i am the original owner of a '97
boxster
with a 5-speed manual transmission. the car has been driven gently since new; now has approximately 87k miles and still retains it's original clutch/components.
lately, the morning after some of our coldest nights here in san diego, when backing out of the garage and letting out the clutch pedal for the first time, i occasionally hear a sound, for just a few seconds, that i can only describe as similar to that of a rubber belt 'slipping' under pressure. when this happens - and it does not happen every time its been cold - i usually only hear this sound once and then, after that, everything seems 'normal.' and this noise is the only thing that seems 'unusual.'
does anybody know if this occurrence signifies that my clutch will need replacing soon? or could it be something a simple as 'the pedal needing some lubrication' or something equally simple?
and if it appears that i will need a clutch replacement soon, what other components, besides the flywheel, should be evaluated for proper functionality and/or replacement at the same time?
and finally, if any respondents happen to be living in san diego - are there any trustworthy independent service providers you would be willing to recommend?
You should be able to detect clutch slippage under hard acceleration in 1st gear with the RPM increasing but no wheel slippage.
Flywheel surface and weights should be inspected and whilst you're at it replace the RMS and maybe consider the LN engineering IMS bearing retrofit, because most of the labour is in dropping/separating tranny and engine.
I would plan on replacing the flywheel & IMS bearing due to your mileage & year. I hear great things about Black Forest in S.D.
thank you, dunebasher and byprodriver, for the courtesy of your responses.
Black Forest just did my clutch. I highly recommend them. Jeff is great, and the shop was very easy to deal with.
If the noise is tied directly to the depressing of the clutch pedal and the release of the clutch pedal then it can be a noisy release bearing.
Once noisy they do not get better.
Time to replace. At this time given the miles the clutch disc and pressure plate will be replaced.
The flywheel can be resurfaced if not too bad and if the dual mass feature working properly. There's a bench test for this.
A slipping clutch can be checked for by once everything is warmed up in 4th gear at say 3K rpms floor the gas pedal, and I mean floor it. If the rpms rise with no corresponding increase in vehicle speed the clutch is slipping and requires replacement. Do not repeat this test the more the clutch slips the more likely the flywheel will be damaged.
If the noise is not directly tied to the clutch pedal then the noise is probably not clutch related.
Has the serpentine belt been changed? If not likely very dry and slipping and this can account for the noise.
Also, check the belt edges for sharpness. If present this is a side the belt is not tracking right and this is a sign of a bad accessory drive. Most often it is the water pump. The belt can be removed and the various accessory drives checked for play. Any play is a suspect accessory drive.
The water pump can be inspected for signs of anti-freeze residue or even wet coolant. If there's too much residue or wet coolant the pump is bad.
Last check the power steering fluid level. If low the noise can be from the power steering pump. The problem is a high pressure relief valve fails and route too high pressure fluid to the rack. This forces fluid out its seals into the space between the seals and the dust boots. The level drops and this ruins the power steering pump and the rack is ruined and the line with the valve in it also must be replaced.
