HOW MANY MILES did you replace CLUTCH???
 

I would like to know the life of boxster clutch. Who should replace....... how many miles (or kms) ?? :eek:

Best regards.

You know, this is a loaded question. Clutch wear can be wildly different for different drivers, depending on how they use it (one guy will get 20k out of his clutch and another will get 80k out of it). Mine was replaced at 82k, but I think this was the second clutch in the car because it did not have all factor parts in it according to my mechanic.

As for whom to go to for a clutch replacement, I'd find a good independent mechanic and supply him with a Sachs clutch kit purchased from Vertex or whomever has the best deal on it. The stealership will rape you with factory parts and their book rate charge... even if the mechanic can do it in three hours, you are always charged what the service advisor's book says... which I think is something like 8 hours!

Hope this helps. Why do you think you need a new clutch?

Hi,

Clutch wear is really a product of How and How Well you drive your Car. I have gotten well over 100K mi. on some Cars I've owned (went over 200,000 mi. on an Isuzu Truck and 185,000+ mi. on a VW Jetta).

Most premature Clutch wear is due to not working it correctly, or by driving the Car excessively Hard.

If driven and used properly, I suspect the Clutch on the Boxster is good for at least 60,000 mi. and perhaps more. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I had 107,000 miles on my 1985 Volkswagon GTI's clutch before I traded it in back in 1990. I hope the Boxster's lasts that long...kinda doubt it though.

I have a buddy with a rusted-out orange AMC vehicle (something like a 1971 model) with 245k miles on the original engine and transmission and he's on his first and only clutch! He drives it like a granny though. This has to be some kind of record.

cough bull***************** cough

Nope. It's the truth. This guy bought it new and wouldn't lie to save his life. I do think he put a LOT of highway miles on it though. It's a 3 on the tree transmission, btw.

Randall,

I don't want any bad blood with anyone, if you say the clutch lasted 250K I'm ok with that. My dad had a car dealership for 40 years, most of what we sold was standard shift. The longest I ever saw anyone get from one clutch of combined highway and city driving was 87,000.

peace,

GR310

Hey, you could be right and my buddy could be mistaken, and I take no offense, believe me!

I tell you what though, invent a 250k clutch and the world will beat a path to your door :)

oh its definitely possible. Some people are very disciplined about driving like grannys. Although that has to be a record for an American made part! :p

this make me think of an interview I read with a current race car driver over in England who talked about driving as a passenger with Jackie Stewart at the GOodwood festival of speed in a old Ferrari or something. The racer said "I watched him shifting all slow and and old man-like and thought: Man! this guy has lost the plot!! and then I looked up at the time and he was up .3's on my best time!"

aesops moral of the story. Being hard on Santa Clutch isn't the only way to be a cool sport car driver guy.

According to documentation from the dealership from the previous owner the clutch went till 25k. I have a 90 Jetta in my driveway with 180k on it. The clutch is still working fine but as for the rest of the car...

when i got the S i felt that the clutch was very stiff, took the car to my local specialist, he fortunately had another S there so we could check one against another.
he recommended that i take my car back to the dealer and have them taking care of it which they did, but that only the pressure pad kit would be needed, the change was very noticeable.
car had 45000 mls and i guess a good few done in town

Back in the day I had a 1971 Mercury Comet GT with a 302 2V and three on the floor. Rebuilt the motor and put a new clutch in it at 90k, then ex-wife totalled it at 190k.

On a warm day you could reach through the window and bump the key to crank it. The clutch was still fine when wrecked, but the tranny had *never* been serviced, and the first gear synchro was about gone.

I drove it like I stole it. Bootleg turns on pavement. Four-wheeling through peach fields. Buried it in water once with the headlights under water, and taillights barely out of water, stayed there for about two hours before the tow, and drove it the next day! Had to replace the starter a week later.

American cars from that era were great in some ways, not so good in others, but many were damn near bulletproof! :cool:

Jack

I'm old dude, I worked on all of those vehicles. Comets, Falcons, mavericks, mustangs. Thats when cars were cars, no pussy airbag, the dash was all metal. You get in an accident they just hosed it off and re sold it.

