Got 5 speed car driving today and clutch is toast?

paulthe2nd · 01-03-2014, 05:29 PM

I finally got my 85.5 944 5 speed up and moving today after replacing the clutch master cylinder. The car had a bit of a weak pedal feel with engaging the gears but seemed to work ok and drive ok for about 5 minutes. I will admit to driving it hard a few starts just to see if everything was in order but nothing crazy. After a quick start from a stand still and shifting into second the car just lost all ability to engage the gears any further. Is it possible that it could be related to the clutch hydraulics or is the clutch or rubber Dampner destroyed? I still have what feels like a decent clutch pedal as in it did not just stick to the floor like before I replaced the slave cylinder. Any ideas out there?

zedsn · 01-04-2014, 04:12 AM

Have you replaced both the clutch master and slave? If so there still could be air in your system. Also, you can adjust the pedal rod down by your feet as illustrated in Clarks garage. You can also look in the bellhousing inspection hole and measure your disc thickness and see if you have any rubber pieces in there from a destroyed rubber center disc why you are at it.

924RACR · 01-04-2014, 06:39 AM

+1 to a re-bleed... also, can you still select gears? With engine off/car stopped, do you still have access to all the gates, and do the gears engage? Or has the shifter mechanism been affected?

Your post is quite unclear on that point, if it's a clutch problem or a trans problem...

You can also verify clutch hydraulic operation if you have a friend; while looking into the bellhousing from below, via the port by the slave (with plug removed), you can see the slave actuate the release lever. While the friend operates the clutch pedal you should see the lever move substantially.

Of course, as mentioned, if you pull out the plug and rubber bits fall out, the problem's likely pretty obvious...

emoore924 · 10:11 AM

Ring and pinion kablammo?

Even with a failed RC clutch, you should still have gears, sloppy yes, but you should be able to select something...

Put it in 2nd (or where 2nd should be) and push the car. If it moves easily like its not in gear, look for pieces of gears in your gear oil.

paulthe2nd · 02:55 PM

Thanks all for your help, to give more info I bought the car essentially as a parts car with the clutch pedal stuck to the floor. The car came with a slave cylinder rebuild kit with the car already in the backseat so after finding this wonderful website I did a bit of searching on this forum and thought I would just try rebuilding the slave cylinder since it was essentially free. In my research here on the website it sounded like a symptom of the clutch master cylinder or hose leakage being bad would be brake fluid on the drivers carpet. The slave cylinder was in horrible condition when I rebuilt it so I was optimistic. The shifter seems fine with it moving through all of the normal gear locations very smoothly, and the transaxle also seems fine, the clutch is just not engaging. I am off to the Clark's garage site to try and learn how to adjust the clutch pedal rod. Thank you again all, I am doing this all with my 15 year old son and we are having a great time together.

Before anyone says I should have replaced the master cylinder at the same time, I agree with you. We have 2 944's and this one is supposed to just be for the donor engine. I was hoping to just have my son be able to drive it a bit since it seemed so close to roadworthy. I don't want to invest any money in this one as we are keeping the other car to restore. Please don't slam me for doing it half ass, I do know better but...

zedsn · 01-04-2014, 02:49 PM

If the clutch slave cylinder that you rebuilt has any pitting or corrosion you will need to buy a new one. Or you could try to hone it out if it just has some crap in it and could be rebuilt.

paulthe2nd · 01-04-2014, 03:24 PM

The clutch slave cylinder had no pitting or corrosion, it just was really gummed up. It went back together beautifully with no issues. I just found Clark's garage site, it is amazing, Thank You!

924RACR · 01-05-2014, 03:59 AM

If the slave was that gummed up, and the car sat... yeah, definite odds you'll need to do the other too.

So yeah, I'd be taking a good look at the release lever actuation via the inspection hole, that'll give you a pretty clear indication of what's going on.

mattdavis11 · 08:01 AM

Put it in gear, fire it up, if she moves well, it aint the RC clutch. The car can be shifted without hydraulics, you just have to match rotational speed.