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914World.com _ Originality and History _ original clutch

Posted by: wonkipop Jul 24 2020, 05:35 PM

1974 1.8
clutch started slipping after recommissioning.

found interesting things dropping gearbox.
(assembly sticker on case posted elsewhere).

clutch was original type rubber centre disc plate - think thats what they were called.
(with bits of it inside bell housing!).
not sure why porsche used these, but understand they persisted on 911s well into the 80s.
fatter than usual conventional spring type clutch plates.
because of thickness central section of original clutch disc had just started to contact the flywheel bolts leading to slip.
lasted 46 years and 44,000 miles.
guessing last 16 years sitting wasn't great for it, particularly the rubber parts leading to demise - wonder it lasted this long.

flywheel washer is cute, stamped vw type 4 part number and vw logo.
don't get them like that anymore.

Attached Image

Posted by: IronHillRestorations Jul 24 2020, 09:36 PM

Several years ago Brad Mayeur and I were having a discussion about rubber hub clutch disc, and he said he'd never seen one as a repair part.

Posted by: wonkipop Jul 25 2020, 01:45 AM

@ ironhill

i honestly don't know much about these clutches.
before my 914 i was a vw man.
inherited my mothers 64 beetle and after that i owned a 73 squareback (what a great car that was). i replaced the clutch in that once and vaguely remember it. the pressure plate looked nothing like modern tongue type pressure plates.

the information i have is that these rubber clutches could explode. suspect it was higher powered porsches like 930s made that happen rather than 914s.
though i think my "weak" little 914 was about to wrench this half century old relic apart. it drove ok 16 years ago when i stored it away (divorce etc, you know the scene) and in the years that passed it just went hard and rotten.
amazingly it still worked though, sort of, though i can shake it around now and it rattles. !!!

i think porsche quietly canned these sometime around the end of the 80s or early in the 90s having asked around. a failed experiment.

they were supposed to stop clutch chatter and make everyday driving a smooth experience. thats all been solved with more modern clutches with springs. hence no repair part.

they do work well, as i can attest from earlier years driving it. but the rubber has an expiration date. i was well past that with mine. well past.

Posted by: rgalla9146 Sep 23 2020, 09:05 PM

New car equipment only.
Very faulty, always fail, causing shifting issues. Replace.
Never saw one in a 914

Posted by: wonkipop Sep 28 2020, 05:47 AM

now you have.

its the original item.
no poor shifting while it was in the car.
worked very well when i was driving it 16 years ago.
just began slipping upon recommissioning.
rubber core had finished the job of perishing during storage coupled with clutch plate wear at limit before storage.

my comment would be that as a unit it worked very well for 25-30 years and 40,000 miles. as you can see from images the clutch plate had worn right to its limits and maybe a little beyond. but there were no shifting issues. just slipping. amazed it still worked at all when we pulled it out.

going ok now with replacement spring type clutch plate. also renewed one worn bush in shifter linkage at rear where shifter rod connects to gear box. took two months to get hold of the bush from a supplier in the usa. gear shift now very precise, like showroom.