I got to my clutch!!! Look at this mess! PICS

jacketfan89 · 10-04-2009, 02:21 PM

Okay guys...I finally did it. I am SOOO excited that I finally got into this clutch housing. The 9 pressure plate bolts came out easily. All I used was a 3/8" drive 6 mm allen socket with a long aluminum pipe with leverage, and I was able to hold the clutch assembly(to keep it from turning) with my right hand and turn the bolt with my left!

So...Assembly comes off easily and this is what I find!
This is the front of the clutch disk.

Pressure Plate

Missing chunk of clutch disk (Ouch)

Another Shot of the missing Chunk

And last but not least a close up of the pressure plate

So obviously, that huge chunk missing out of my clutch disk is PROBABLY whats causing my shifting woes...lmao. Question is this. See the pictures of everything, could that pressure plate be polished? I am really going for a BUDGET clutch job at the moment. I really can't afford to do the whole job...Plus I'm already adding up other stuff I have to buy...(New shifter, New Sensor bracket, new sensor, new cable clamp, all new bolts) and I can't afford to replace the pressure plate. There are no cracks or deep scratches. Will a machine shop turn it just like a rotor??

Where is the throwout bearing and how do I get it out? Does that need to be replaced??

Looking at the broken pieces what is the CHEAPEST route I can go to get this car back on the road...I know there is an aftermarket clutch disk out there that I will buy, but I want to know about the other bearings and the pressure plate.

Also, I want to make SURE that this gash in my clutch disk was causing my problems. Remember, I could shift when I first started the car which is weird, but maybe as the clutch assembly heated up more of the disk started shearing and thats what caused my shifting problems. Who knows. I'll replace this and we'll all cross my fingers.

Thanks so much for all of the help. There's absolutely no way I could have done this without you guys. Thanks a ton!

Matt Manry

carlege · 10-04-2009, 02:43 PM

Some people talk about using a ford clutch for a car.... Do a search on here and a couple other places I believe Rennlist might have that info. While your inthere look at some of the other pieces. Pilot bearings Inspect the release fork. People say the Release bearing can be repacked and used for 2 clutch disks. But yours might be so old it would be worth spending the 130 for it. (turbo is upwards of 200)

jacketfan89 · 10-04-2009, 06:21 PM

I'll look into that ford thing, but I'm debating this release bearing. Thats $130 I don't have and I don't know if it was replaced last time...Any way to check it??

cvriv.charles · 10-04-2009, 11:46 PM

DONT look into the ford thing. It's crap. VERY ghetto and VERY dangerous. Go the cheapest route buying parts that were designed for your car. That being a 944 and not a Bronco. New or even used in good condition is better than what that guy does with a Bronco clutch.

Think about it this way,... you are already saving a TON of money by doing it yourself. You got that going for ya. Dont push your luck by rigging up some crap contraption of a clutch just to save a bit of money. If the crap clutch fails it will cost you more than new clutch components.

You love you car? Do the right thing. And do yourself a favor,... if this is youre DD,... get yourself a POS car after you get this done so you have a backup vehicle. This way you can park your 44 to save for parts etc.

Airflite40 · 10-05-2009, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvriv.charles

DONT look into the ford thing. It's crap. VERY ghetto and VERY dangerous. Go the cheapest route buying parts that were designed for your car. That being a 944 and not a Bronco. New or even used in good condition is better than what that guy does with a Bronco clutch.

Think about it this way,... you are already saving a TON of money by doing it yourself. You got that going for ya. Dont push your luck by rigging up some crap contraption of a clutch just to save a bit of money. If the crap clutch fails it will cost you more than new clutch components.

You love you car? Do the right thing. And do yourself a favor,... if this is youre DD,... get yourself a POS car after you get this done so you have a backup vehicle. This way you can park your 44 to save for parts etc.

don't listen to the guy who uses bricks to lift up his car...

if the pressure plate surface is even and doesn't have ridges or warped then you can reuse it, just scuff it up with a 3M pad. Yours looks pretty glazed, so the clutch might chatter for a week or two until the new disc beds in.

to check the throwout bearing just set the pp on the ground and pull on the bearing, if you feel a lot of play (up and down movement in the bearing) then u should replace it if you are reusing the pressure plate.

the porsche clutch disc costs like $300 but you can get a better disc from clutchnet

buy this one:

Organic clutch disc with sprung hub for Porsche 944 :: Porsche 944 :: Clutchnet Manufacturing USA

also in the pressure plate check the diaphram (the part with the fingers) for any cracks if you see a crack forming then the PP is done you need a new one.

cvriv.charles · 04:25 AM

Yea yea dont listen to me because everything I said previously is TOTALLY absurd. I mean hacking up a bronco cutch, carving spacers out of steel stock, and riveting them together is perfectly ok. I dont know why we all arent making our own clutches.

Excuse me, im off to make my own pistons out of soup cans for when it's time for me to do a rebuild.

And I rebuilt the whole top half of my old "S" with that car on bricks for several weeks. I STILL have those bricks.

