Hi Gang,

I got in my 03 996TT (with 20,000 miles on it, evo stage IV) and I pushed in the clutch pedal and thought "wow... this clutch is harder to press in than I remember (It had been 5 days since I drove it). I pushed in the pedal a few more times and thought it felt stiffer and not as smooth. Odd... I thought, I need to contact Porsche and get them to look at this.

I take off and get about a half a block and I start hearing a whine that increases with RPM... not good... it's getting louder. I turn around and head home, call Porsche towing and am waiting now for the tow truck to arrive.

My gut tells me something is wrong with the clutch disengagement/engagement system (throwout bearing, pressure plate, clutch, shaft, pilot bushing, etc).

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?

If it turns out that Porsche needs to drop the powertrain, I'll likely tell them to replace the clutch disk itself (I'll give them a new clutch, pressure plate, etc). Is Porsche likely to take issue with replacing factory parts with upgraded non factory parts?

Finally... where should I purchase (and what should I purchase) for an upgraded clutch setup? I've looked at EVO's site and I see their drivetrain components... since I have a stage IV, any recommendations? I am not likely to do any more horsepower upgrades (I'm happy with a stage IV).

Thanks Gang... when I hear back from Porsche, I'll report what happened.

Joe

get a sachs clutch with the LWFW.
ist not ur tranny.

Just heard from Porsche, the problem is the accumulator for the clutch booster is bad/leaking. They said that they would have it fixed by 3:00PM today... not bad considering the flatbed tow truck dropped it off at 12 noon. Apparently this is a common problem for Porsche turbos (and all 911s for all I know). When I dropped the car off, my advisor said that he thought the problem was the accumulator and that he's seen it quite a few times before.

The common symptom is the clutch pedal being more difficult to push in when you first start or get in the car and once the car is going and vacuum pressure is built up; the clutch pressure is back to normal. According to my service advisor, many Porsche owners don't even recognize that the clutch pressure is higher when they first start the car and the technicians find the problem and fix it without the owners even reporting it. Anyway... if clutch pressure is higher OR if it doesn't feel as smooth on cold start, but it is normal once the engine is running; you likely have a leaking accumulator.

Hope this helps someone.


Joe

Mine has this problem right now....2001 with 25K miles. Just haven't had the time to get the little critter in and fixed.

How much did it run you?

Had mine replaced 6 months ago, about $300

It was covered under warranty... given how quickly they turned my Porsche around, I suspect it isn't a complicated job.

Okay... I just checked the service manual and replacing the accumulator is an absolute piece of cake. Get under the car, remove a couple of screws, remove the accumulator, put the new one in. I scanned the procedure if anyone is interested I'll upload the instructions.

Joe

It looks like these cars will need MAF and clutch slave cylinder repair every 3 years or so.

an upload of the instructions would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks in Advance.

Sameer

Instructions on how to replace the clutch accumulator are attached to this post.

Joe West