Porsche Repair: clutches, clutch slave cylinder, fluid reservoirs

Question
Hi, dave seems I cant get any info on where to put in the fluid for the clutch on a 1987 944.  My manual doesnt have it pictured and I cant find it.  I put the car away for the winter, when I tried to turn it on the clutch stays pressed. It lost the fluid in storage. It is hydraulic and already have the correct fluid, but I am stuck. Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you. Jesus

Answer
Jesus,

I'm surprised there is no mention of this German "sleight of hand" in your manual.  Apparently, the day your 944 was built, the assembly line ran out of clutch fluid containers... so Helmut asked his supervisor, Claus, "vut do I do now?"  Claus told him 'vut' to do, and then made Helmut swear not to tell anyone, especially the manual writers.

In truth, if you could trace all the hydraulic lines buried deep in that little, but efficiently organized engine compartment, you'd find that Porsche combined the fluid reservoirs for both the brakes and the clutch into one.  So, by checking the fluid level of the brake system you're also checking the fluid level of the clutch.

Since you suspect that there's been a fluid loss, check this out carefully...hydraulic fluid in a closed system shouldn't evaporate.  If you really have a leak, you'll have to keep after it until you trace it down.  It may be wise to top off the fluid and then bleed both systems to ensure there's no air where there should be fluid.  Just to make sure the manual writers missed this too, the clutch slave cylinder is hidden by the starter.  You'll no doubt find it much more convenient (I'm not kidding here) to remove the starter and then bleed the clutch.

I just had another thought.  You didn't say if the pedal-to-the-floor problem also occured with the brakes.  If so, the possibility exists that your fluid level will be OK, but the clutch and the brakes won't activate until there's a sufficient vacuum build-up in the power booster.  If this is the case, idling for a short time should solve the problem.

Good luck...and get that beauty back out on the highway where she belongs!

Dave