Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi all. I have been looking into getting the clutch replaced on my 924 as just recently it has been getting noisy and occaisonally have trouble selecting 1st or reverse gears. I have asked for some quotes and got these; Auto farm £350+ VAT for the clutch and approx. 8hrs fitting at £55/£56 per hour, Promax £850+ VAT, Mr. Clutch £750+ VAT. I have also asked at RPM Technik but as yet have had no reply. Should I try a few more places?
I can buy a clutch kit from Euro Car Parts for about £205 and fit it myself but it would have to be an engine out job as i dont really have the space or proper tools to take the gearbox and TT out.
Question is do I get an indie or clutch specialist to change it, or should I change the clutch at home myself?
Any feedback of any sort much appreciated.

Matt.

Matt,
I think only you can answer that question. These cars cost a fortune to have the clutch changed as you have found - I had my 944 done just before christmas at about the prices you have quoted.
If you can justify the cost and don't feel confident about doing it then fine, if you can manage without the car whilst you do it and are happy with your skills then DIY.
As a proportion of the cars worth it is huge but one way or another its got to be fixed!! At least then its good for another 125+K and many years.

Ask for Kevin or Alex at EMC Motorsport in Saltely, Birmingham if you don't mind travelling a bit further. They are not as awful on their labour rates as you think, and they deal almost solely in 924s/944s and 968s .

http://www.emcmotorsport.com

I know when my engine was swapped that EMC changed the clutch with the engine on the bench IIRC.

Another source for the clutch would be FrazerPart. £190 delivered for a Sachs clutch.

Before you get too hasty in changing the clutch it may be worth chancing your arm on changing the gearbox oil, which could quieten down things in addition to potentially making it easier to change gears. Remember that quite a few of these cars have a noisy torque tube too which you may be mistaking for the clutch.

I have just had the clutch and rear linkage replaced in my S2 the clutch price will not be relevant (£450 Frazerpart Porsche) but I had it fitted including the rear linkage and some specialist welding to the Cat for £450 all in at CarTech and Care Northallerton. David Raper did it for exactly the quoted cost and time (around one days work for the clutch) and this included a member discount, so £900 for new Sachs Clutch, rear linkage (which was £120) and fitting plus the exhaust repair which I thought was ok.

Worth nothing mine was difficult to get into first and second gear and made the normal clunking sound on change down indicating the rubber doughnut on the 944 clutch was breaking down. However it had already had a new style clutch plate fitted so not the doughnut, mechanic thinks it was the wear on the rear linkage which had not been fitted properly causing the gear not to select properly and when changing down the gear would only go part way in then as you released the clutch it would fully mesh causing the clunking. Still had the clutch changed while all in bits as he also thought the springs were worn. But worth checking the rear linkage on the gearbox before changing the clutch.

Hi Matt,

Our price was including VAT - just wanted to clear that up!

Best Regards

Andy

I would go with David's suggestion first to be honest. I would also look at the condition of the shift lever too. If it's worn get a new one. To really make it better, do the 968 upgrade (detailed on the PCGB FAQ) which will also take out the wear that will be in the shift arm eyelet (by changing the lever, you'll only be taking out one source of wear (the lever) hence it will change better than before but not quite as good as it could.

However before you do this, how sloppy is your gearshift at the moment? People have commented that a new lever makes it much easier to get into gear.

I'd avoid Mr Clutch TBH. I know with 306s the clutches still turn out to be heavyish even after a new one (a half decent specialist normally makes them as light as new (or at least they do in my experience)).

EMC changed my engine for one I aquired plus they put in a fresh clutch (they got that) for not much more than some of your quotes are .

Hi, thanks for the replys so far guys. Andy, sorry about the mixup there, my fault, got mixed up between the two. Got one or two other numbers to try after going to regional meeting last night, so hopefully get round to a decision soonish.
Cheers, Matt.