory.

[tcar]

There you go... ask Peter...

He wrote the book. Literally.

[KCinBR]

Cant really add much to what has already been posted, but thelife of the clutch is really in the drivers hands (or feet).
That said I had to replace the clutch in my 88 Carrera at about 120k miles because of TOB failure, decided to do it all while I was in there, but the clutch actually had lots of life still in it,

[KCinBR]

Originally Posted by tcar

Those were only on SC's. 78-83.

My car is an 88 and had the ribber center clutch, replaced with spring center

[SpeedracerIndy]

Originally Posted by tcar

Those were only on SC's. 78-83.

When you're talking Porsche 911's, and particularly aircooled 911's, there is an exception to every rule.

I know that my 81 euro SC had an original clutch when I replaced it, and it was a spring centered clutch. I also know from reading this board that most US spec Carreras seem to have rubber centered clutches. So, I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. I don't think there is any concrete way to tell which clutch you have without physically taking it out of the car.

To the original poster's question: My euro SC had about 80,000 miles on the original clutch when I replaced it. It had worn down to the rivets and gotten into the flywheel a little. I did not know I needed a clutch, but had dropped the engine to rebuild the transmission when I discovered it. Since replacing my clutch, I had the cable adjusted incorrectly for several thousand miles. Upon dropping the engine a second time to fix oil leaks, I discovered that the clutch had worn prematurely due to the incorrect cable adjustment. So, there's another way you can burn through a clutch disc quickly.