Throwout Bearing or Clutch?

[deanslist.us]

Did a few searches here and came up empty handed thus far...either that or I am in denial. :o

Anyway, here is the scenario:

A little history:

1999 996 C2 6-speed

currently at 78k miles

5-6 track days (DE), few high speed trips, plenty of road trips. :P

one previous engine/clutch replacement at 25k miles ;)

The engagment point of which you feel the clutch grab on - is usually in the middle area when depressing the clutch pedal. Seemed like from one day to the next, the clutch doesn't grab until the pedal is near the top (my foot nearly completely off the clutch pedal). I tried the hard acceleration 'trick' to see if my clutch was gone, but there was no slippage, clutch held and the car pulled hard as usual. If I push the clutch pedal in about 2-3 inches, it vibrates pretty good (enough to cause my pant to tickle my leg). When it is all the way up - no vibration, all the way down - hardly any vibration.

Local Porsche wrench expert says may be the throwout bearing. We think the RMS leaks <_< (I think that's what we saw), but yet not enough to drip a single spot on my garage floor. We jsut did a full bleed on the brakes not three weeks ago, but previous searches here tell me that the reservoir to the brake and clutch fluids are not shared. I haven't bled the clutch fluid yet...mostly because I can't figure out where to add more fluid in yet. I found posts here on how to get the bubbles out, but none tell how to add more fluid back into the system.

Any takers?

[1999Porsche911]

Did a few searches here and came up empty handed thus far...either that or I am in denial. :o

Anyway, here is the scenario:

A little history:

1999 996 C2 6-speed

currently at 78k miles

5-6 track days (DE), few high speed trips, plenty of road trips. :P

one previous engine/clutch replacement at 25k miles ;)

The engagment point of which you feel the clutch grab on - is usually in the middle area when depressing the clutch pedal. Seemed like from one day to the next, the clutch doesn't grab until the pedal is near the top (my foot nearly completely off the clutch pedal). I tried the hard acceleration 'trick' to see if my clutch was gone, but there was no slippage, clutch held and the car pulled hard as usual. If I push the clutch pedal in about 2-3 inches, it vibrates pretty good (enough to cause my pant to tickle my leg). When it is all the way up - no vibration, all the way down - hardly any vibration.

Local Porsche wrench expert says may be the throwout bearing. We think the RMS leaks <_< (I think that's what we saw), but yet not enough to drip a single spot on my garage floor. We jsut did a full bleed on the brakes not three weeks ago, but previous searches here tell me that the reservoir to the brake and clutch fluids are not shared. I haven't bled the clutch fluid yet...mostly because I can't figure out where to add more fluid in yet. I found posts here on how to get the bubbles out, but none tell how to add more fluid back into the system.

Any takers?

Brake and clutch fluid are the same. Same reservoir.

[deanslist.us]

So I should most likely be focusing my attention on bleeding the air out of my clutch, since it most likely has many air bubbles in it that have migrated from the recent bleed. Would that be accurate?

[1999Porsche911]

So I should most likely be focusing my attention on bleeding the air out of my clutch, since it most likely has many air bubbles in it that have migrated from the recent bleed. Would that be accurate?

That's what I would do first.

[RFM]

Air bubbles in the brake fluid gives the opposite phenomenon, the clutch will grab even with depressed pedal. Looks like a mechanical problem IMHO.

[deanslist.us]

What could be causing the vibration in the clutch pedal do you think? And if the bubbles in the clutch fluid have the opposite effect, what harm could bubbles in your clutch be? I am going to bleed the bubbles from clutch next weekend and see what happens then. I guess in the meantime, is there an available parts listing for pulling the motor that anyone has available. This is going to be one of those "might as well do it while the tranny is out" kinda things.

[1999Porsche911]

What could be causing the vibration in the clutch pedal do you think? And if the bubbles in the clutch fluid have the opposite effect, what harm could bubbles in your clutch be? I am going to bleed the bubbles from clutch next weekend and see what happens then. I guess in the meantime, is there an available parts listing for pulling the motor that anyone has available. This is going to be one of those "might as well do it while the tranny is out" kinda things.

Air in the hydraulic system will make any vibration more pronounced in the pedal. Remove the air and see if it gets better. It won't eliminate the cause of the vibration, but you may find that the vibration is within specs and is no longer felt in the pedal.