fried clutch?

I bought my CPO 996 in November with 19000 miles. Now, with 25000 miles I am told that the clutch is fried and it will be $2000 to repair; or $2800 if a new flywheel is needed. The symptoms are a heavy clutch that squeeks a bit and has no play at the top of the pedal. I have had several M3s in addition to about 20 other stick shift cars that have never needed new clutches. I have three questions: -Is there any way I could prove that the clutch was bad when I bought it and have it covered? -Am I being completely ripped off? (both in price and in diagnosis) -should I have anything else done at the same time as the tranny will be out of the car? Thanks so much

If you are lucky, your RMS will be leaking - covered by CPO, and the clutch labor is almost free when doing the RMS fix.

Rip off! Noise has nothing to do with clutch wear. Pedal play should not exist. If there are no other clutch slipping symptoms, clutch disc is fine. Also, you can find many shops willing to replace clutch, including parts, for $1200.

I've called two other Porsche dealers and an independent. They're all +- $2000. The book says 9 hrs labor. Anyone know of a good place in the NYC area?

I have no play at the top of my clutch pedal. When did this become a sign of a bad clutch? I would be more worried if I did have play at the top of the range.

Actually the Porsche estimate is 4 hours, and any competent tech can do the whole thing in under 3. Heck, I can do it in under 4 hours, and I'm in marketing! $800-$1200 for labor and parts is a fair price. But a clutch job is so simple and is such a big easy revenue source for dealers and independents alike that they want to keep the mystique of the job and protect this revenue source. Most 996 owners don't know what is involved, so most fall for the 9 hour $2000+ job. This board is full of stories from folks particularly from the northeast that have been robbed by a clutch job. Could it be that those in the Northeast are more gullible for this sort of thing or at least not very mechanically inclined? Clutch replacement is a fat money maker for those that do it, so some grinding negotiation will be necessary to get the right price. As an example, all dealers that do warranty RMS/IMS updates do them in 3 hours or less. and this task has embedded it it the R&R of the clutch/flywheel assembly to boot. So go figure why a stand-alone Clutch R&R is 9 hours. Could it be that the 9 hours includes the manufacturing of the parts and shipping them here from Europe?

Warrenty time on a clutch job is actualy closer to 5 hours then 3. and as we have discussed it is a bussiness not a non profit orgainzation. Personaly I wouldnt pay more then 8 unless they are going to change the rms and ims seals while they are there

Warranty is 4 hours and change, and yes with anything it is what the market will pay. If I was in the repair business, I would be really happy that I could make that much on such a simple procedure, but as a Porsche Owners advocate, I feel it is important that my fellow Porsche owners know what is a fair and equitable price to pay for something like an clutch R&R. There are too many folks that will take advantage of other folks lack of knowledge. Some folks use a gun to take your money, others use a 13mm wrench!

You can try calling up TKX Motorsports, and asking what their price would be. I did a PPI there once and I was satisfied. Their number is [phone removed].

I'll give them a call. thanks

Is it slipping? Try putting it in 4th at low speed and flooring it, if the revs come up and the car doesn't accelerate then your clutch is probably worn. I had a squeaky pedal too and sprayed a bit of white lithium grease on the mechanism and it went away completely. I'd exhaust all possibilities before having the tranny dropped.

I will try that this evening. It doesn't feel like its slipping. The engagment is pretty high and the pedal is hard. Does this seem like something other than worn clutch?

I'm suspicious of the diagnosis in many of the same ways expressed above. I'd say someone is trying to get back some of their profit on the car sale. Slipping is the key to whether the clutch needs to be replaced. Squeaks are bushings in the pedal mechanism, generally speaking, not a bad clutch. The assist spring is also a squeak source.

I had mine done last summer and paid under $1,200 at an Indy. They did a great job. I think it actually came in under $1,000. If you're going the dealer route I'm not surprised they're quoting your $2k.

As a reference: Rusnak Porsche Pasadena Ca. $650 parts $1200 Labor total cost $1800.00. Means you can probably do it at a small shop for $1100-$1200 max with parts. I had mine replaced with the motor so only had to pay parts.