They all had lousy brakes, the imports we had were twin overhead cam 4's with discs all around, this was in '71. They were kick ass cars in their era.

Uh, wow is all i can say. I take it every one of his customers brought their cars back to him for new clutches? How about all the cars that didn't come back for clutch jobs? I have put 150k on clutches without any problems. I just replaced my tranny in my truck last year, it had 140k on the clock and original clutch with plenty of life left....but its a while you are in there thing.....

With that being said, clutch life all depends on the driver, not the car. Cars like a 996 and boxster are going to be driven harder ON AVERAGE than your standard VW jetta or 4x4 truck, etc, so you might expect them to have a shorter average life span. We have replaced clutches at 30k miles, and have replaced clutches at 70k miles, and have stock cars with 80-90k miles that still have the original clutch. Just depends on how it is driven. Now you start putting down a lot of horsepower into a car that is driven hard, then the clutches are usually ready for an upgrade around 50k miles without question. We just replaced a 98 996 clutch with 40k miles on it, with a guy that drives the car very very hard. Clutch disc was fine, but he bent the pressure plate, so it was not releasing properly.

Thanks to God Still I dont need a new clutch. :) I want to know life of clutch to be ready.

We have 72k and no sign of slipping. :dance:

I went 115k personally on my Acura Integra GS-R and the clutch was more than solid. I would have no problem believing that if I continued to own that car it could have gone 150k with the original clutch. My first car though... The clutch only lasted 55k, and only the last 10k were mine. Abuse = dead clutch. Good driver = long life clutch.

I think the variation on clutch life is HUGE!

I once had a 911 that service told me had a new clutch at 13K. When I asked about it, the service tech simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, some go 100K, some go right in the toilet!"

Depends on the driver I think.

:cheers:

For those who don't believe a clutch can go a long long time you may not be aware that you can learn to change gears upshifting on a manual without using the clutch at all. Maybe that is an old timer trick that just isn't picked up by the younger crowd these days.

You need to learn the right engine speed to make the switch. Once you get that down you can be incredibly smooth with your shifts even when you do use the clutch which will result in very little wear.

Here are my personal experiences and the mileage on the original clutch before I got rid of the cars:

1984 MBZ 190E 232,000 miles
1985 VW GTI 203,000

As with most things in life, your mileage may vary. :cheers:

My theory is clutch life is inversely proportional to the number of traffic jams encountered. And left leg strength is directly proportional to same... ;)

Never replaced a clutch yet, all my cars have gone over 100K even with spirited driving. In my high school set, it was a point of religion to keep your foot off the clutch and hand off the knob when not shifting... people would call you on it. I think that discipline helps with long clutch and tranny life.

Like many other said, it really depends on the drivers. To me, I think if you don't ride on your clutch at the traffic lights or on the slope, your clutch will last forever. I recently rebuilding my 1986 E30, it has 275K. I bought it brand new. I pulled the clutch plate out and compared to a brand clutch plate. They almost have the same thichness. HTH.

110K on Honda 1982 "Wagovan" Clutch
 

I am about to replace the clutch in my Boxster because it is starting to slip a little at 52K. But my son is driving a 1982 Honda Civic "Wagovan" that has 110,000 miles and the original clutch. It is not the snappiest clutch I have ever used, but it works.

Ed

:cheers:

My daily beater is a 1990 Nissan truck with 206,000 miles on the original power train. I put 165k miles on my Datsun 240Z before I sold it never replacing the clutch but rebuilt the 4-speed twice due to weak main shaft bearings. Clutches will last if you treat them right.

I use to do that in my Eclipse GST, It had bad crankwalk so the pressure plate sometimes touched the clutch disc, making it hard to shift sometimes, so i learned how to shift without the clutch, it was pretty easy, just get the vehicle speed to match the correct RPM's for the rite gear and it just slips in there quite nicely without grinding.

94 Honda Accord. 5speed. 205,000. Clutch still works. Never replaced. Hmmmmm

Are there any signs other than slippage that would suggest a new clutch is needed or at least will be soon?

