Clutch pedal dropped to the floor

Maxxie · 02-24-2009, 02:59 PM

Hi,

I've been following this forum for quite some time now. But now i've got a problem i can't solve.

The following happened to my '85 3.2:

I was pulling up and shifted from 1st to 2nd gear. It went bumpy with some 'boinking' noise.
After engaging the clutch the pedal dropped to the floor.
I drove home in 2nd gear and parked the car, thinking it's probably the clutch cable.

Today i've put the car on a lift to take a look. The cable is just fine.
However the throw-out lever (with the big spring) isn't in its correct position.

I've pushed it clockwise so it's in his 'natural' position. And depressed the clutch pedal again. It went straight to the bottom again.

From this point i pushed the lever clockwise again and changed the position of the adjustment lever to an 90 degree angle, adjusted the cable and adjustment bolt and tried to depress the clutch pedal again.

This time i could actually depress the clutch pedal, but the clutch stays locked.
I also tried it with a running engine and the gears grind, so it's positive the clutch doesn't disengage.

I'm suspecting the fork, but before i drop the engine.... maybe someone has a solution?

Greetings,

Mathieu

P.S. I hope my spelling is correct, since i'm from Holland i don't write English every day....

Porsche 2 · 02-24-2009, 03:19 PM

With any luck you have a sheared cotter pin where the pedal arm connects to the horizontal shaft under the pedals.

Zef · Zef's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche 2

With any luck you have a sheared cotter pin where the pedal arm connects to the horizontal shaft under the pedals.

Or the retaining clip has slided out of position to let the pin pulled out...Ask me how I know...!

pcar9119 · 02-24-2009, 05:43 PM

The same thing happened to me last summer, it was the clutch fork. It broke on me going into 2nd or 3rd, I don't remember now, You have to drop the tranny. It's not a huge job, but it's a pain in the ass. Good luck

pcar9119 · 02-24-2009, 05:46 PM

if you sheered the pin, you will be abale to pull the clutch pedal off the shaft. Was your clutch feeling heavy before it stopped working. If it was feeling heavy, I'm confident that it was you clutch fork.

david dolan · david dolan's Garage

I'd certainly check the pedal assy first though, just take the pedal board off and see that the clutch pedal spring is still attached and in one piece. Or, it could be the pin holding the clutch pedal to the shaft. Either of these scenarios is preferrable to a tranny out situation.
Good luck!

jtfreels · 02-25-2009, 01:51 PM

Not to be a downer but, I had both the roll pin and the clutch throwout arm break at the same time.
Not sure which came first.

I rebuilt the pedals but then could never get the clutch cable adjusted properly, turned out the throwout arm was cracked so as I pushed the pedal to adjust the arm bent more. Ah well.

Hopefully yours is just the roll pin, replace it and put in new bearings in the pedal cluster.

Good luck.

Jay

BrokeMyCar · 02-25-2009, 03:05 PM

When that happened to me (on my SC), it ended up being the omega-spring had seized, and then found a different resting location. A little lube and some exercise got it back up to snuff. There's a thread I made about it somewhere..

Babak

Maxxie · 02-26-2009, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrokeMyCar

When that happened to me (on my SC), it ended up being the omega-spring had seized, and then found a different resting location. A little lube and some exercise got it back up to snuff. There's a thread I made about it somewhere..

Babak

I've found your thread concerning the omega-spring, mine is ok. It sits right next to the heat exchanger.
Tonight i'm going to check my pedal cluster, but i'm afraid it is indeed the fork.
I also broke the clutch cable support (915-116-613-01-M100) underneath the tranny during pushing the pedal, so something is going really heavy.

I saw in your you-tube movie that you can depress the clutch pedal by hand.
My pedal has never gone that smooth (or was the cable not connected?)
In a traffic jam i always get a shaky leg from all the workout on the clutch pedal...

Maxxie · 02-26-2009, 07:49 AM

I'm a bit confused of what you mean by a roll pin...

Is it the pin displayed as nr. 29 on this pic?
http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/parts/pedals/pedal_assy_big.JPG

If this break i wouldn't be able to operate the cable at all right?
The cable, throw out arm etc. all move.

jtfreels · 02-26-2009, 08:30 AM

part 29 is the roll pin we are mentioning. What can happen is the pin will break, the pedal will rotate around the shaft but there will be enough friction on the shaft to move the cable.

Have you checked how much movement you are getting at the clutch end? Of course takes 2 people, you under the car and someone else pressing the clutch pedal. Measure using the clutch adjustment instructions.

Jay

Maxxie · 02-26-2009, 09:10 AM

Its easy to check the pin i guess, i'll look at it tonight (european time

)

BrokeMyCar · 02-26-2009, 09:41 AM

I readily could push it by hand only once the omega spring was in the wrong place. Otherwise my clutch pedal is also quite heavy, though not so much on the shaking-leg range. Perhaps my springs are worn out?

The pin is a good culprit - as I understand it breaks a lot, and when it breaks it only kinda-breaks, making diagnosis difficult.

Babak

jrumiano · jrumiano's Garage

I had a similar clutch problem last summer with my 85 911. My problem turned out to be the clutch lever was rusted to shaft. Can you turn the clutch lever freely? If you can't rotate it without turning the shaft you will need to get it off and clean and lube the shaft and clutch lever.

Good luck,
John

Maxxie · 02-28-2009, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrumiano

I had a similar clutch problem last summer with my 85 911. My problem turned out to be the clutch lever was rusted to shaft. Can you turn the clutch lever freely? If you can't rotate it without turning the shaft you will need to get it off and clean and lube the shaft and clutch lever.

Good luck,
John

Hi,

I've dismantled the complete lever, so nothing is rusted there.
I still have to look at the pin, so thats my job for today.
If the pedal cluster is ok, i'll drop the engine.

About dropping the engine.... some guys only drop the engine, others drop it along with the tranny.

What is the best way (read easiest way), the tech article from our host only drops the engine and leaves the tranny in the car...

sjf911 · sjf911's Garage

I have not attempted dropping only the engine. It is not that much more work to drop the tranny as well and I think it makes it much easier as a one man garage operation.

Maxxie · 03-01-2009, 12:47 PM

Well, the engine + transmission is out!!!
Not too much work actually....
So i was really anxious to see the fork.... I don't see anything on it..... :-(
However... the spring on the release bearing had come off. So the shim behind the pressure plate was hanging loose. (nr. 6 and 7 on the pic in the link)
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_clutch_replace/pic33.JPG
This still doesn't explain why my pedal dropped, or could it be that the helperspring went the other way due to the extensive wear of the clutch??
The clutch is worn out, complete with a big groove in the flywheel and pressureplate.
How can i measure the wear limit on the flywheel? (btw, what a light flywheel does porsche use comparing to the flywheel on a VW Beetle!!)
Did anyone ever buy the complete super clutch kit from our host, and what are your experiences with it?

Greetings,

Mathieu