Trying to save the last of my clutch

[Lordblood]

The biting point is quite high, and before I bought the car an independent mechanic (specializes in Ferrari and Porsche) diagnosed a worn out clutch and small oil leak as the two main things wrong with the car, apparently a 1700 dollar repair altogether.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Lordblood

The biting point is quite high, and before I bought the car an independent mechanic (specializes in Ferrari and Porsche) diagnosed a worn out clutch and small oil leak as the two main things wrong with the car, apparently a 1700 dollar repair altogether.

Clutch slipping in high gear is the best way to tell if it's on it's way out. If you're in 5th gear, you hit the gas and the RPMs rise but the car doesn't speed up, you're clutch is on it's way out. There's no need to replace it if it's not doing this and it isn't damaged in some other way.

[Brad Roberts]

The biting point is quite high,

This is the sign that ALL push clutches exhibit when the disc is getting thin. Same for 964's/993's/986's/ everything.. Your mechanic is correct. The disc is worn.

Someone above was trying to tell you to shift at peek torque for each gear. You *should* be able to do this by feel.

Double clutch up or blip down? Not on the street. Complete wast of gas blipping down on the street. Even my pro drivers only blip into the actual gear they need to conserve GAS.

You can lift throttle upshift these tranny's at peak torque. They are NOTHING like the early 901/915/930 boxes of yesteryear. These have Borg-Warner synchro's in them just like the Vettes and Vipers do. I don't recommend it driving it this way for very long, but if the clutch fails on you.. you certainly can to get it wherever you need to. Clutch fails: put it in first gear with the engine off and start the car with it in gear. It will shutter, but it will start and take off in first, then bring the engine up to peek torque, lift throttle, and pull the shifter back into second. Come to a light? lift throttle and take the car out of gear, shut it off, coast.. come to stop put it in 1st, hit the starter again when the light goes green.

Long before you do that Get AAA Your starter will thank you for it. The above technique should be used when out in the middle of nowhere. I have driven a Boxster from San Jose to LA with no clutch. I only stopped once to use the mens room


B

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Brad Roberts

This is the sign that ALL push clutches exhibit when the disc is getting thin. Same for 964's/993's/986's/ everything.. Your mechanic is correct. The disc is worn.
B

Even if the biting point is high, if it's still gripping, the clutch is still working. If you wait until it slips, you have used it to the end of it's life. Why replace it before that?

[Dragonwind]

This got me thinking that I should get mine done sooner rather than later. My car is about to hit 70k and the clutch still seems okay, but you never really know. Well, here goes another big expense but rather do this than blow the clutch at an AX event.
Chris

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

This got me thinking that I should get mine done sooner rather than later. My car is about to hit 70k and the clutch still seems okay, but you never really know. Well, here goes another big expense but rather do this than blow the clutch at an AX event.
Chris

Why? There's nothing disastrous that can happen.

[Dragonwind]

Well let me ask you all this then. When you say 'bite' on the clutch, is it where you first feel the beginning of the resistance of the clutch or when you feel full connection? Assuming it is the former that you are talking about then mine is still low. However, at 70k my mechanic, who is quite good, was surprised it was lasting this long.

Chris

[Brad Roberts]

Be prepared


The current pricing on the stock flywheel is $977. If your flywheel is still good, then they will reuse it and the parts pricing for disc/pp/t-out will be around $500. Asco alum flywheels are in the $800 range. For some reason, we are seeing more and more dual mass failures


B

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by Lordblood

The biting point is quite high, and before I bought the car an independent mechanic (specializes in Ferrari and Porsche) diagnosed a worn out clutch and small oil leak as the two main things wrong with the car, apparently a 1700 dollar repair altogether.

That's a pretty good price installed. If you're mechanically inclined, you can buy the manual and all of the parts for $500 and DIY it. I ordered the whole clutch kit, a new RMS, the recommended bolts for replacement of the RMS and a new pilot bearing for $400 shipped.

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

However, at 70k my mechanic, who is quite good, was surprised it was lasting this long.Chris

We have 102K on our clutch and it is still tight. I'm replacing it soon anyway because I can hear the throwout bearing making a little noise. I don't know if the T/O bearing can be catastrophic in the Boxster, but it can in the 928 so I want to be safe.

[Dragonwind]

Mine still grabs tight with no slipping. I did have a 'wrong gear' mishap on Monday when I got annoyed with a Volvo driver who finally turned off so I punched it while dropping it into 2nd and I was going too slow for that gear so I just spun the clutch even though it was fully engaged. A little smell then all was well but it got me thinking about it.

It still shifts strong in all gears and grabs low (start to grab at 1/4 the way up).

Maybe it can wait for a while then.
Chris

[blue2000s]

There is no standard mileage to replace a clutch. Clutch life is heavily dependent on driving style and technique. My dad used to take business trips between Denver and New Mexico once a month, his clutch lasted over 150,000 miles.