DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

So, I can report I am now sitting comfortably and also able to drive it again, but it has not been simple.

So, to recap, the slave cylinder showed every sign of being brand new, though I could not find the receipt in my usually bullet proof system. So, the M/c was first up.

Hidden behind the floor board, all the forums say it is a PITA to replace but they can't be right bearing in mind everything else I have done right? Well, yes actually.

So, remembering the extreme lengths I went to in order to undo the other brake and clutch pipes (which I had conveniently forgotten), how tight was the 14mm union on top of the MC? Well, I call it BFT (last word tight!) What a nightmare, resulting in me 'recreating' my favourite brake pipe spanner by cutting a section out of my least used (bendy, as it happens) 14mm ring spanner, so I could slip it over the pipe and have maximum grip on the union.





(Sorry for the crap pics, it was dark down there)

That was nowhere near enough, and needed a 3 foot lever bar before it went with a sharp crack. Good start...

Anyhow, then onto the mounting nuts. SOP here - try the most difficult first. Well, as you can see, the rearward nut is in the most challenging of spots, cannot be touched by a socket set, so needed 1/4 turns on a ring spanner and took ages (was also BFT), before doing the front one which was easy by comparison..




After much swearing, I got it out and trapped the excess fluid from the high point in the reservoir that the clutch circuit draws from





And then the new one in



So using my new pressure bleeding system, I managed to waste at least half a litre of my very expensive Dot 5 fluid, because in pressurising the reservoir, it pours out of the overflow and exits from the pipe at the bottom of the OSF footwell!!



Anyhow, all that nonsense sorted I was no further towards a solution. I had some false starts; with the car jacked up in the air, I could get 1st and reverse so thought I had fixed. Next day, on the ground ready for an excited test drive, no gears. I worked out that the lack of resistance of the car being in the air was giving me a false positive...

So, I ordered a slave cylinder. It fitted really easily, in retrospect, far too easily, and I should have questioned it but I didn't. Whilst bleeding, I pumped the brake pedal to expel air and there was a sudden 'woosh' and I thought 'that's it, I've got this damned air bubble'. Sadly, after doing up the bleed nipple there was no clutch....

So, I removed the new slave and realised that I had managed to miss the release bearing arm completely, so it was operating in a void in the bellhousing. Effectively, I had over pressurised and it blew the rubber gasket out of it's home and over-extended. Hilarious.



Having wasted 45 mins fitting it (a long process of tring to tighten a flexi which is fixed at one end) I did not want to repeat, so refitted the spring washer that holds it in place under the car by tapping it against the heat exchanger. Fun ensues...

Anyway, refitted, re-bled (again) and still no clutch.

More tomorrow...

How full was the swear jar at the end of all that?

Good effort !!!

Chin up, Wayne. You enjoy it really

jonno1 wrote:How full was the swear jar at the end of all that?

Good effort !!!

Positively over-flowing! Of course the news was sinking into my brain that I had replaced the clutch lines, the cylinders and there were no bulges in the rubber line (which was new) and no leaks on the feed line from the reservoir letting air in. And I am not a numpty - I had bled it about 100 times, and the garage floor attested to this because what with the over-flow and general drips caused by connecting and disconnecting the pressure bleeder, it was like an ice rink and frankly getting from one end to the other without going ar53 over elbow was a minor miracle; so there was no air in it.

Which leads to the only conclusion that it was something mechanical.

Which leads to the next conclusion that the engine and box needed to come out again.....

23e Heure wrote:Chin up, Wayne. You enjoy it really

Yes James, I live for this stuff, I'm a proper masochist!

So I called Gus to see what I was missing, hoping there was something. He agreed there wasn't, and we talked through what we knew;

- New flywheel (single mass)
- New clutch arm & RS release bearing (to compensate for the longer throw required due to the shallower flywheel)
- Original clutch (we did not change this because the invoice evidenc suggested it was 3k miles old when the engine was rebuilt before my ownership. The clutch inspected well, and looked as new as the invoice suggested
- No issues with the hydraulics, because it was all new

That left three possible causes, from least to most likely;

1. Clutch failure
2. Roller bearing failure on the clutch arm, changing the pivot point so the clutch did not achieve full travel
3. Collapsed release bearing

A plan was hatched to take it down, he would buy a new clutch kit and bearings to cover all bases, and return what was not needed. I considered driving it down, on the basis that when I hit the main road, I could be in 5th gear all the way to within 10 miles of his workshop. This clearly carried risk, so I decided to trailer it and was glad I did when I realised quite how bad it was when loading up.

