986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - I can start my Box without stepping on the clutch!

eslai · 08-10-2005, 08:20 PM

I speak with the voice of experience. It's very common for second-gen Eclipse enthusiasts to disconnect their clutch switch (although we can just unplug ours--don't have to rig anything with tape). Reason being that with the heavy pressure plates we end up swapping to, a lot of excessive lateral load is placed on the crank thrust bearing--the release lever pivots on the end of it.

What fantastic design.

Anyhow, the second-gen Eclipses had a bit of an epidemic with premature thrust bearing wear, especially in the earlier models. Making it so that we could start the car without putting a bunch of lateral pressure on a dry thrust bearing just kind of made sense.

But yes, I've nearly put my Eclipse through a wall many times after getting back into the car after someone else has driven it. People tend to park in first gear, I tend to park in neutral...

08-10-2005, 08:20 PM	#5
eslai Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,052	I speak with the voice of experience. It's very common for second-gen Eclipse enthusiasts to disconnect their clutch switch (although we can just unplug ours--don't have to rig anything with tape). Reason being that with the heavy pressure plates we end up swapping to, a lot of excessive lateral load is placed on the crank thrust bearing--the release lever pivots on the end of it. What fantastic design. Anyhow, the second-gen Eclipses had a bit of an epidemic with premature thrust bearing wear, especially in the earlier models. Making it so that we could start the car without putting a bunch of lateral pressure on a dry thrust bearing just kind of made sense. But yes, I've nearly put my Eclipse through a wall many times after getting back into the car after someone else has driven it. People tend to park in first gear, I tend to park in neutral...