New member with question.... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

I would like to introduce myself as a new Boxster owner. I recently bought a 1999 Arctic Silver 5 speed. So far thanks to this site I comfortably changed my ignition switch which left my new to me car dead in the garage and saved a ton on a DIY oil change. So now my car has a slight shudder on low rpm clutch engagement. More so when it is cold. Not sure if the clutch is on it's way out but it still shifts smooth and does not slip even at full throttle. No grinding either. I think my RMS is fine as I have no drips on the garage floor or wetness on the bottom of the motor. So my question is.. Is a DIY clutch job really a possibility in your own garage? If so for $500 in parts I might just do it as preventitive maint. I am very comfortable with mechanical work but I have never replaced a clutch. I have lots of experience with other car repairs like brakes, half shafts, alternators, plugs etc. Also have people paid for a clutch job at the dealer vs an indy shop? Thanks Chris

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your new ride which might just be the most fun car you will ever own. Yes a clutch job is a DIY if you have the tools and talent. I have not yet done mine but several in our local PCA have. Figure about 6 hours if you don't get too hung up on rusted manifold bolts. Clutch shudder might be just an artifact from the previous owner not using a smooth release. If you are not in a hurry to change it and it is not slipping it may smooth out over time.

It also may be normal. Drive another Boxster or have another Boxster owner drive yours.

Thanks. I rode in my friends this weekend who has the exact same car and his seems smoother. He drove mine on the test drive and thought it felt better than his although that was 2 months ago. It seems to only do it when cold. It was fine on the way home tonight.... Im in no hurry as it performs fine other than a bit of shake sometimes. Maybe it will fix itself

well it could be an engine mount... but not sure why it would do it only when cold. one thing you can do to tell if its a bad mount is pop open the engine compartment put the car in gear, release handbrake. after that go to the rear bumper and push the car and rock it forward and back. but be careful not to scratch dent any body parts of course. if you see the engine move alot and the car rocks alot it is a bad mount. also another way to tell while ur driving but i dont remember the method something about accelerating in 2nd or 3rd and let off the gas quick and feeling if there is play in the shifter or something. as far as ur clutch replacement job. anything is possible at home its just all about having the right tools. if you know what you need going into it then you can adequately prepare

Thanks, I thought about the engine mount too as that seems to be a common failure. I have not tried the rocking method but when acceleratoin WOT and letting off the throttle I get no real movement in the shifter. Funny thing is it was fine again this morning so maybe whatever was causing the shudder wore off. I did drive it much much harder than normal yesterday to see if I could get a symptom to stick. I have learned my lesson. No more driving like a wus...

You get hot spots, (sort of like burns marks) on the disk and flywheel surfaces. Mostly from not starting out smoothly and usually found on high mileage cars. Also your motor mount could be going out. You should notice a thump when taking off. Pedro rebuilds them for around a $100. I have a TIP and I love it.

No thump taking off and it seems solid on and off the throttle. Burn marks sounds like a possibility though. Maybe the few hard starts yesterday helped . I don't have a good history of the previous owner and have only owned the car for about 500 miles. I know I have not caused the issue as my starts are always perfect

I am now going 65. I have built rods, hot rods and street machines. In these high horse power engines we would ride the clutch...sort of grabbing and no grabbing...this is so you could jump at the start and you would have a little friction built up. Clutches usually would get these problems after time. Maybe the previous owner rode the clutch a little to much. For everyday driving I would down shift but before I stopped then I would pop it in neutral. When the light changed, in gear I went and took off. Just plan old normal driving. Try a few hard starts and see if you can wear down the spots...maybe it will help

When was the last time your brake/clutch fluid was changed/bled? Every two years is the spec.

No idea when or if. I have no service history with it. The car is in fantastic cosmetic shape and seemed to be cared for very well but it could have been a garage queen with no mechanical upkeep!!! Can I flush it without a power bleeder by just using the pedal? It's almost away for the winter so maybe it will be a spring project.. I will say after I drove it much more agressivly the clutch felt great again. Maybe there was some build up on the surfaces which is now gone. The car seems to really enjoy being driven hard.

You can have a helper depress the clutch, just as you would when bleeding brakes. I use a power bleeder and depress the clutch (held in check by a extended rod conveniently placed in the interior) and open the bleeder under pressure. The bleeder valve is a pain in the a** to get at, however.

Where do you connect a power bleeder? To the resevoir? That sounds like a nice tool to have...

Yes, it copnnects to the reservoir in place of the cap. You pressurize to 20PSI and then bleed the calipers in sequence (also the slave as it shares the same reservoir as the brakes). Motive makes a good one (which I own), but I have recently seen a far superior one from BAVAUTO - http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp which costs virtually the same but has much nicer features. Look under the brake category and then tools. It's somewhat faulty reasoning to leave the old stuff in til spring. Brake fluid is hygroscopic meaning it absorbs moisture (even from the air). Leaving it in will give it all winter to attack and corrode the innards of the calipers, lines, master and slave through the winter. If it were me, I'd swap it now. The winter air is typically very dry and so it'll still be very fresh come spring.