Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

My 944 did the same when I purchased her with 127,000 miles on the clock and was still doing the same when I sold her with 192,000 two and a half years later.
The faster you drive the less noticeable it becomes (on track of course)
BTW The service history on my car suggested it was the original clutch
Just drive and enjoy until something breaks (just make sure you have AA cover just in case)


Paul

Mine was the original clutch - 201000 miles when I changed it before it failed. You will still be able to select gears, and the clutch won't slip - it will just fail... as the one in my 2.7 Lux did!.

If it's the clutch it's about £450 to buy, and the fitting takes it up to about £700.

What happened to you when it failed? Did it just lock itself in gear?

I pulled up at a junction and couldn't select gear, that was it - just stopped. Apparently the clutch will fail when you're going very slow or very fast, and not in-between. I managed to get it into a gear to limp the last mile home. It was a 1989 2.7 Lux with 100000, miles on it, it was 1999, and the clutch job was £700 at Hartech.

The last clutch change I had done was on my current S2 at 201000 miles - and only because I always said I would after it had hit 200K, it didn't fail on me. It was the original clutch, it was showing exactly the same symptoms as the original poster's on this thread, and when we got it out the 'donut' (which is basically two pieces of thick rubber sandwiching a clutch plate) was completely collapsed - I had been lucky. What happens is that chunks of it fall out. The metal noise is the inner drive wheel of the clutch engaging with the actual clutch plate (I don't know how better to describe it). I'll see I've any old photos of the knackered clutch anywhere and post them up. That was 2010 and it cost me £700 to have the job done, but then I do get 'mates rates' where it gets looked after.

Ok, an update from the garage :

"We have found there to be a part of the clamping sleeve for the gearbox input shaft damaged. As can be seen in the images it has snapped and become separated from the main body. I have taken an image of the shaft with the damaged part rested in place and an image of it missing. To fit a new clamp will require removal of the gearbox which we estimate will take 4 hours. I am speaking with our supplier currently and trying to get a price for the part but it appears there are a few options. Porsche have the VIN number etc and are trying to find out exactly which part was fitted to your car and then I will be able to give you a price, the worse case currently is £228+Vat. Once I have an accurate price I will pass that onto you immediately."

Attached should be the pictures he's referring to.

Could this be the cause of my problem? Is it an issue that should be resolved anyway - safety, preventative maintenance etc. The worst outcome for me is that I pay the money to get this done, but it doesn't fix the problem

Cheers,
Bryan

Could very well be the problem, but could just be the result of something seizing etc. further along the drive line.

Never seen one damaged except to take it off.

The sliding propshaft connector should be easily available secondhand from lots of breakers for very little money.

I could change a gearbox on my own on the drive in a couple of hours, so 4 seems a lot for a garage!

**and I think I now own your old 944 Paul (formerly MIL 9442?? Zyclam Red) well still does it on 194K also get whining noise now after she's warmed up which goes away if I dip the clutch, only seems to happen if I drop it a cog or two.

Ok, so a proper look at the clutch has revealed that the centre has collapsed. £559.20 + labour + VAT. A very expensive introduction to Porsche ownership. That said, I had a budget of £7k for car and any work needed, and even though it'll all be spent, I'll have something I've wanted for many years that's in tip top condition, for the price of 4 year old Fiesta. No contest.

Cheers,
Bryan

I would advise that the rear coupling has broken because the clutch centre had collapsed, causing that clamp to get a lot of hammering force each time you heard a click or felt a shunt.

One other problem with leaving it rather than having the clutch done is that it can eventually lead to a knackered flywheel and starter motor, both due to debris (rubber and metal) exiting the clutch friction disk centre.

Just for the archives..

If you want to diagnose this, with the engine off and not in gear, get under the car, reach through the rear bell housing on the torque tube (the one mounted to the gearbox) grab hold of the coupling (tube with two square ends) and try to twist it back and forth, if it turns more than a degree, your clutch centre has collapsed, you might need to use a lot of force as it might be stuck in the clutch centre when you try to turn it, but you can do it with your hands.

I'd have a look around for a clutch, that seems a bit expensive. Don't forget to ask for TIPEC discount and so on.

While you're in there get the main oil seal changed as well - you have to take the clutch etc out again to change it if it goes, so do it now to save labour costs - whether it's gone or not.

The price for the whole job is about what we would charge, or maybe a little bit less. But the price of the clutch is a little bit high in my opinion.

When the clutch is changed, someone here mentioned the rear main seal, I would endorse that advice 100%

I would also advise that the clutch guide tube, fork bearings and spigot bearing are all changed at the same time.

I might even recommend a replacement crank sensor as they get old and while the clutch is out is a good time to replace and setup the air gap on this part.

Its all money, but a lot cheaper than having to do it all again if one of these parts fail or stop you from getting a nice smooth clutch movement.

Thanks for the advice - rear main oil seal also being done. There may be good reasons for doing other stuff at the same time, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Cheers,
Bryan

Problems with not changing the associated parts I mentioned.

Clutch fork bearings.
Not changing these now, will either cause a the clutch pedal to like it has a ratchet mechanism right away, or at some point in the next clutch life.

Spigot bearing.
If this is not changed now, at a later date you will find that gear changes will be hard, often especially 1st, as the clutch will sometimes not disengage, or rather the nose of the torque tube will continue to be spun by the poor condition spigot bearing.

Clutch guide tube.
If this is not changed now, at some point, probably right away, the clutch release bearing will start to hang up on it, causing a sticky clutch pedal.

None of the parts are expensive, and it really is the difference between it all feeling like new, or the whole lot feeling rough or failing now or in the future.. resulting in.. another clutch job.

Jon,

Can you give me an idea of the additional cost of these - parts & labour? The clutch is still on order so I've still got time to add these to the job.

Cheers,
Bryan