When did your clutch fail--A survey
 

My '84 944 is rolling up on 97,500 miles and I will be in a bad position right now if my clutch failed. Should I do a preemptive clutch job or just roll the dice?

I'm soliciting inputs for a little perspective. How many miles did your 944 have before the clutch failed? Did you race it or just do normal street driving?

Thanks for your help!

Mine never failed on me but I would definitely say get it done ASAP. The longer you let it wait the more damage can be done to the tranny it self. If you absolutely must wait then drive your car easy, not going too high in the rpms.
-Tim

Hey if it still feels solid, more power to you. I once put over 140,000 on a dodge daytona clutch. However, if you get any hint of trouble, get it done as you are already ahead of the average joe's 944 clutch.

my clutch went at about 100k, no warning the rubber center just ripped apart one day

I wouldn't change my clutch, unless it was worn, or undrivable (malfunctioning in some way).

Clutch change isn't preventative maintenance, changing belts, and oil is, not a clutch though.

My car had over 90k miles of enthusiastic driving/auto-xing on it when I got the thing, clutch was changed shortly after (see, I decided to go ahead with it, in your position) and it had reached about the middle of it's life. This isn't to say yours is going to last longer/shorter, as usage has a lot to do with how long your clutch is going to last. I can kill it in 5 minutes if required http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/tongue.gif

Anyway, if your clutch fails, it won't hurt anything else, I wouldn't suggest getting it done, unless this is your only car, you take long trips with it, you have to depend on it 24/7 etc, etc.
Ahmet

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It's all the driver...

Mine had to be replaced at 76,000 miles. Not so much because the clutch was worn, but because the throwout bearing was causing trouble shifting.

That said, with 17 years of wear on the center rubber disk, it's already exceeded it's expected lifespan.

http://pages.ripco.net/~jwn/kar/nosetn.jpg
(Removed the huge image...sorry, my mistake)

[This message has been edited by jwn (edited 02-24-2001).]

At about 112k, It broke about 50 feet in front of my high school.Everyone who knew I drove a porsche complimented me how nice the car was, and then asked why it was in someone's driveway with the emergency lights on. The clutch however was not to blame, it was a slave cylinder gone bad, and I was stupid not to take it to the shop when the pedal would stick to the bottom of the firewall. So it took about a hundred miles to blow, and about $1200 to replace(Iv'e heard some go to 2000).So if your clutch is good I think there is no problem to abuse it just a little, but check for problems.

BTW; the one in my mx-6 has 180k+ and is still going strong.

When did my clutch fail? You want to know WHEN MY CLUTCH FAILED! I'LL TELL WHEN MY CLUTCH FAILED, WHEN MY (*&%&(*&^ CAR BURNED!!! There, I said it, not only do the morning commuters in Honolulu know but the whole damn Internet. Actually,it was clogged injectors, I couldn't make it up a little rise to get home.

I burned my car, beat the **** out of my spare wheel well, I'm as happy as a *&%^$#$# I don't know what. The car was silver and (*&^*(& brown. It'll be ressurected silver and black. The adventure continues, aloha, Neal

Kukunaokala,
I recommend Mai Tais on the beach in Waikiki. I found it to very threapeutic.

Dave

OK, I'm calmer. Had 60k on the odometer. Yeah, do pre-emptive,it's less catastrophic(sp?). AUWE!(oh ****), Neal

Hey Divezic, I did a bender. You should have seen me on the side of the road that morning, almost to tears. Lost two new 225/50/16 Dunlops, a rear window but hated the interior and it needed a paint job, so silver and black. Aloha, Neal ex-East Bay Greaser

My clutch has done about 70,000 miles. I've just stripped the car completely, and found it to look ????. I will replace it because there is only about 1mm of friction disc left. What's more of a worry is that the centre rubber looks a little perished. Is it normal for these clutches to wear out first, or does the rubber go bad. http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/confused.gif

Alooooha Neil.

I know how bad those Honolulu rush hours are, I moved from Hawaii in 1999. Sorry to hear about your car, good luck with it. Me and my 944 miss Sandy Beach (Sandy's, brah). We were regulars there. Ever take any pics on Tantalus/Round Top drive? I did.

I ka pono....

Troy, the haole Moanalua HS Graduate

http://content.communities.msn.com/isapi/fetch.dll?action =show_photo&ID_Community=944world&ID_Topic=49&ID_M essage=594

[This message has been edited by thamlin000 (edited 02-25-2001).]