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SC Clutch Failure

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Has anyone had sudden failure of there clutch before?

After getting a new MOT the garage when to move my car and could not get any gear. The car was hoisted and we tried again. This time we could just get into forward gears but no chance into reverse. So tried starting it in reverse (with clutch in of course) and yes it would stay in gear however the wheels would drag (with the clutch in) and we could easily hear the additional load on the motor.

It's as though the clutch is not engaging.

Prior to this there was no clutch slippage and all seamed to be OK, other than 2nd gear being hard to get into at times.

We noticed that the clutch adjustment is to the limit.

Is this a comon problem?

Any thoughts out there? Please help as she is now off the road till further notice, I've only had her for two weeks and I need her working for next weekend.

Cheers
 
Hi Carrick

That is tough luck for your first 2 weeks.

I'm very new to 911 ownership with an '82 SC so I will leave others to give you detailed advice on the technical aspects.

The clutch went on mine 3 days after I took delivery this summer (http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=60499&mpage=2&key=). Bit of a bummer. You may find some useful info if you delve a bit further back into the forum.

With mine the problem was a broken pin on the external assembly, but that wasn't found until the clutch/ engine was out of the car.

I think it would help the other guys if you could give a bit more background - was the car a daily runner? occasional runner? had it been stored without use for a while? How did it shift before the failure? Did it drive to the MOT? Did the clutch pedal just go straight to the floor? What is the recent service history/ bills

Do you have the equipment and experience to have a crack at fixing it yourself? If not you will struggle to get it back on the road in 2 weeks because the decent specialists seem to generally have work booked up a good 2 weeks ahead.

It sounds to me as if the clutch is not disengaing so if you're lucky the problem will just be the clutch cable which when it starts to go can give similar symptoms to a clutch failure. You could change the cable and helper spring to eliminate that from the equation. It is supposed to be a fairly easy job and to take about 2 -3 hours with the proper tools/ bits to hand (see 101 projects for your Porsche by Wayne Dempsey p36). It's not one I've done though, so that is just going by what the manual/ 101 Projects have to say. I think you should brace yourself for the possibility of more work though; such as: a new clutch/ poss new flywheel and other smaller parts (clips, seal, bolts, clutch release fork etc).

Best of luck

Jerry
 
Thanks for your comments Jerry. Sound like you have had a similar story. A bit more background on the situation:

She is a weekend runner for me. I'd love to drive her every day but the traffic to work means I use my VFR.

I drove it down to the garage (No. 5 Garage) for the MOT - No real issues other than flattening the battery on startup. Pete (from No5) drove her down to the MOT centre and back no problems. But when he tried to move her in the evening for my collection came accross the issue and could not move her.

The clutch still ges to the floor as normal although feeling a bit on the spongy side. Pete will be investigating the situation a bit more on Monday and is hoping that it could be the cable streatching or fraying in the middle, but has suggested it could be the forks in the clutch bending.

Prior to my ownership she was a daily runner up in Norwich.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
 
You are in good hands at No. 5 Peter is a very good mechanic. Coincidences do happen and it may just be that the clutch gave up at the MOT place through nothing more than coincidence. A sudden failure points towards a cable failure or perhaps the clutch operating arm has bent , it does happen. Beyond that it's an engine tranny out job for close inspection. Good luck.
 
Hi Sobe

What was the verdict?

Good luck with it.

Jerry

PS I did read somewhere that the spongy feel can be down to the helper spring being on it's way out - anyone else?



 
Well folks we have a verdict. Hmmmm

Cracked pressure plate in two places and worn forks. So we are doing the following
- New Clutch
- New forks
- New Release (Omega) spring
- Bolts, seals, washers etc
- Also a new oil pressure switch

Not a nice job but hey at least I now know that I can trust the clutch for a fair while.

Also I now know what the issue is with the heating. A job for in a few weeks I think.

Take care and thanks for your thoughts.

Cheers

C
 
Wow that sucks a bit. Once you have it fixed though you should have a reliable SC for many years to come , the engines are pretty much bullet proof.
 
Ouch.

Make the most of it though - obviously a great opporunity to have a really good look over the underside and generally. There are a quite a few seals and pipes that can be done at very little extra expense while it is on the ramp. And you could use/ ask the garage to use a spray on waxoyl type product on any damaged areas of underseal / minor corrosion - a quick job and much less messy on a ramp. It might be an idea to get the geometry checked at the same time and have a really good look at the tyres so you know the rubber sticking you to the black stuff!

Cheers

Jerry
 
Well as soon as we are back on the road we are off. The starter motor has died it would seem. Bugger! Missed you all at the Ace Cafe tonight.

A concern I have about the new clutch is that the travel between no contact and full contact appears to be very small. Basically it feels more like a paddle clutch - either on or off. I thought that with a new clutch there would be more variation.

Having the car on the ramp was great as it gave me the chance to see under her and check for rust. To my pleasure I couldn't find any [:)]

Well see you all next month for Christmas at the ACE.

Cheers
 
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