Why I need a new clutch… (((Update)))
 

Why you never hand over your keys without a "you break it you fix it agreement" and why AAA makes a good designated driver.

So this is the short version of a long ( funny ) story. I drove the Boxter to a friends house for a cookout about 2 weeks ago on one of the last warm fall days. A bunch of us were getting together on our day off for beer and brats on the grill. I was last to arrive as I picked up crusty buns and kraut for the festivities. This made the Box last in the driveway blocking everyone else in.

My good friend ( it was his house and birthday) wanted to head over to the brewery to get a few growlers filled. I handed over the keys, he's driven this car and my others many times before, and was off to pick up the brew.

The brewery is about 2 miles away, 1/2 hour later he's back with beer and a question… "has the clutch pedal ever gone to the floor and stuck for you?" Ummm… no.

We all went to the car (6 of us now) to see what had happened. Before I started it, I felt the clutch pedal had no resistance and something was wrong.

Starting the car and putting it in gear confirmed this. Barely moved in reverse, just chattered in 1st. My first question was "what were you doing when the pedal got stuck to the floor…?" He answered "deep into triple digits in 4th and downshifting" Nice.

So I'm thinking over revved, slammed into 1st, all that good stuff.

As I wasn't that happy, I'm 1/2 at fault for handing over my keys and as expensive as it may be, it can be fixed.

So my friend feels awful and immediately owns to "driving beyond it's mechanical limits" and insists on paying for the repair. (We have had a long standing agreement that if we break a vehicle of the others due to stupidity etc. we would fix it), never thinking it may happen.

At this point there's nothing to do but drink. We cracked open a pricy bottle of bourbon and laughed it off… He's got a great story to tell about what he did on his 33rd birthday.

Fast forward several hours (it was dark by now). His wife gets home from a weekend away, there's 5 drunk guys on her patio burning a picnic table we disassembled in a fire pit and he's got to break the news to her that he ****************ed up. Luckily her flight was several hours delayed and all she cared about was a shower and a comfy bed.

So AAA came with a flatbed, smelling the booze the driver asked if the car was really broken or if I just wanted a free ride home… who knew this was ever an option! Much cheeper than a cab!

Anyway, now to the fix.

I know it needs a clutch kit for sure. Prices for these vary dramatically online from less than $300 for the LUK kit to well over $1000 for others. The SACHS kit for $400 has my attention now.

New flywheel or not? I know it really needs to be inspected to know for sure but what's SOP with replacing vs resurfacing?

IMS, how does this sound… I spoke to my mechanic ( he's got 3 986s at his shop now) about the IMS bearing since now is the time. He'll do it of corse if I want it done but said he could inspect it first and go from there. He says he's never seen a pre 2000 fail. We both know they have and he said if my car has the single row bearing there's no question but to change it now ( I have a '98 so I'm thinking it's the double row and probably fine).

My mechanic will do the labor for the clutch for $700, my Porsche killing friend wants to pay for the whole thing. We agreed to labor and some extra since I was most likely addressing some maintenance that should be done now. (I won't let him pay for the whole thing anyway).

So that's my "why I need a clutch" story. Any feedback about the replacement process and parts advice is appreciated.

Cute story but if true

you/your buddy would be in for the proverbial $-shift necessitating more than just a new clutch. Even ignoring the 1st gear lock out he would have had to overcome in triple digits (let alone single)...

Your clutch was almost already gone... he probably road it hard though and burned the last bit. Yes, FW needs inspection to determine replacement but lacking more info on mileage I'm going to assume it needs done. To answer your question directly, I'd say replace rather than monkeying around w/ trying to resurface.

Good luck :)

if he f'ed-up the downshift you are most likely into an overrev situation. get your mechanic to put a pst2/piwis/duramteric on it an look for recent overrevs. don't know the year of your car, but if older than 2002 then the 'type 2' overrevs are the bad ones. if any recent time in that zone then pull the oil filter, check for metal debris, and go from there.

Check the DME to see if the engine was over reved, if it spun a rod bearing or just stretched the rod bolts, I wouldn't bother replacing the IMSB.

Thanks for the feedback. My car is running fine, I've already put it up on pack stands and pulled the oil filter, nothing shiny inside which was comforting but a further inspection is definitely needed. I'm hoping it's no more than the clutch kit, maybe the flywheel and IMSB if needed. I'm thinking the clutch was stiff, probably close to the end of it's life anyway and it took one episode of abuse to kill it off.

It will be going to hospital in a few weeks.

LOL, thanks for the AAA tip, I will pass it along to my kids (better than risking a DUI..)

Regarding the clutch, have you determine that the slave cylinder is operating properly?

It may be a good idea to check the hydraulic system before jumping into conclusions, you have nothing to loose (at least it's free)

Like they say; before having brain surgery, try an aspirin... ha!

PS: Hopefully is nothing serious, Good luck!

pressure plate/ clutch cover

Be prepared to replace the dual mass flywheel. Unless it has been replaced before, it is probably pretty worn. Your mechanic can perform a test on it to confirm. Sorry, but its about $700.

Read about it here: Tech Article: Boxster Clutch Replacement

Nothing to be sorry about, I'm not paying for the entire job. I found a LUK flywheel for $450 on one of the parts sites. If I need one, that will be the one I get. No need to go overboard, it's a stock 2.5 remember.

Finally getting around to having the clutch done. Decided to do the IMS ( using the Pelican Parts replacement ) and RMS done at the same time, seems to make sense. As I was waiting for the flatbed today, I decided to put the top down in the garage… no dice. Hoping it's a fuse, relay or bad contacts on either. Windows go down with the latch but nothing from the button, handbrake is on, no convertible light in the dash though (only at startup). Got to reprogram the key as it's pretty much sat for two months. I noticed the tumbler didn't immediately retract when the key was removed the first few times. Same thing happened with the top when I test drove the car before buying it. It correct itself by the time I got it home. The joys of "vintage" car ownership. I'm hoping if I put some lock grease on the key that will fix that problem and maybe the top not retracting is just as easy. Got a few more months to full on convertible season to find out!

You may want to consider replacing the Ignition Switch, very inexpensive and easy DIY that cures all types of electrical ills.......

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Replace_Ignition_Switch.html

thstone gives good advice on checking the DMF.
It is easy to measure the wear incorrectly. The DMF wear parts cost pennies but are inaccessible & unobtainable! It offends my engineering sensibilities to hang that very heavy ,poorly balanced lump off the end of the crankshaft. I had my new one balanced before fitting. The expected life of a new DMF is about 80k miles.

That's a great write up. Found the part for $18 shipped. I'll add it to my list.

Back!!!
 

She's back! Clutch kit, flywheel, IMS, RMS, various gaskets, etc. Bill just shy of $2000 which I get to split with my good friend that started this whole adventure.

As for the stuck top, checked the fuses, relay, switch, all good. Pressed down on the clamshell and we have lift off!

Now on to this.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps6minezcb.jpg

Tahoe vs A3… Tahoe owned by another friend. They need to keep away from my cars!

Less than $2000!?!?!?! What!! Just my clutch and RMS was $2798.55. Quote for IMS was $3500!! What!?

Things in Delaware tend to be way less expensive than other areas. Got the big parts online, my mechanic got the rest. About $950 in labor, $1000 in parts.

Only got to drive it about a mile home because of the apocalyptic snow storm I'm still waiting to see.

And, my old IMS bearing looked fine.