Clutch Replacement
 

Clutch died on way to work this morning on my 01 "S" (80k miles).

I was reading some replacement instructions but it was not clear how high the car needs to be jacked up on stands. Does anyone have a number of inches I need to raise the car to do the Clutch work?

Raise all 4 corners or just the rear onto jack stands?

Also, what is the best clutch kit to put back in. Should I be looking at other than OEM clutches?

What else should I look at while the transmission is out. (I know to look at the IMS and RMS for leaks)

6-speed bellhousing is 15.5" high from a flat surface, so add the height of your removal device the trans will sit on. My "S" is 24" from floor to the Silver heat guard insert on the rear bumper cover muffler tip. You want the car as level as practical to aid trans removal & install, also to minimize rear suspension alignment settings loss when you remove the triangular brace panel. OEM flywheel/clutch parts unless it is a dedicated track car. Have them balanced if possible. Fantastic access with the trans out so look at everything! Put top in service position so you can access top trans bolts easily.

If you calculate too low to get the trans out you can remove the bumper cover for more clearance.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1468604929.jpg

You have a fantastically clean garage! It would be a pleasure (almost) to work on the Boxster in that space. Kudos.

If you use conventional jack stands under the lift points found in front of the rear wheels the bumper will be all kinds of tall enough to get the transmission out. When I dropped my engine I had to lift the car higher to get it out, but the trans is easy.

[QUOTE "Clutch died on way to work this morning on my 01 "S" (80k miles)."

Before you pull the transmission - check the hydraulics for issues? Just make sure the actuating lever moves when the clutch pedal is depressed.

I just had my clutch replaced
Ordered the Sachs K7029001 kit
Best price I found was $325 at Rock Auto and FCPeuro matched it
I went with FCP because they had better shipping speed

My car is just under 82K miles and in fact the clutch was still good, but the throwout bearing was completely shot and the DMFW also was done.

Th clutch plate still had around 20-25% life left. I am guessing the TOB was done due to the tracking I do with the car and the DMFW had about 90 deg of movement each way. Spec is 15 deg

I was lucky as several months ago I had found a DMFW that had 9 miles on it, essentially brand new for $125 on ebay so it saved me a lot of $$.

My indy was in the process of moving his shop, so his lift was out of commission and he did the replacement on jack stands.

I know a guy up your way (corona) that will probably do a clutch replacement for around $500 labor if you want. PM me and I pass on his info. He is a VERY reputable shop, does a lot of track cars for POC guys and was highly recommended.

If you pull the DMFW, you need to replace the 8 bolts and they run a couple of $ each

I have a 3 chain engine and if I remember correctly, I used the longer tool for the 1-3 bank and the shorter tool for the 4-6 bank at the same time, as I wanted to lock the cams and crank before removing the chain tensioners to remove the IMS flange as the seal was leaking...

That is good info to know, somewhere I read the car had to be at least 32 inches off the floor.....very difficult without a lift

Pulled and replaced my trans on stands. Was not a bad job. Fairly easy job. Made my own flywheel lock with scrap steel and a welder.

When you start to do this type of work you really should look into a lift. I am not criticizing anyone's efforts with this post. I am merely noting the time saving and or safety of using a lift which are relatively inexpensive when you start comparing the time savings and safety working under the car. I will add that I've had my motor/trans out 3 times. Transmission alone 5 or 6. Changing tires and brakes is an hour chore

This is not a criticism just a comparison I admire what some of the members are doing with minimal equipment. If you look in the pictures Bypordriver has remove allot of hardware to remove the motor at that height. Both suspension frames, both axles, rear bumper, bumper shields, exhaust, Inner fenders, ETC. This is going to require a complete alignment post install. My guess is he has at 10 hours removing on his back and a similar amount to install.

