Clutch pedal hard again after 5 minutes

Hello, I really need some advise from a non partial mechanic regarding my new clutch kit. I got lots of work done in the clutch area of my car, new clutch kit with fallout baring, IMS and RMS. Before the work the clutch pedal was hard, very hard, and there was even a noise from the gearbox when depressing the clutch. When I got the car back, I got really happy the clutch was light as a feather to depress (compared to before). But getting threw the gears was different, needed a bit of muscle on the gear stick, and it popped out of gear a couple of times. Within driving 5 minutes I heard a crunching noise coming from the rear. And I thought what was that, that is not a nice noise. The clutch pedal got harder to depress and now seems to be back to being really hard again. No noise as before, does not slip out of gear any more, and is easy to get through the gears, but clutch really stiff.. Anybody got an idea of that this might be?

I would say take it right back to the place that did the work for you. Get the mechanic who did your work to drive the car again and see what explanation he can give you.

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This. You obviously spent a lot of money, they need to make it right.

Did you also get a new pressure plate? Crunching gears sounds to be indicative of a failing clutch slave cylinder or air in the clutch line. If you drove it this way for awhile, I wouldn't be surprised if you glazed or wore down your new clutch disc already. As others said, take it back.

Sounds like the clutch hydraulics weren't bled properly or the system is leaking. I replaced my slave cylinder when I replaced my clutch and it took a lot of fiddling to get it right.

I got this kit http://www.frazerpart.com/acatalog/9...lutch_Kit.html , si it has a new pressure plate also. I will go to the shop and ask them. I actually bought a new slave sylinder and asked them to replace it, but they did not, stating it was working correctly.

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What year is your car? That kit is for a 997

Did you give it Viagra or Cialis?

Yes wrong link sorry for that. fsachs clutch kit for mk2 996 , is what i bought. The car is a 2002 996 Carrera 3.6.

Could be related to the clutch helper spring. Read this thread and the other one mentioned in post #4 of that thread. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ce-please.html

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That was my first thought...but he said he was grinding gears....more correctly he said he was having a "hard" time shifting. The thread title says clutch pedal hard but nowhere does he describe the clutch pedal actually becoming hard.

Now I have noticed a creaking sound from the clutch when warm. see video to listen The sound only appears when the car is warm, the irritating thing is that it always appears. Also the clutch feels crunchy then used when sound is present. When cold the clutch is light and nimble, only to get though and crunchy with creaking sound til it gets warm. The video was taken after I had an active drive with high speed, cornering and lots of acceleration. please any suggestions, it's making me crazy

Well, it sounds like ignoring the problem hasn't fixed it. Maybe now try to take the advice proferred when you first posted your problem. 1) Take it back to the shop. 2) Have them bleed your clutch hydraulic system and/or replace your slave cylinder if necessary. Not that difficult to solve this problem, no need to cry.

Thank you for the reply, and I also forgot to mention. I have got it back, they could not provoke the sound, probably did not try hard enough. But they did replace the slave cylinder. I suspect they did not change and bleed the hydraulics, I got suspicious of this when I saw the hydraulic level was too high prior to and after the work was done. I will show them this video and demand an explanation. This has gone too far, have talked to them several times.

Well, hang on...we can't read minds. You missed out telling us a critical piece of information. You say they replaced the slave cylinder? They absolutely would have bled the system if that is the case. Whether or not they did it well enough depends on whether the original problem been solved. If the problem is solved and the car shifts normally, then bleeding the system is not likely to fix the squeek. The squeek is coming from the slave cylinder as near as I can tell from the vid. It may simply need some lube on the end of the pushrod. Another possibility is that the throwout bearing or the pivot arm weren't lubed. That's a bigger problem which will require removal of the transmission again. I can't remember now which is more critical - one needs lube, the other one doesn't, but normally it's done to avoid squeeking.

Yes sorry for the failed mind read Thank you for the potential explanations, will take this information and ask the mechanics.

In addition, they should also make sure the shifter cables are seated properly on their brackets on the transmission. Otherwise, the cables will flex too much making shifting difficult. Also, check the clutch booster spring on the clutch pedal assembly is not broken.

