I don't know how you could swap a clutch without first removing the accumulator a d then the slave. I have replaced several for members here and don't see removing that tranny otherwise!

I've also never heard of Using ATF in a pinch! Buyer beware!
Mike

 

Just to be clear, the thing we're talking about is an aluminum block that has several lines running into it and a palm sized metal ball device that screwed into it - it sits above the transaxle. I saw a rubber line going into it and the troublesome metal line at least, possibly one other metal line? The shop claims that they didn't need to crack into the lines and honestly I couldn't say that I saw anything to indicate that this fitting had been touched other than it tightened down when I wrenched on it. We think the flare simply went bad on the end of it somehow.

As for ATF, I was on the side of the road in an unfamiliar town with a dry pump. For all I knew running it another minute to get to this shop would kill the pump and once there we'd need something to put into anyway. I was hours from home and knew that a petro distillate wouldn't work and that whatever was used had to be synthetic. <shrug> My options were limited to say the least and I did not wish to put out a good samaritan any further than I already had.

That said, I just got off the phone with Jay. After we departed last night Jeff continued to work on things. He unbolted the driver's side axle to obtain working room and was then able to see both ends of the line which he promptly removed. Jay on his way to work this morning went by a dealership nearer his home and picked up several quarts of Pentosin P/S fluid. They flushed the system to the best of their ability, built a new line by hand, and installed it this morning. The car no longer leaks on the lift but they have been unable to test drive the car due to rain - their concern being that the wet would obscure any remaining leak.

JayRacing continues to impress me. These guys did not have to go out of their way but they have and beyond. I cannot say enough about the generousity they have shown. I will know sometime tomorrow if this fix holds and I hope to never have this problem again. However knowing that I can drop the axle to gain clearance REALLY helps as if this occurs again I'll be looking to swap this sucker with something BRAIDED!

At this rate I may be able to retrieve the car later in the week. I dunno' if I'll have a willing copilot just yet but I guess we'll see. I think another one-way rental might be in order!

Now, I am hoping that the rest of life's little bumps fall in line so easily. <sigh>

 

Yes, jim those two components bolt in to the top of the bellhousing! You have looked under there and seen the lack of space, no? Ask a few vendors/ installers offline, jim. You can't get there without removing the slave

Search my user name and you will find some diy info on this job
Mike

 

Not finding the posts man but I'm certainly interested in learning more about what it takes to swap a clutch out. This piece was mounted to the floorboard above the transaxle, I am pretty sure we're talking about the same part. Not having R&R'd a transaxle I cannot say what shortcuts these guys might have found - it is indeed pretty tight in there!

P.S. "These guys" NOT being JayRacing, they did not have to remove anything other than the bad line. They simply dropped one axle to get space.

 

Rumor on the street is that Timmy boy went out and bought another Supra. I hear she's a twin to mine...white...98...30k miles...perfect shape...Timmy boy, can you confirm or deny please?

Peter
p.s. you just couldn't stay away from the KING could you?

 

Fixed*

 

Jim- I can't express enough how absolutely TERRIBLE I feel about this happening. I am however extremely pleased that you had the luck enough to break down where you did!! I can't begin to thank Doug (friend of Jays) and Jay himself and his crew for all that they have done so far to help us both out on this terrible mis-fortune. I can't believe that this happened to you on your way home, when I drove this car for about 600-700 miles since the clutch install with NO issues at all!!! I know that you are in good hands with Jay and his shop though, so rest assured there. I just hope that it is fixed for GOOD!!! Certainly keep me updated whenever you hear anything.

Peter- The rumor mill is certainly true (Jim can attest as well)!! I've already had a few offers on the new Supra, but I'm just not sure I can let this one go!!! It is just sooo nice. I hope to start modding it soon, and it really will be a close twin to yours (maybe a little more power though ).

Tim

 

Jim, congrats on the 996TT. Sounds like you've got my luck, but looks like some good people helped fix the issue. The last time I took a P-Car to a dealership [Park Place/Dallas] for service was in '97 and they did $12k of damage I had to pocket at Zim's. Bought my first SupraTT shortly after. BTW, always assumed you were a blk guy. lol

John H

 

Jim You have a PM...

 

WOW Jim... Sorry to hear about that!

The major question is, "Did you enjoy that 2 hour drive?"

Those guys will get you squared away though. It almost sounds as if the connection itself failed, which is definitely not very common. SPeedy fix!

Justin

 

The car was driven today in dry weather to check for leaks. NONE were found! The handmade replacement line appears to be holding just fine. Examination of the old line and fittings revealed no obvious damage. It is thought that the bubble flare where it screws into the slave simply failed for some reason - hard to say.

Reading this > https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-w-pics-2.html I see some interesting things hwoever. The first being that we've nto bled diddly and yet the clutch appears to work perfectly fine. We also had removed the accumulator to gain access and while we did leave it filled we've not had any clutch issues. I did spy the bleeder while we were under there but thus far it's NOT been touched. I was also unaware of the front resevoir so it's possible that this resevoir is low on fluid. I will check it for contamination as well although the systems has been flushed with Pentosin at this point. Less than one quart synthetic ATF was put in the system and run for less than 5 miles. <shrug> I was unwilling to run it without something in there as the pump would've been pretty dry.

It would be helpful if I could understand better how these two systems - clutch and P/S - are connected. They obviously somehow share fluid right? If there's a powered pump in the system why must things be bled? I have also been made aware of Pentosin's penchant for eating up rubber, I do not recall the coolant lines back there being particularly wet with it but I'll be checking that when I make sure the accumulator is snugged up! Suggestions on cleaning off Pentosin would be much appreciated, I bet it's not great for paint either! Honestly what I'd REALLY like is to have the whole bottom of the car steam cleaned back there but am clueless as to who could offer this service in my area. There was some accumulated grime on the transaxle before, more now, I'd like it cleaner to work on!

At this stage I do not know what the repairs will cost. However I know Porsche charges over $100 just for the 1foot long line that Jay's guy made for us by hand so I am almost certainly FAR better off right now. Honestly I'd almost rather use a braided brake\clutch line in place of this hard line! If I suffer this failure again that will be my intended fix, mark my words. I bet an out of the box Goodridge line and some Aeroquip fittings would solve this completely.

I have heard about the GT2 clutch system. This is supposed to be Pentosin free and remove the cross dependancy between P/S and clutch. But is that really a big deal? You still have Pentosin in the P/S right? Do you lose the accumulator doing this? What does that sucker do? Even running pretty low on fluid we never had a bad clutch pedal, P/S worked fine with boost but groaned and moaned. I R&R'd the accumulator, leaving it full, so certainly you'd think air would be in there but it sure didn't feel like it to me.

My intent at this point is to DRIVE out there with a one way rental late this week. I will then grab the car and head for home. Air fare on such short notice is over $500 EACH while the rental is under $100. It just sux having to drive that far back and forth is all. With two drivers, assuming my copilot is still willing, it might not be so bad. We'll see, I do not need a new road disaster for sure

Stay tuned, I'll update as I learn more.

 

Good luck on your new planned trip. I'm driving with my friend in his Evo to Orlando to pic my car up Wednesday and drive it back. Hopefully my trip is less eventful than yours and we don't get into any trouble on the way back.