Drove another 986 - is my clutch bad?
 

So the 986 being my first manual car, I do not really have much to compare it to.

I got it in December and it has about 56,000 miles now, on the original clutch. I kind of thought the clutch was OK, until I drove another 2001 Boxster like mine that had more recently had the clutch replaced.

Here's what I felt: The clutch in the "other" Boxster felt really springy, like it was being hydraulically assisted. As I pressed it down or let it come up, I could feel like it had some more assistance. The point of engagement on it seemed lower as well.

To compare, on my Boxster, it seems much lighter and does not have that "assisted/hydraulic" type feeling. It just goes up and down without much resistance, and the point of engagement like in 1st gear seems to be higher on mine.

Does this mean my clutch is worn? Is that a good indicator? Or could it be some other part?

Actually, upon talking to some people it is more likely my lighter clutch is good and his heavier, springy clutch may be the one that is different.

Thoughts?

A new clutch can tend to engage lower on the pedal stroke but that it not necessarily always the case and is not a good indicator of clutch health.

Most important is whether the clutch slips at all under load. If yes, then its worn out and ready for replacement. If not, then its still "good" and drive it. (This assumes that there are no other apparrent problems like chatter upon engagement, clutch pedal pulsating, etc).

The only time I ever had clutch issues was with my first (used, 1978) Celica. I started it up, pushed in the clutch, and it just stayed on the floor. It cost all of $85 to fix. Ahhh, the good old days . . . Point is, there was no warning, it just went. That's my 2 cents.

my clutch was springy when it was new. After about 10k miles not as much.
Once the car starts shaking/shuttering on clutch engagement you'll know you should take it in for a check up. But for the good of the expensive flywheel you should probably be proactive and not wait until it gets to that point. And if you do risk the flywheel by waiting a long time to replace the clutch you'll know when the clutch starts slipping.

P.S.
was the previous owner someone familiar with driving a manual transmission? If it was their first car to learn on then even 60K miles could be all she wrote.

Ha, I had a '77 used Celica, from 83-85. My clutch lasted till I got rid of the car at 135,000 miles. You must be hard on clutches. ;)

A couple of thoughts for you:

1) To test the cluch just drive along casually at 35 mph in third gear. Then change to fifth and stamp on the gas pedal. If the RPMs surge your clutch needs repair. If the car begins to gradually speed up, it is in fine shape (mechanical clutch parts).

2) All - that I have seen - hydralic clutches have a master and slave hydralic cylinders. Check yours for wear and tear (i.e. bad seals/leaks). If you do not see any, good sign. Ours are non-adjustable, which means you can bleed the system to remove any air bubbles. This will sometimes improve the feel - be less mushy, but cannot adjust the point of clutch engagement.

If your master or slave units are worn, you can often rebuild them (I have not checked for a rebuild kit so am unsure if the Boxster parts are available) or just replace them. Usually not a difficult job since you don't have to split the engine/transmission to replace these components.