Sorry to start another thread, I've read the 100 that are out there.

When I had my PPI before buying my car, the shop said they thought the accumulator was bad. I'm not sure how to tell if they are right. The clutch pedal feels heavy, but always about the same. I tried pumping it about 50 times yesterday, and it never really changed. I do notice its harder to push down before I start the car, then when the engine fires, I can feel the hydraulic assist take some weight off my foot. But then actuating the clutch while the engine is on still takes about the same effort.

No leaks from the front reservoir as far as I can tell, so my slave is good from what I read.

Help appreciated.

 

Accumlator is bad but the slave is on its way out to. Always replace both. Your looking close to a 1000.00 for everything including labor.

 

if the clutch is "assisted" once the motor is running? ( but NOT when not? ) then the accumulator is indeed suspect. any good shop would definitively know this rather than "think it". but it's a relatively inexpensive part you'll replace throughout the years at least once if not twice unless you either r&r with EITHER the newer BBI part or the EvoMs unit ( similar ) or go the full tap and drill slave gt2 delete process with kits offered by a number of reputable tuners ( or highly ingenious/resourceful home depot shoppers ).

depending upon your driving style and ultimate goals for the car, those would/should help to influence your decision to either replace the oem accumulator or go "slave delete" to circumvent the "hydraulic assist" feature which the accumulator helps to facilitate. if tracking the car a lot? then eliminating "creature comforts" ( and that's really all the hydraulic system is designed for..) is probably a good idea and will eliminate any weird "future" engagement points or "sponginess". of course, all this is assuming the clutch parts are all within "spec" and not terribly "worn".

as for me, although i've considered the slave delete route before, i have opted to stay "oem" as neither the oem engagement point ( consistent for me at least when working properly ) or the "soft" feel of the clutch when working as it should, bothers me. though the non assisted gt2/3 feel is arguably more precise and predictably consistent.

so.. that's what we've got...and again, you takes yer choice(s).

 

Eh, fwiw my car had a wonky accumulator for ages. I'm pretty sure it was never right lol. That sucker is gone now and so is the silly assist spring at the pedal.

 

so did you go bbi or gt2 conversion?

 

Lose the power assist. I did the gt2 conversion with the drilling and tapping. A hydraulics store fixed up my line for me. I modded the pump and plugged the lines. My clutch is stiff but it works for me.

 

I'm assuming there's a DIY for this somewhere right?

I'm planning to run the SRM clutch setup with the hydraulic throwout bearing. Just not sure what is invloved to modify the pump etc.

 

Neither, I have an SRM Tilton setup, triple disk ceramettalic frictions.

For those going to this you won't need any of the GT2 parts except master and cap, reservoir was flushed. You will need either a tip p/s pump or you'll need to modify the stock pump. Do NOT simply cap off the ports on the pump. AIM Performance did mine so I don't know what's involved exactly. DO buy the RSS clutch stop, no worries about overextending the hydraulic bearing and it makes the pedal a no brainer. You will lose the bottom clutch switch, I've not tried solving this yet. Expect some screech on engagement, it calms down a good bit as it wears but it's not silent in 1st or reverse for me. Noise at idle clutch in or out is not bad IMO. I had the shift arm weight removed and Numeric cables installed - these cables are loud as hell and I've not yet had a chance to try to insulate them. I have the Numeric shifter too. This clutch is heavy but it's a short throw and no worse than other performance clutches I've driven, I seldom stall honestly.

If you aren't going 700+ hp the Sachs setup might be friendlier but at 730rwhp it was this or the much more expensive ERP and I figured this could hold anything I'm likely to put down and then some. We didn't think the Sachs would hold this and if it did not for long, prices were close so this was an easy decision.

 

remove the p/s pump and reservoir. you have a plate on the back of the pump. remove it and remove the small coupler. reinstall the plate. theres 2 hyd lines from the pump and reservoir to the old slave. each line is removed and the opening is drilled and tapped for plugs. thats it for the slave. the master cylinder under the dash should be replaced with a gt2 unit as does the reservoir cap. this way a tech doesnt add petosin by mistake

 

With a good accumulator, the pedal pressure will not be significantly different after starting the car. The accumulator should be able to retain this pressure assist for weeks if not months. Definitely sounds like the accumulator is dead.

Along with this comes vague pedal feel. A good working clutch slave/accumulator will be smooth and relatively light in pedal pressure (like most non-performance manual cars).

You'll want to replace the slave too as already pointed out. They have proven to fail together, or one will precipitate the failure of the other.

I personally like the assist, especially with my SRE high clamping for pressure plate, for daily driving. Going on 2.5 yrs 20k miles now with no issues.

 

As others have offered, it is the accumulator with almost certainly a side of leaking clutch slave cylinder, if not right now, then soon.

Assuming the engine was off, that you pumped the clutch pedal 50 times with no change is because the accumulator is bad and there was no boost saved up. The clutch started out with no boost and of course remained that way.

If you pumped the clutch pedal with the engine on the pedal will still feel lighter as the running engine drives the pump that provides the boost and that system still works. The accumulator is there to supply boost when the engine is off. And no matter how many times you pump the clutch pedal the feeling of lightness won't (shouldn't) go away.

If with the engine off the clutch is hard to push down compared to after the engine has been started and allowed to idle IIRC 20 seconds that's another sign the clutch accumulator is bad.

What I also felt when my Turbo had this problem is when the engine was running and working the clutch a slight pulsing in the pedal. This is from the hydraulic pump. With a working accumuator this pulsing is dampened to the point I don't feel it at all.

My Porsche tech buddies told me it is not unknown for a Turbo owner to bring in his car and the accumulator is bad and then when he is informed the owner believes he's been fed a line as the clutch always felt that way. It takes just a few moments in a car with a properly working accumulator to convince these doubting owners the accumulator is really bad.

When my Turbo's accumulator went bad the techs told me I could continue to drive the car, there was no harm. But when fluid stain on top of the plastic cover over the small fluid reservoir just ahead of the driver showed up the techs advised me to leave the car to stop driving the car. This fluid is not nice to other materials.

 

When the accumulator is working properly, the pedal effort is about equal to a Honda Civic with a 4 cylinder engine - really - you can barely feel the pedal. If you have ever tried a turbo with a working accumulator, you would never be confused when you felt one that wasn't working. Anyone who asks has a bad accumulator.

 

Thanks for all the help. I replaced only the accumulator today. It was really only a 30 minute job. I used a oil filter strap that is adjustable to remove and replace the part. Huge difference in pedal feel right away. I didn't bother bleeding the system, as others have said its not necessary. So far so good. I'll be sure to top off the reservoir if needed.

 

Keep an eye on the power steering fluid level and the fluid level in the small reservior under the panel just ahead of the driver under the front trunk lid. If the fluid level in the power steering tank goes down while the fluid level in the small reservoir goes up and fluid sign appears around the cap or around/on the reservoir or fluid stain appears on top of the panel the slave cylinder is bad and should be replaced.

 

Cool. I've heard about it, I should look at it a bit more often, and I will. Thanks for the heads up. I am considering the BBI upgraded slave vs the whole gt2 conversion if that occurs. Looking for some input as to which is the better route to go.