So, after an early start to get there for 9 ish, we made a good early start. A short while later, we had this



And an empty engine bay




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So what was it?

Well, this bit was disappointing. We expected to find shed loads wrong, or a smashed up bearing but no.

The roller bearings had fallen out, but they do this when you take the bolt out of the release arm anyway, so they could have been in there already but that was unlikely. One of the plastic bushes (seen below in the arm) fell out, but they too were in good nick and when popped back in, tight with no free play




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Head-scratching ensued....

Gus suggested that we were kind of committed at that point, and with no concrete cause we might as well change the clutch too, just in case it was contaminated or the springs failed in some way that we could not see. So, new clutch in, engine refitted; 3 hours after I pulled into the workshop with a running engine it was running again - that is pretty good going! Huge thanks to Gus and Alex at AMS, who really know what they are doing, and were not impaired by the monkey in the overalls.....

Better still, the clutch worked again. 1st selected perfectly, and reverse, so after burning the oil out of the OS heat exchanger (which fills due to the location of the oil pipe above it) I went for a test drive in terrible weather but all was good. Back on the trailer and home for vital family duties by later afternoon.

I have only driven a couple of times since and all seems good. The only thing is the clutch smells, like an old granny (sorry old grannies everywhere!) has done the old 5k revs into a parking space thing riding the clutch. I am pulling away at 2k revs ish (can't do less or it stalls, due to the RS flywheel), and jumping off the clutch. The biting point is mid pedal, so must be fully releasing and the pedal is returning fully (we tested operation before putting it in manually, as best you can). So I hope this is simply a bedding in thing - I have only done about 20 miles, so it is early days and in every other respect all is fine. There is no clutch slip on gear changes, and no judder. In every respect, a perfectly functioning clutch, that kiffs. Bit of a strange one, but will see how it develops as I do as many miles as I can that are lockdown compliant (shopping, school runs etc).

I have had some more parts arrive, so have a good number of jobs to do over the winter once the salt sets in, so it is now at last a rolling resto, and doing the title of the thread justice!

rhd racer wrote:The only thing is the clutch smells, like an old granny (sorry old grannies everywhere!)

Wee & biscuits?

Phew, what a journey Wayne.
As ever, you just have to keep going to get through.

So, have you cut the clutch open to see if there is anything obvious from broken springs to warping etc or is it in the bit to stay there and Good Riddance?

Hugo 356 wrote:

rhd racer wrote:The only thing is the clutch smells, like an old granny (sorry old grannies everywhere!)

Wee & biscuits?

I see what you did there!

911hillclimber wrote:Phew, what a journey Wayne.
As ever, you just have to keep going to get through.

So, have you cut the clutch open to see if there is anything obvious from broken springs to warping etc or is it in the bit to stay there and Good Riddance?

No Graham, it went in the bin, definite good riddance. I wish we had replaced it earlier, but there was absolutely no suggestion there was anything wrong with it.

Further, a bit of remorse for the week (and expense!) replacing the hydraulics, but then faced with the problem we had you would not rush to drop the engine and box! So I think I did the right thing eliminating the obvious, just doesn’t feel that way!

When you swapped to the LWF did you also swap this part for the longer version as seen here?




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Cool update Paul - I keep seeing you around East Bridgford and up the A46, always puts a smile on my face

DustyM wrote:When you swapped to the LWF did you also swap this part for the longer version as seen here?




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I did Jon yes, but good shout, thank you

964RS wrote:Cool update Paul - I keep seeing you around East Bridgford and up the A46, always puts a smile on my face

Thanks Jason, and it’s Wayne as you well know, but luckily I answer to anything I have been meaning to pop in for a brew but haven’t had time yet. BTW, Luke thinking about another Boxster, he should never have sold yours.

Sorry Wayne, multi tasking while typing (not my strong point!).

He should have at least used it a bit....sold it too quickly before he got the chance really, was a nice car that one....