Hi everyone. I have a 2008 base
Cayman
5 speed. Im just curious if people can share what their clutch engagement feels like and what is an normal or abnormal characteristic. I ask because my clutch engagement feels a little on the soft side and slightly high on the peddle compared to other manual cars. Its never slipped in 6 months of ownership and doesn't vibrate or make noise. Before I go down the clutch rabbit hole worrying, im just curious if this is a normal characteristic of the Boxter/
Cayman
.
So what does yours feel like? Has it changed with mileage? Also, is it true these clutches are self adjusting? Thanks!
If you give me a choice, I would rather having a higher pedal engagement than a lower, this means that your slave cylinder is working properly.. IMHO, just drive the car and enjoy it until you start having difficulties engaging the gears, experience clutch slipping or release bearing noise, but for now, just drive and enjoy the car
My
2008 Cayman S
six-speed clutch engagement feels exactly as you describe.
I had a similar experience with my '08 CS 6sp. I took the following steps and was able to help then finally resolve what I originally thought was an issue with the clutch itself.
Bleed the clutch hydraulics. These cars apparently have a tendency to entrain air in the master cylinder. The service manual recommends to slowly pump the pedal while pressure bleeding.
Check the clutch pedal's free play. There is an adjustable clevis between the clutch pedal and master cylinder. Measurement is made at the bottom edge of the clutch pedal back towards the front of the car.
Finally, the real solution. These cars have a helper spring that is part of the clutch pedal assembly. It provides two functions:
Keeps the pedal up against its upper stop and thereby keeps cruise control engaged while in use. I originally simply removed the spring subassembly and loved the feel, but every little bump affected CC.
Helps lessen the pedal pressure needed to actuate the clutch pedal. As a result, the 'feel' of the clutch is lessened and this is the effect I found objectionable. I replaced the OE spring with a suitable alternative to solve. Attached photos show this spring assembly, etc. The replacement spring I used was p/n 9657K142 from McMaster-Carr. Also, if you choose to make a similar change, be careful, the OE spring is under considerable force when released.
2005 987B....basically the same as you described. After bleeding the clutch fluid, the clutch became tiny bit smoother....especially at the bite point.
Its not that the engagement isnt smooth. Its just that the bite feels a tiny bit vague. I used the term soft. Are you saying your bite point got firmer?
