944 getting some TLC

[DBewley]

Hello Everyone,
I just come back to the forum after probably 2 years away. Unfortunately during this time my 944 which for 3 years was my daily drive has only been used on occasional weekends due to a change of job.
Anyway it was likely to fail its MOT due to rusty sills and fuel lines so I had to decide what to do. For now I have taken it off the road and its getting some TLC. The plan is to use it probably once a week for the commute to work and then to do some track days with it.
It's away this week having new sills and some paint. Then next week I have access to a ramp and a week off work so I am going to replace the fuel lines plus a list of other things whilst I have the opportunity.
The list includes replacing the clutch which was suffering from lots of lash in stop start traffic probably from a worn doughnut. According to the stack of paper work I have for the car it appears to still be on its original clutch after 190,000miles. I was wondering if other people who have changed their clutch, release bearing, and press plate.....
1. Had the flywheel refaced or found they had to replace it?
2. Changed the rear oil seal at the sametime?
3. Changed the pilot bearing?
4. Changed the release lever needle bearings?
5. Changed the fly wheel and/or pressure plate retaining bolts?
Also does anybody around either Cambridge or North Staffordshire area happen to have an alignment tool which I could borrow for the week?
The other job on the list for next week is to investigate why the gear shift has become so stiff and vague. If I can solve this then the wife says she will try it on the track too.
Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[JamesO]

When I did my clutch I did 2,3 and 5. The needle bearings looked fine as did the flywheel itself, but then mine only had 120K on the clock.
You may as well replace any worn parts of the gear linkage and re-pack the CV joints as the Transaxle has to be dropped to do the job anyway.

 

[944Turbo]

Welcome back, gear selection issue will probably be the linkage on top of the gearbox, they get stiff with no use - some lube and use should free it up

 

[zcacogp]

I did the clutch on my S2 about three months ago.

In answer to your questions:

1. Re-used original flywheel. Didn't get it refaced. There is a theory going around that the clutch judder (which you didn't mention but may be experiencing) is due to localised hard-spots developing on the flywheel, which need to be machined off. However I can't remember where this theory came from, and I seem to remember that there is no evidence that this is a proven fact - the person with the theory was vague about it, and not definite that judder was always caused by aforementioned hard spots. Therefore I'm not convinced.

2. I bought a new rear oil seal but it turned out to be the wrong one. The old one looked fine. The new (wrong) one was sent back for a refund.

3. I had a new pilot bearing, but the old one didn't want to move and felt fine. Therefore it too stayed put. (Should you wish to do this job, the Porsche-badged bearing was about £15 from an aftermarket parts supplier but turned out to be a bog-standard 6202-2RSH, which is available here:

http://www.bearing-king.co.uk/product/4207

... for £3.)

4. No, these stayed the same but were well greased. They took a bit of a hammering when the lever was removed, and I was worried that I had mangled them, but again they are fine. Such bearings tend to be fairly robust.

5. Yes. New bolts all 'round.


Oli.