67k and no signs of slipping for me.

And for my "long clutch life" story -- my dad bought a '94 Saturn new to use for his daily commute (rush hour traffic through Atlanta), drove it for a few years, taught me to drive in it, taught my little sister to drive in it, and she inherited it on her 16th birthday. She's now 21, and recently donated it to charity due to upcoming service costs, because at 220k miles, it needed a new rack and pinion, several engine seals replaced, etc., etc., all combined around $2600 of work on a car worth <$1k, BUT... the orgininal clutch was still working like it was brand new!

Ed - Where Are You Having the Work Done?
 

I don't think I need a clutch yet, but I'd be interested in knowing about your experience for future reference.

Is clutch slip just when you can pop it out of gear without putting the clutch in (while driving or accelerating)? Or is it if you drop it down a couple gears with the engine reved and drop the clutch and the car doesnt do anything but continue to rev?

My dad bought an MR2 Turbo in March of 1990 and drive it for 360,000 miles in about 10 years without replacing the clutch.

If all you do is drive it on the highway, a clutch can last a VERY long time.

On 911s it also depends on the year of the clutch design.

At a Porsche Parade tech Session I asked Porsche's North American VP of Service how long a Boxster clutch should last. He stated that it was designed to have the same service life as a 944 clutch.

clutch issues
 

I'm not an expert at this, but I think the real reason behind clutch failure is due to burning the clutch out...meaning being at a standstill and flooring it...

[QUOTE=PorscheDoc) We just replaced a 98 996 clutch with 40k miles on it, with a guy that drives the car very very hard. Clutch disc was fine, but he bent the pressure plate, so it was not releasing properly.[/QUOTE]

Hey Doc,
I've got 37k on mine (35K by po) and it has a slight shudder from rest in first, most times, not always, and I've always thought(from past experience) !*&#!*, pressure plate or flywheel, but dealer tech said don't worry about it. Any opinions ? Kinda bugs me.

Boggtown - slippage is exactly as it sounds - slippage. Your RPMs rise, but your acceleration doesn't, cause your clutch is no longer catching. Gets worse as it goes on, until you can have the clutch completely engaged, and you go nowhere. Hope this helps - Anyone care to give a better description?

- C5150

[QUOTE=chrisg] Mine does the same thing, always periodic but frequent. It is actually the Dual Mass Flywheel. Stupid dealer didn't inform me of this until AFTER I had already replaced the clutch so I just left it. It chatters on take off and I get a vibration at 3-4k RPMs. According to the dealer it’s nothing that’s serious just annoying. I'll have it fixed next time I have the clutch changed.

My original clutch was actually never really worn out but I had them replace it while performing the RMS repair. Car had 27K miles, now at 49K.

Many factors are involved with clutch life. We replaced a customers clutch on his VW Eurovan at just shy of 900,000 km's.... all highway miles and we have serviced the vehicle since new. On the other hand we replaced a customers clutch after only one week of use, it turns out he was starting out in 3rd gear all the time in his VW Golf.

There is no said rule of thumb when it comes to clutch life.... when it starts togo south just replace it.

Shuttering (sp?) is commonly your throw-out bearing see if its only when engaged or disengaged. That or a glazed fly.I bought my boxster @ 50,000 I still have to replace my brakes, @52k I did the 60k maintanence. @ 54k my clutch started slipping (in the strangest way I have ever incountered in a vehicle) it would slip at 5000 rpms catch at 5600 drop back to about 5100 and not slip again pulling through the rest of the revs. I didnt think it was the clutch but it was. replaced the dual stage fly and clutch at a porsche shop. (not dealer) I think all said and done it was 2400 bucs. Works great at 60k and the clutch still engages near the floor. Hope this helps!

Clutch replacement
 

I have been driving for over 50 years.I have owned approximately 50 cars and have never replaced a clutch. Like many of my peers, I have always shifted into neutral and released the clutch at stop lights. I believe that and not "speed shifting" is the reason for longer clutch life.