With a lift it possible to remove or install an engine/trans in 3-4 hours. None of that needs removed except exhaust. The Suspension can remain intact so no alignment post repair. Remove Front motor bottom plastic cover. Intake tubing TB and rear cross tube, Disconnecting ECU harness through trunk fire wall, Oil fill tube, water return from oil cooler, Dip stick tube, + Battery cable from front motor terminal, Ground from Air pump, Air Pump and Fan Plugs, Triangle cover and diagonal braces, mid cross members. Unbolt axles from trans (they can stay), Shift cables, and clutch Hyd. line, Fuel lines and PS lines to connectors on under body, 4 Water line and drain water, Sway bar and rear frame hoop. Lower the car on top of your dolly or to raised jack(s). Unbolt motor mount and trans mount. Lift car slowly while also dropping motor/trans jack. AC pump can be suspended on top of engine cover lip, At about 30-36" your totally free to roll motor/trans out on the jack(s).

Trans Is about 2-3 hours. Remove Mid pipes and muffler, bottom aluminum diagonal brace and triangle pan, Sway bar and rear frame hoop. Shift cables, Clutch Hyd tube, Trans reverse plug. Unbolt trans-bell, and Axles. Brace the rear of motor. Raise Trans jack to trans. remove trans mounts. Pry/ wiggle the trans back, Drop trans on the jack 18-24" clearance required roll it out on you jack/dolly

+1 for lift, in general!
Its too bad that most folks don't have the option of accessing a lift and doing their own work. I often wondered if it would be financially feasible to open and DYI shop. I'm sure insurance would be scary!

At $7/hour bay fee, I do very little with my car on jack stands anymore....brake flushes and cleaning rims are about it.

I have no experience pulling motor or tranny but would certainly be willing to do it on a lift. I'll pass on trying that work on stands. Hats off to those that do but I know I'd just wear myself out crawling under the car over and over again, with the incorrect tools of course!

Lots of good info I can put to use. Thanks guys.

JayG, Jeez at $500 its making me think twice about doing it myself, but I do like poking around the Boxster myself and learning more about it. Its very satisfying to fix something yourself, makes you feel omnipotent. ;) I think I'll give it a go myself this time around. Good thing is that once its fixed I'll be getting some Auto-X time in again as I could feel the clutch starting to go a month ago as the pedal preSsure seemed to change.

On friday evening the GF's Jeep Wrangler was having the "Death Wobble" so I replaced the track bar and that nightmare is fixed. I got a big appreciative smile and an IOU for other fun stuff when she drove over the trigger bumps and no more Death Wobble. :D

Jsceash, I had considered a scisor lift at one point but it seems hard to justify when you only need to get under the car a couple times a year maybe. Plus my garage is tight for space.

Dghii, for us hobbyists we typically have the car sitting too long waiting for parts or other todo list priorities to make the Bay rental cost effective.

If my car work is in progress and I get a wind alert for great Kite Surfing conditions, I'll be headed for the beach instead.

Gelbster, the clutch pedal is still working, but the hookup is lacking and if I apply too much gas I can see the revs go up without an increase in speed so the clutch slip is very obvious. I'll check everything in any case and I will have to determine whether the DMFW needs replacing as well.

ByProd, 15.5" plus lift device, exactly what I needed to know. Good to know I can also remove bumper cover if I need extra clearance.

I'm using the 101 Boxster projects guide as it seems to describe things fairly well plus they have extra info online.

Did my clutch on jack stands. I was 42 years old at the time and my knees were crying towards the end. It didn't help that it took me three weeks because it was my first time and I had a hell of a problem with the stupid triple square trans mounting bolt. While a lift would have helped with my knees, it would have been harder to hide the fact that I spent a lot of time under the car just crying because I thought I had gotten into something I shouldn't have.

Everything turned out well though. I'm hoping to be rich by the time it goes out again and can either afford a lift or afford someone else to do it for me. I haven't decided how rich I'm going to be in 40k miles yet.

I'll have to pick up some foam knee pads to avoid tears, I was thinking the skinned knuckles would be the main cause for waterworks and bloody red messes.
Whats up with these triple square trans mounting bolts? I suppose I'll need a special driver or are they common at Home Depot or Autozone?

I think you needed to be rich before you bought the Porsche and then try to preserve your fortune by DIY. ;)
Doing it the other way is just a constant uphill battle, but perhaps the motivation is more desperate and compelling.:ah:
Most guys don't do much unless there's a really nice carrot dangling out front to keep you focused and going in the right direction.:p

I think Harbor Freight sells triple square tools
NAPA auto parts may have themn as well.
I am guessing Home Depot does not

I believe that Sears (Craftsman) has the triple square sets as well

You need a very short triple square for that bolt....

