Brand new clutch

[Mtnbiker326]

Hey everyone. I just purchased a 2001 boxster s today. I had the dealer install a new clutch yesterday before I picke it up. Is there a break in period for the stock clutch? Also when I get it over 3500 to 4000 quickly like zero to about 40 it starts smelling like something is burning when I quickly shift into second. Am I "glazing or burning" the new clutch and could it be ruining it? I am new to Porsche and the closest I have to it is a Mazda Miata.

[harryrcb]

Congratulations on your purchase

There is no break in to the clutch but you don't want to be slipping it either. Make sure you take your foot all the way off the pedal after release. If you are doing that and it is slipping take it back to the dealer and let him check it.

Edited April 3, 2011 by harryrcb

[Mtnbiker326]

Congratulations on your purchase

There is no break in to the clutch but you don't want to be slipping it either. Make sure you take your foot all the way off the pedal after release. If you are doing that and it is slipping take it back to the dealer and let him check it.

Thank you. I love the car. Update here... Drove it 700 mi home and it drives fine with clutch but there are "2 catch points" or friction points. I have the initial engagement at about 1/4 way from the floor and then the actual "grab" portion about 3/4 from the floor. The problem I have is that I rev the engine expecting the grab early near the floor and then "pop" it thinking it is fully engaged when it is not. Thus the burning clutch smell :( Does the clutch wear in to where those 2 points become really close together? When I "shortshift" it and just push it about 1/4 in from top and get disengagement but not all the way to the floor, I still get the same smell like the clutch didn't fully disengage to begin with. Am I missing something or is something wrong with how I am clutching? (or is the clutch having issues and what do I tell the dealer as I have never dealt with a Porsche dealer before) This car was owned by a porsche dealer mechanic but I have never dealt with a dealership directly before. Plus I am now in a different state than the dealer it was "serviced" at.

Thank you for the help thus far.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Mtnbiker326

[kbrandsma]

Congratulations on your purchase

There is no break in to the clutch but you don't want to be slipping it either. Make sure you take your foot all the way off the pedal after release. If you are doing that and it is slipping take it back to the dealer and let him check it.

Thank you. I love the car. Update here... Drove it 700 mi home and it drives fine with clutch but there are "2 catch points" or friction points. I have the initial engagement at about 1/4 way from the floor and then the actual "grab" portion about 3/4 from the floor. The problem I have is that I rev the engine expecting the grab early near the floor and then "pop" it thinking it is fully engaged when it is not. Thus the burning clutch smell :( Does the clutch wear in to where those 2 points become really close together? When I "shortshift" it and just push it about 1/4 in from top and get disengagement but not all the way to the floor, I still get the same smell like the clutch didn't fully disengage to begin with. Am I missing something or is something wrong with how I am clutching? (or is the clutch having issues and what do I tell the dealer as I have never dealt with a Porsche dealer before) This car was owned by a porsche dealer mechanic but I have never dealt with a dealership directly before. Plus I am now in a different state than the dealer it was "serviced" at.

Thank you for the help thus far.

Harryrcb is correct. No break-in period for clutch. When you said dealer replaced clutch, perhaps didn't replace throw out bearing. Are they reputable? I would take it back. How many miles? Depending on the miles there are a few other things to service while tranny is out. RMS, IMS (retrofit), AOS, oil filler hose(s), dip stick tube to name a few. Not necessary to change all but easier to examine and then replace as needed from below.

[Mtnbiker326]

Congratulations on your purchase

There is no break in to the clutch but you don't want to be slipping it either. Make sure you take your foot all the way off the pedal after release. If you are doing that and it is slipping take it back to the dealer and let him check it.

Thank you. I love the car. Update here... Drove it 700 mi home and it drives fine with clutch but there are "2 catch points" or friction points. I have the initial engagement at about 1/4 way from the floor and then the actual "grab" portion about 3/4 from the floor. The problem I have is that I rev the engine expecting the grab early near the floor and then "pop" it thinking it is fully engaged when it is not. Thus the burning clutch smell :( Does the clutch wear in to where those 2 points become really close together? When I "shortshift" it and just push it about 1/4 in from top and get disengagement but not all the way to the floor, I still get the same smell like the clutch didn't fully disengage to begin with. Am I missing something or is something wrong with how I am clutching? (or is the clutch having issues and what do I tell the dealer as I have never dealt with a Porsche dealer before) This car was owned by a porsche dealer mechanic but I have never dealt with a dealership directly before. Plus I am now in a different state than the dealer it was "serviced" at.

Thank you for the help thus far.

Harryrcb is correct. No break-in period for clutch. When you said dealer replaced clutch, perhaps didn't replace throw out bearing. Are they reputable? I would take it back. How many miles? Depending on the miles there are a few other things to service while tranny is out. RMS, IMS (retrofit), AOS, oil filler hose(s), dip stick tube to name a few. Not necessary to change all but easier to examine and then replace as needed from below.

Yes they are reputable. Posibly. I had them replace IMS (LN version), rear main seal and clutch disc. He said he was just putting a new one in as mine had probably 10k left in the old one (since the tranny was out for the IMS). Car has 165k on it now.

