Last week I found myself stuck on the side of the road (again) after my clutch went to the floor and stayed there.

Here is the story...

About 3 years ago, I brought my car in to the local indy - Forward Automotive - to remove my transmission and send out for a rebuild and do the GT2 slave mod. It was apparent that a bearing was going and the noise was increasing. Gary at forward had quoted me about $3000 for the job. Once disassembled, I asked about the state of my clutch. Gary told me the clutch was only 40% worn - great! nothing else to buy.

Upon completion, he charged me more than double the quoted price.

After leaving with my car all fixed up, I noticed a considerable slip in the clutch. (I'm not sure how he didn't notice it during his test drive). I brought it back and asked him if it was possible something had contaminated the surface during disassembly and the residue would just burn off in a little while. He assured me that did not happen. My only choice now was to get a new clutch and pay - yet again - to have it installed. Gary said he would give me a great rate.

I bought a Spec stage 2.5 and had it within a week. I scheduled an appointment for installation in about two more weeks. By the time the installation day came around, the clutch was no longer slipping. So, now I had a new clutch - I might as well just have it installed - right? The new clutch was installed and when I went to pick up the car, Gary told me it was great! I had a very difficult time backing out of his facility because of the extreme chatter. I managed to get out of the lot and noticed the clutch pedal had a considerable wobble in it when just slightly depressed. Gary said that was a problem with the brand new Spec clutch I bought. I called Spec and they said they haven't heard of such an issue from anyone else.

Anyway, I drove the car with the wobble for almost two years - then, the clutch went to the floor and I was stuck on the side of the road. I had the car towed back to Forward where they removed the transmission and told me there was a problem with the release bearing (it split apart) but it certainly wasn't an issue with their install. They replaced the release bearing and put it back together. Same clutch but now the wobble was gone - replaced with a squeak and intermittent binding. Gary said the new release bearing probably wouldn't last that long because of the extreme spring pressure with the Spec clutch. I really didn't know what he was taking about because no "spring" had ever been replaced. Whatever was there was still OEM.

OK, now back to last week... My clutch goes to the floor - do I call Forward? Not a chance - I have it towed to the dealer.

The problem was identified as the clutch fork:



There were obvious signs of improper installation (rear main seal not inserted correctly, metal shavings on the bottom of the case and bolts not even tight)



The dealer - Porsche Center Victoria - sourced out my parts and made considerable effort to make sure I didn't have to pay the "Porsche Tax" on my parts. They were even willing to source after-market parts where they were good quality and cheaper. Now, here is where they shine... Last Sunday was the Island Motorsport Gathering & Classic car show - a once-a-year automotive event held at the new GAIN track (https://motorgathering.com/)
. I was registered at the event and would be needing the car. Friday morning, the techs had the car all assembled and they worked on the car overtime (until 6 pm) Friday to make sure everything was perfect and I would have the car back in time for the show.

I picked it up at 6:30 pm Friday night and I was amazed at how good the clutch feel was. Although no springs were replaced, clutch pressure was a fraction of what it had been for the last 3 years (since the GT2 slave mod). The clutch pressure was higher before the mod when I still had the accumulator.

I know there are many dealer stories that have been told here where the dealers made absolutely no effort to keep prices down and step up to make the customer happy, but Porsche Center Victoria certainly did for me. They also gave me a "Classic" discount in addition to my PCA discount. I really don't think I will ever go anywhere else - those guys are amazing!



A friend grabbed a picture of me leaving the event...



Sorry for the long post - It had to be said.

 

Nice car Slider and I like story with happy ending! What happen to your front differential that was cracked?

 

Ah, funny you should mention it...

I took the front diff to an Engineering company to have the crack welded. They said they could only do it if I took it apart. I took all the bolts off but nothing would come apart so I took it to the dealer and said: "you do it".

The dealer now has the diff and they are trying to figure out what's wrong with it. I told them that I wasn't in a big hurry for it so I'm OK with them taking their time. There is no way I'm going to pay $9 K for a new one and the dealer understands. They are quite willing to fix it - whatever it takes.