You can see the snap on one I use on the breaker bar on my hydraulic table.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...t/P1010074.jpg

Got my first set from Federated Auto Parts. I had to use a die grinder to cut it down. Then you can turn it with a ratcheting box end wrench. after the second time I I purchace a Snap on set Which almost cast as much as the lift

This is the set I have which also includes the needed security triple square.

https://store.snapon.com/Product-Details-Set-Socket-Driver-Metric-Triple-Square-Stubby-XZN-Blue-Point-9-pc-P646953.aspx

I found that AutoZone actually has a set of Triple Square bits for $15 but they are named stupidly as "OEM 12 point bits".

I confirmed that they are actually Triple Square and will pick them up this evening.

Its been over 100F every day for the last 2 weeks so I'm not too eager to lay under the car for hours.

I have so far put the car up on Jackstands, removed the diagonal braces, pans, heat shields, mufflers and am working on unbolting the drive shafts next.

I'm following the 101Boxster Projects instructions which neatly lists out the proper order to do these things for the best access.

Once I have the transmission out I will be able to see what I need exactly, if its just the clutch or if I need a new flywheel as well.

100F... ouch lollll

Electric fans on both side, place a solid item under the car for ur safety, drink water, a lot ;)

Luck

Probably not a bad idea to replace the flywheel while you are in there

I'm doing this right now.... Lift? You don't need a lift lol. Out of every car I've worked on, the boxster is the easiest to drop the transmission. Hardest part was the exhaust bracket, because its soo close to the exhaust itself. After that was out, the rest came out within 10 minutes tops. Trans and all. A single Tripple Square bolt, 16 Allen head on the axles and the remaining bolts on the transmission and two motor mounts, simple! And the flat spot before the "Fin" under the transmission is the best spot to jack up.... Its completely level here. I did the entire job by myself within 30 minutes tops. Transmission came out and that was that.

I'm honestly shocked on how easy it is to work on a Porsche. I've built race cars, maintained everyday cars. I'm service manager at one of the largest parts stores in the country. And this is by far the funnest and easiest car to work on. I almost want to drop the motor, just to experience it.

We did a clutch and found it interesting last fall. Here is our thread on getting the Box back on the road:

http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/59015-1st-boxster-7th-porsche-we-now-have-4-family.html

The clutch info begins around post #14.

Transmission bolts are slightly loosened except for the XZN M10 triple square, which is awaiting its stubby driver from Amazon.

When I went back to autozone those OEM 12 points were gone and seeing how much torque to other bolts took to break free I though the stubby driver was a much better idea rather than risk a fouled bolt.

I'm wondering if I can just remove the rear 4 transmission bracket bolts or do I have to remove the entire rear transmission mounts as well?

I guess since the thing needs to slide back probably need to remove the entire trany mount?

Yup, the full black bracket needs to come off. Right and left sides.

I got the transmission off with little fuss, although I did not get the balance point on the jack right so lowering the tranny to the ground was not that gracefull and some pieces of wood on the ground helped ease it onto the ground as I lowered the jack all the way down.

Putting it back up will be easier as I can balance the tranny before hand on the jack.

I'll make a note of that balance point for the benefit of other six speed manual folks who are doing the same. I also find myself going back to my own threads to see what I have done when starting to reassemble stuff or take things apart a second time.

I found that my clutch material is about 1/8" on each side think just clearing the rivets that hold the material to the disk. I have not seen a new clutch disk yet but I'd say that its probably reached end of life.

The clutch lever bearing seems to be in fine shape and I'm not sure whether its better to just replace it anyway or not now that things are opened up.
Opinions?

I noticed that the clutch housing levers were a bit more pressed in or deformed on one side, so a new clutch will take care of that piece as well.

I also need to figure out what the test procedure is to test the Dual Mass Flywheel to see if its still OK. Then I can order the parts.