[twsarch]

Congratulations on your purchase

There is no break in to the clutch but you don't want to be slipping it either. Make sure you take your foot all the way off the pedal after release. If you are doing that and it is slipping take it back to the dealer and let him check it.

Thank you. I love the car. Update here... Drove it 700 mi home and it drives fine with clutch but there are "2 catch points" or friction points. I have the initial engagement at about 1/4 way from the floor and then the actual "grab" portion about 3/4 from the floor. The problem I have is that I rev the engine expecting the grab early near the floor and then "pop" it thinking it is fully engaged when it is not. Thus the burning clutch smell :( Does the clutch wear in to where those 2 points become really close together? When I "shortshift" it and just push it about 1/4 in from top and get disengagement but not all the way to the floor, I still get the same smell like the clutch didn't fully disengage to begin with. Am I missing something or is something wrong with how I am clutching? (or is the clutch having issues and what do I tell the dealer as I have never dealt with a Porsche dealer before) This car was owned by a porsche dealer mechanic but I have never dealt with a dealership directly before. Plus I am now in a different state than the dealer it was "serviced" at.

Thank you for the help thus far.

Harryrcb is correct. No break-in period for clutch. When you said dealer replaced clutch, perhaps didn't replace throw out bearing. Are they reputable? I would take it back. How many miles? Depending on the miles there are a few other things to service while tranny is out. RMS, IMS (retrofit), AOS, oil filler hose(s), dip stick tube to name a few. Not necessary to change all but easier to examine and then replace as needed from below.

Yes they are reputable. Posibly. I had them replace IMS (LN version), rear main seal and clutch disc. He said he was just putting a new one in as mine had probably 10k left in the old one (since the tranny was out for the IMS). Car has 165k on it now.

did they replace the pressure plate?? silly question but it wasn't in your list of replaced items.

[Mtnbiker326]

The pressure plate was not replaced. However... I took it to my mechanic and he stated that the clutch was fine but the smell was the exhaust coming into the cabin with the top down (and sometimes up). His explanation was that there is a vacuum effect when you get on the throttle and you will smell some exhaust due to it being a "convertible mid-engined" car.

Please verify if this is true. If not, as it is exhaust and not clutch related, what could be causing it?

[RFM]

If i were you, i had the entire clutch replaced, only the disc does not work. There is probably something wrong with the pressure plate condition, given the rather strange pedal behaviour and the associated smell. A second opinion, performed by a qualified person, would be a good point IMHO.

[Cloudsurfer]

The pressure plate was not replaced. However... I took it to my mechanic and he stated that the clutch was fine but the smell was the exhaust coming into the cabin with the top down (and sometimes up). His explanation was that there is a vacuum effect when you get on the throttle and you will smell some exhaust due to it being a "convertible mid-engined" car.

Please verify if this is true. If not, as it is exhaust and not clutch related, what could be causing it?

I would NEVER re-use a pressure plate (the only exception being a race clutch with a beefy pressure plate and a thin clutch disc, where you can get away with it due to the short life of the actual friction material). Clutches end their lives both due to loss of friction material on the clutch disc, as well as the pressure plate losing its ability to provide enough of a clamp load.

Assuming your car is stock (meaning it has cats), and is running properly, there should be virtually no smell of exhaust (perhaps just a bit during the first minute while the cats light off from a cold start), and even so, raw exhaust smell is completely different from burning clutch or brake pad smell. If you're smelling clutch, and you haven't been hammering the brakes, that's what it is. It's entirely possible that your clutch is slipping, either due to improper installation, a weak pressure plate, or a glazed/ damaged pressure plate or flywheel.

Take the car back to whoever did the work, if they truly are reputable, or find a shop who is. The more you drive this the way it is, the more you're going to ruin the new parts you just put in.

[Mtnbiker326]

Sounds good. I have an appt with my mechanic on Tuesday to deal with this and I am driving my truck in the meantime. Thanks for all the help

[twsarch]

I guess my question on the pressure plate was not so silly after all. I can’t think of anyone that would replace the clutch w/o replacing the pressure plate. Sounds to me like the guy that did it owes you a flywheel now.

[Mtnbiker326]

Just an FYI. The owner/dealer mechanic put the clutch disc in free of charge just to upgrade the clutch that was in it. I paid nothing for it. He just threw it in during a Rms changeout. (also no charge). I figured I would be more concerned about not replacing the Throwout bearing than the flywheel. I also was given the clutch disc for free as well (thrown in for purchasing the car). So if I have to pay for a clutch job... Well I only have to technically pay for it once :)

[Cloudsurfer]

Just an FYI. The owner/dealer mechanic put the clutch disc in free of charge just to upgrade the clutch that was in it. I paid nothing for it. He just threw it in during a Rms changeout. (also no charge). I figured I would be more concerned about not replacing the Throwout bearing than the flywheel. I also was given the clutch disc for free as well (thrown in for purchasing the car). So if I have to pay for a clutch job... Well I only have to technically pay for it once :)

While you make a point, I'd say the real thing that would concern me about this situation is mindset/ work ethic/ professionalism of the guy doing the work. While he tried to do you a "favor," he also certainly tried to keep his own cost of said favor down. It's pretty much standard practice to replace clutches as assemblies, so if he's cutting corners on this, what else is he short changing you on?