John_AZ · 10-05-2009, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvriv.charles

Yea yea dont listen to me because everything I said previously is TOTALLY absurd. I mean hacking up a bronco cutch, carving spacers out of steel stock, and riveting them together is perfectly ok. I dont know why we all arent making our own clutches.

Excuse me, im off to make my own pistons out of soup cans for when it's time for me to do a rebuild.

And I rebuilt the whole top half of my old "S" with that car on bricks for several weeks. I STILL have those bricks.

Easy now Overkill

Someone may take your sarcasm as truth.

If you put comments in green we will understand your meaning

GL
John_AZ

John_AZ · 10-05-2009, 05:39 AM

When you remove the TO from the PP, count the thin spacers used if you plan to reuse the PP and TO. Here is a link on how it comes apart and back together form our 911 guys. They have the "fancy"

pictures.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/290135-how-remove-throw-out-bearing-retaining-ring.html#post4118892

GL
John_Az

John_AZ · 10-05-2009, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airflite40

also in the pressure plate check the diaphragm (the part with the fingers) for any cracks if you see a crack forming then the PP is done you need a new one.

Cracks may not be obvious but check also for TO wear of the diaphragm at the ends. If you see deep TO wear grooves it should be replaced.

The clutch fork where it meets the TO usually will have a wear groove. Check the fork for cracks and eyeball it to see if it is bent. If the wear groove is minor-fingernail deep, the high area can be sanded flat to meet the wear groove.

The clutch fork rod/shaft "will" have needle bearing tracks. If the tracks are minor, you can take 400-600 grit paper and "buff" the surface. Do not grind or try to remove the deepest grooves. You are just trying to soften the edges. If the fork shaft/rod is deeply grooved you should replace it or you will ruin the new $11 x2 fork needle bearings.

GL
John-AZ

John_AZ · 10-05-2009, 06:05 AM

Pelican forum "Parts wanted & for sale'" and EBay are good sources. Place a WTB-"want to buy" post on Pelican and someone may have "gently used parts"

John_AZ

cvriv.charles · 10-05-2009, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_AZ

Easy now Overkill

Someone may take your sarcasm as truth.

If you put comments in green we will understand your meaning

GL
John_AZ

Sorry dude. Ha. You think I should start using my old name? LOL.

PHillary · PHillary's Garage

Check out this setup it's pretty good if you can wave a few more dollars at it. It's affordable. It's what I have and it's pretty darn good too.

Performance International Autoparts and Accessories - Products

This was for my car you might have to go back to the home page and reselect your car.

jacketfan89 · 10-05-2009, 06:37 AM

The pressure plate looks like it is in decent shape. Can it be resurfaced at a machine shop?

I'll test the release bearing when it stops raining! I just spun it, I didn't pull up or down on it. When I spun it, it sounded just like when you spin a skateboard wheel...font know if that means anything....

Here is the list of what I want to do...

Replace clutch disk(obvious)
resurface pressure plate
resurface flywheel
replace rme
replace to bearing
replace pressure plate bolts
replace speed sensor/brakcet
replace starter cable clamp that I broke
replace transaxle coupler bolts
replace exhaust bolts

if I do all of this, should I be back on the road for a few thousand miles? My plan is to save for the release bearing and pressure plate and replace those at the same time in a few thousand miles...then ishould be in decent shape.

Thanks for the input...I only said I would look into the does clutch to be polite by the way...after all that work I'm not putting ANYTHING that's not meant for a Porsche into my Porsche....lol

Airflite40 · 10-05-2009, 06:55 AM

i doubt you can find a machine shop to resurface the pp, its hard enought to get them to resurface a flywheel with a lip on it like the 944 uses.

you can also notch the bellhousing so that if you have to go back in there you dont have to touch the reference sensors.

jacketfan89 · 10-05-2009, 07:26 AM

Is it even worth it for me to pull the flywheel off then? It looks like it's in pretty good shape when I shine a flashlight on it...

Airflite40 · 10-05-2009, 08:48 AM

of course pull it off. u have to replace the rear main seal...
most shops can resurface the flywheel they just might give u a hard time.

jacketfan89 · 10-05-2009, 08:58 AM

Ok will do...now what is this about having the flywheel and pressure plate rebalanced??

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

A 944 clutch isn't that expensive. Save your pennies. Or go buy a Civic.

jacketfan89 · 09:18 AM

Quote:

A 944 clutch isn't that expensive. Save your pennies. Or go buy a Civic.

man you must have loads of money lying around if $795 for a complete clutch kit isn't expensive. If you want, I can PM you my address and you can have a brand new kit shipped to me and I won't have anything to worry about. :-D...If I wanted a civic i would have bought a civic...I wasn't here to get advice on which car to buy or how to save money. I am here to figure out the least expensive way to get my car back on the road. I don't have a problem going back into the clutch in 2 months. I actually had a great time doing it and it probably won't take half as long the second time.

SO if anyone has some USEFUL advice, thanks a ton.

Matt

cvriv.charles · 10-05-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

A 944 clutch isn't that expensive. Save your pennies. Or go buy a Civic.

Exactly! Agreed. What is it, $600 for a brand new center console cassette lid for this car? Several hundred for a new clutch kit doesnt sound that bad.