Here is my guess as to what is happening. You say that the pedal effort is light when cold but harder when the car warms up. You also mentioned that the shifting effort is easier when the clutch is firmer. I agree with Ahsai, check the booster spring. Even if it is not broken it may have weakened. I replaced mine and it made a surprising difference. I think the reason why clutch effort is easier when cold has nothing to do with temperature. Like the other members mentioned, there is probably some air in the clutch hydraulics when the slave cylinder was replaced. When the car sits overnight and you first step on the clutch the air in the hydraulic line compresses until there is enough force to move the pressure plate. The force to compress the air is less than the normal force. So the clutch feels light but does not completely disengage the clutch and that is why the trans is harder to shift. Your synchronizers are working harder due to the drag of the clutch not being disengaged. After driving for a while, nothing to do with temperature, the air does not expand to the same volume as it does when sitting overnight since there is some residual pressure in the line. It probably takes hours for the air to overcome (expand) the resistance of the viscous fluid especially in the small diameter line. So the clutch feels firmer because the volume of air is smaller and the pressure plate is actuated sooner than when it sits overnight. I don’t think the creaking noise has anything to do with the change in pedal effort. The reason you notice it when warm is because the pressure plate is moving farther than when cold as I explained above. I hope this helps.

thank you Jasper, Ahsai and George996. I have made a list of things that needs to be checked, I have also called and the Porsche Center and I am getting it to the workshop tomorrow. Here is the list I've made. Plan A (the easy ones): 1. Completely drain and exchange the Hydraulic fluid, Pentosin 202 2. Grease the contact point of the slave and the clutch fork arm 3. Check the booster spring, although this will not relieve the sound which is generated from the gearbox If none of the above resolves the problem I have a plan B. Plan B: 1. Coat the guide tube on the sliding surface of the release bearing with the paste “Optimol MPO”. 2. Grease the contact point between the release bearing and the release lever with the grease “Olista Longtime 3EP”

Arne, the clutch system uses the same brake fluid from the same brake fluid reservoir. Pentosin is only for power steering. Regarding the noise, if it's originated inside the clutch and not from the pedal assembly, they should just do a full bleed on the clutch system first hoping that's it (takes only 10 min or so once car is on the lift). If that doesn't fix it, they will need to remove the gearbox again to check and lube the clutch linkage. Regarding the stiffness, they should check the booster spring. They should know where to lube, I hope....

I had the same clutch noise before and it eventually just went away.

I delivered the car to the shop today, drove it hard for 40 minutes prior to provoke the sound. Was successful in reproducing the sound, the mechanic seemed to know what it was after inspecting for a couple of minutes. He decided to take it as an emergency and shifted all his attention to the car, he said he was to remove the gearbox and inspect. And I was not to pay anything he said. Hope this will fix it and no more expences.

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Wow, what kind of mechanic do you have? Is this warranty work? Removing the tranny is somewhat substantial amount of labor. You sure he's not gonna charge you for a new transmission instead?

Got my car back yesterday, and after a long hard drive I can report that the horrible sound is gone. The previous mechanic had done a couple of errors when assembling the clutch 5 months ago. 1. Release lever was wrongly assembled so the fallout bearing got pulled slightly to one side when engaging/disengaging the clutch. 2. Forgot to grease the release lever with Olista Longtime 3EP The sound is gone, and I did not have to pay anything. Very good customer service. For the record the workshop is the official Porsche dealer in Bergen, Norway. In Norway we have quite a good set of customer rights and serious businesses do value their effort also in goodwill. Then again if I had been given an invoice for 12 000 Kr ($2 000) for the job, I would not be happy, and my experience of Porsche as a whole would be degraded. I guess they have guidelines in such cases to keep you as a customer for future investment.

Excellent that you got it fixed correctly. You are right, great customer service at your shop! Now you can really enjoy your car when it warms up over there! 2002 Turbo - Basalt Black Metallic / 2003 Carrera 4S - Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 - Rust Red