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I think my clutch has gone :-(

Richard_Hamilton

PCGB Member
Member
Get the IMS shaft seal changed at the same time, and the crankcase bolts. With the RMS, it should add less than an hour to the clutch job.
 
Richard, is part 39 the IMS seal? 996.105.112.01 gasket £10.30 inc VAT
ims.jpg
 
On the way home tonight my clutch went with a pop which I didn't expect. I was following an M3 ;-) and as we came off a roundabout and as I changed from 2nd to 3rd the pedal very suddenly went very light and it felt like the engine and gearbox weren't connected at all. After I coasted down a bit I regained a bit of feel to the clutch but it's still very light and as I nursed it the last couple of miles home I experimented a little and found the classic clutch slip if I gave it any revs.

It had been fine up till this point and I never felt it was particually heavy. I do drive it how it's meant to be and at nearly 45k miles I suppose it's about due.

My local indy are showing a price of £660 inc VAT on thier menu pricing for a clutch & fitting. But I'll check how this is made up as the Sachs clutch kit from Design911 is only about £300 inc VAT (Porsche want £500 inc VAT for the kit)

I'm due for a new RMS as the current one has been very slightly weepy for over a year (it's never put a drop of oil on the garage floor) it's just a bit damp.

Looks like the latest part number is 997.101.212.01 £14.50 inc VAT but roughly how much time does it add to fit if I'm having the clutch done anyway?
 
It is the bolts that hold the crankcase halves together, at the flywheel end. There is a TSB about it, which I will email when I get to my PC later. I'll check on the IMS seal too. I'm pretty sure you have to lock the camshafts before removing the mounting post.
 
Email sent, but for the benefit of others: I spoke to my indy friend this morning when I dropped my car off, about the intermediate shaft seal. It is the seal you indicate (39) but he also changes the IMS support post (13) at the same time, as he often finds that they wear. To replace the mount, he puts the engine at TDC and locks the crankshaft, and then removes the chain tensioners to take the tension off the chains. The alternative is to lock the camshafts, but it takes a little longer. He reckons that changing the RMS, IMS seal, and bolts adds about 1 to 1.5 hours to a clutch job. These are the bolts:
49D4922871664EBAAD24E7BB340023C4.jpg
 
The IMS support housing (part 13 above) is not that cheap at £84.38 but I suppose in the big picture it's not the end of the world. The car was picked up today by a recovery company and taken to the indy. I thought best not to try and nurse it there and perhaps do damage to the fly-wheel (another £500) in the process. Hopefully they will sort it out on Monday.
 
Not to spoil the train of the ims replacement but it sounds to me much more like a failed slave cylinder than a failed clutch. The seals can fail suddenly like that and then give lots of play in the clutch pedal/slippage due to lack of clamping pressure.
 
ORIGINAL: DivineE Not to spoil the train of the ims replacement but it sounds to me much more like a failed slave cylinder than a failed clutch. The seals can fail suddenly like that and then give lots of play in the clutch pedal/slippage due to lack of clamping pressure.
Good point. It did go very suddenly with the pedal going very floppy and the bite point what there is of it right at the top of the travel. I've rung the indy and I'm happy that they know what they are doing and are going to check the master cylinder first before diving in and spliting the engine and gearbox if they don't need to.
 
A quick look shows the OE prices for clutch master or slave cylinders are not too bad. Master 996.423.171.06 £116.58 inc VAT Slave 997.116.237.04 £107 inc VAT This part looks to have gone through seven lots of part succession! There are OEM parts about for about 60% of these prices.
 
I hope you are lucky Andy, but if the clutch is slipping I don't think it will be the hydraulics. The friction plate is clamped to the flywheel by the springs of the pressure plate, and the slave cylinder pushes the springs to release the friction plate. If the hydraulics go, then it wouldn't stop the clutch from gripping. More likely is that the pressure plate has failed, making the pedal feel limp, and causing the slip. As for the IMS mounting post, I should revise my post, but my friend says he always has one in stock, and changes it if it looks at all worn, but he finds that most times it does. Belt and braces really.
 
ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton I hope you are lucky Andy, but if the clutch is slipping I don't think it will be the hydraulics. The friction plate is clamped to the flywheel by the springs of the pressure plate, and the slave cylinder pushes the springs to release the friction plate. If the hydraulics go, then it wouldn't stop the clutch from gripping. More likely is that the pressure plate has failed, making the pedal feel limp, and causing the slip.
It can make it slip on gear changes though as the clutch doesn't re-engage properly when the pedal is first released. I've twice had a failure on a 944 turbo. Both times I thought the clutch was giving up as it caused it to slip on gear changes. The only thing that makes me weary in this case is, when I was driving spiritedly and it failed it caused the pedal to go spongy right to the floor for a moment before it started to come back up.
 
Well, it was the clutch but not the friction disc (it was in good condition with perhaps 20,000 miles left on it) it was the springs in the pressure plate. Although I never thought it was heavy the new one is much lighter so it must of been slowly getting heavier. In the end the only additional work the indy did was to replace the RMS. They didn't think it needed the crankcase bolts and their opinion of the IMS housing and seal is 'If it's not causing any problems leave it well alone' In that removing the housing may change the loading on the bearing which then could cause problems later. Total bill was £718 inc VAT (6hrs + parts)
 
Glad you got it sorted and for a very reasonable price too. I'm gutted because my 3000 mile, 6 month old clutch has now definitely turned out to be damaged[:(][&o] We're not sure what it is yet but it's not 'clearing properly' sticking in reverse, 1st and 6th. We both hoped it might improve with a few soft miles but unfortunately this hasn't happened. I'll report here what happened in case anyone else has this. P.s. I read another owner review complaining on how heavy the clutch was. Mine has been feather light since it was replaced.
 
Hi Andy Who does the work on your car, as you know I'm not far from peterborough so it could be handy for the future. Cheers Phil
 

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