Overall, some would rate this as a challenging DIY, but honestly it was quite easy and as long as you keep track of the order and location of all the nuts/bolts, I put them in baggies and labeled the bag, its really no big deal. I could see how doing this in the future would only take 3-4 hrs now that I know the process and don't have to wait on the special stubby XZN M10 driver.

I am also going to be able to shoot some lithium grease into the starter bearing/gear as I had a noisy disengagement squeal on occasion and hopefully that will be resolved as well.

I can also see the IMS cover and after blowing out the dust a bit I should be able to tell conclusively if I have the dual or single row bearing.

Notice the extended flange on the deeper single row and absence of it on the shallower dual row below.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1471875769.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1471875806.jpg

That disc looks new!!!!!

The back side had a bit more material that the front.

The front just barely cleared the rivet heads.

How thick is it when new?

Mine looks like about 1/8" thick on tranny side and 3/16" on the flywheel side.

Yeah, that isn't good. It's quite hard to see that in the pics but 1 side does look quote thin. Time for a new disc...

Yes, time for a new disc, new pressure plate, new throw out bearing (with the plastic guide where the bearing rides).

Also, you should closely inspect the fork lever for metal fatigue since you mentioned that some of the fingers are more worn than others...

jb,
You mentioned wanting to test the DMF. The rotational free-play test is easily done incorrectly. Following are some links to help you.
Be careful removing it - very heavy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgBxOOTKxMI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPxTbz3XwS4

Way, way, way over complicated. Porsche released a TSB on this very subject:

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...psxevcaf9f.jpg

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...psp7xebpp5.jpg

Takes about 1 min. to do, does not require a ton of special equipment.

The fork lever is the newer style, quite thick metal. I took it out, pressure washed it and inspected it. Looks like new.

Good stuff Gelbster and JFP, I like easy testing and understanding the DMF's function and how it works...cool.

DMF noises seem to be the most obvious clue of a worn out DMF without taking anything apart. Good to know.
Mine is quiet so we will see how the test turns out.

Glebster, you must have a Yellow Boxster based on your username?

My kit came with a longer pivot stud. Don't use it. You want the shorter one. Now mine grabs half way or more up. Used to grab much lower. And I have a creek. Have to pull trans again.

Using the Porsche test procedure that JFP showed us, my DMF was within spec as described.

I locked the flywheel for this test but honestly that was not necessary as you just use a bit of hand pressure to do the test and the compression/friction is enough to restrain the flywheel for this test. Super easy, no tools required.

Ordered a new clutch from rock auto that includes the clutch cover, clutch plate and throwout bearing.

Also from pelican the clutch alignment tool that you use to line the clutch up when putting the cover back on and new clutch cover bolts.

Now I'll have to start gathering all the torque values for putting everything back together while waiting on the parts.

Timco, I'm not replacing the Pivot Pin as it looks brand new and no noticeable wear. Where/What kit did you get?
That is a good note for others to beware, probably should let the seller know as well so they get the right Pivot Pin in the kit for your model/yr.

I also had a thought since the transmission is out siting on a furniture dolly it might be a good time to top up/replace any manual transmission fluids there might be?
Is there any or is it lifetime grease or oil?

"I also had a thought since the transmission is out siting on a furniture dolly it might be a good time to top up/replace any manual transmission fluids there might be?
Is there any or is it lifetime grease or oil?"

There is a manual transmission oil that is gets replaced at the 90K service. It takes a little less than 3 liters.

I bought Porsche magic gear oil (~$30 liter) as I figured I'd never have to do it again.

No, there is no "lifetime" product. Buy your gear oil from Porsche only as they use a unique specification product that is made for them, no one else has a direct substitute. You should also plan on servicing the trans every 40-50K miles, like other lubricant service intervals, the gear box oil is too long.

While you have the car apart, it would be a good time to put a 2 1/4 diameter hole in the triangular plate for future trans service without taking anything apart. The plate is soft aluminum, so a decent hole saw (we got ours from Amazon) will make quick work of it. Be sure to hold the plate up under the trans and mark where to put the hole as it is off center a bit.

Ah, valuable info there JFP, thanks, I better get that oil in before my clutch arrives.
I'm having Boxster driving withdrawl symptoms and if I keep trying to drive my Wrangler like the Boxster something is going to break. :o