Multiple clutch problems, cylinder, possible flywheel. Anyone know the realities?

[boardburton]

I recently had my clutch go out. The mechanic replaced it and showed me the old clutch. The clutch lining was completely torn up and gone and it was evident. I drove it for about 2 weeks, very easily.

I was careful not to be too crazy with it and all.
After 2 weeks I was stopping at a stoplight, shifted down from 2nd to 1st and when I let the clutch out it just stayed down at the floor... I was able to start the car in gear and speed shift to 3rd. Then i drove it to the mechanic.

He said it was probably the clutch slave cylinder. We got one and he put it in. It leaked, Advance got us a new one. Then after he installed that I went to pick it up. As i drove off it was kind of shuttering when I let off the clutch as it engaged. It vibrated a lot as it was engaging.

I went back to him and said "This isn't right, it doesn't feel normal and something is wrong"

He told me just to drive it for a day and see what happened. I went to work at 3 and drove home afterwards. Had to stop to drop off a friend on the way but when i pulled back on the highway it started to shudder and vibrate while i was accelerating. I had to accelerate very slowly and it wouldnt shudder, then the car just stopped getting power. I can shift the car fine but the clutch isn't engaging to the engine.

I towed it BACK to the mechanic and told him what happened. He said it is probably either
A) Clutch came apart again, bad clutch.
B) Flywheel is warped and needs to be replaced.

He said it has a "Double Flywheel" which I know deisels have but I have never heard of in cars. We left it with him and he's going to open it back up and look at it. If he finds that the clutch is bad I think it is under waruntee for like 1 year, 3k miles. Anyone have any opinions? I think I shouldn't have to pay for labor but new flywheels can be very expensive. (Near $500 where i found)


Any opinions?

[BillionPa]

well if you need a new flywheel and a new clutch, you might as well go for a lightweight one.

a UUC lightweight flywheel with M5 clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing costs $980

[632 Regal]

i know your kinda stuck with this mechanic but I would be shopping for a new one. Sounds like it's over adjusted to slip like that.


I recently had my clutch go out. The mechanic replaced it and showed me the old clutch. The clutch lining was completely torn up and gone and it was evident. I drove it for about 2 weeks, very easily.

I was careful not to be too crazy with it and all.
After 2 weeks I was stopping at a stoplight, shifted down from 2nd to 1st and when I let the clutch out it just stayed down at the floor... I was able to start the car in gear and speed shift to 3rd. Then i drove it to the mechanic.

He said it was probably the clutch slave cylinder. We got one and he put it in. It leaked, Advance got us a new one. Then after he installed that I went to pick it up. As i drove off it was kind of shuttering when I let off the clutch as it engaged. It vibrated a lot as it was engaging.

I went back to him and said "This isn't right, it doesn't feel normal and something is wrong"

He told me just to drive it for a day and see what happened. I went to work at 3 and drove home afterwards. Had to stop to drop off a friend on the way but when i pulled back on the highway it started to shudder and vibrate while i was accelerating. I had to accelerate very slowly and it wouldnt shudder, then the car just stopped getting power. I can shift the car fine but the clutch isn't engaging to the engine.

I towed it BACK to the mechanic and told him what happened. He said it is probably either
A) Clutch came apart again, bad clutch.
B) Flywheel is warped and needs to be replaced.

He said it has a "Double Flywheel" which I know deisels have but I have never heard of in cars. We left it with him and he's going to open it back up and look at it. If he finds that the clutch is bad I think it is under waruntee for like 1 year, 3k miles. Anyone have any opinions? I think I shouldn't have to pay for labor but new flywheels can be very expensive. (Near $500 where i found)


Any opinions?

[dbals]

thats why you should always have the flywheel resurfaced when installing a new clutch kit. Mechanic should of atleast mentioned this to you. Is possible to have it resurfaced, depending on how bad of shape its in. Ask hime about it and see what he says.

[Rigmaster]

Great advice guys ...........NOT :(


There is no adjustment to make on an E34 clutch (or most other BMW clutches for that matter).

The hydraulic problem (slave cylinder) and the clutch problem are likely NOT connected- other than the fact that they were both old.

If the tranny now feels like it's not connected to the engine, then the clutch disc is likely gone again- either stripped of friction material or the center of it is broken out. Both are NOT very common problems, and you need to figure out why it happened before throwing a new clutch in there. I can't see how a warped flywheel alone could be the problem- though I guess it could be contributing to the demise of the clutch disc. Either way, you (or a competent mechanic) need to figure out why it failed and EXACTLY what failed before throwing any more parts at it.

I don't know if the dual mass flywheel can be resurfaced- I think not. Pretty sure you can use a single mass flywheel from another BMW, just not sure which one....sorry.

Bret.

[Bill R.]

the eccentric to control pedal throw and height. and that doesn't need to be done unless the clutch master cyl. is changed.
The hydraulic problem and the clutch problem are likely not related as he said , however i'm wondering if its possible for the slave cylinder to blow out on an e34 completely and spray brake fluid into the bell housing to the point of where it can get on the clutch disc,

Very unlikely but i'm just throwing it out there.
Also even though some people on here claim that the dual mass flywheel can be resurfaced bmw says not.
It seems very strange that it would work 2 weeks with not chatter or grabbing as you describe and then start after the slave is replaced.
Usually it requires oil on the surface of the clutch disc or a warped pressure plate to cause chatter. One other possibility is a broken transmission mount can sometimes cause chatter on some cars.
Typically if a clutch is going to chatter because of flywheel problems or oil or unevenly tightened pressure plate bolts causing warpage then it does it almost immediately, as soon as the new clutch is installed

You'll have to see what it looks like after you pull it apart but i doubt that the flywheel is going to be the problem.




Great advice guys ...........NOT :(


There is no adjustment to make on an E34 clutch (or most other BMW clutches for that matter).

The hydraulic problem (slave cylinder) and the clutch problem are likely NOT connected- other than the fact that they were both old.

If the tranny now feels like it's not connected to the engine, then the clutch disc is likely gone again- either stripped of friction material or the center of it is broken out. Both are NOT very common problems, and you need to figure out why it happened before throwing a new clutch in there. I can't see how a warped flywheel alone could be the problem- though I guess it could be contributing to the demise of the clutch disc. Either way, you (or a competent mechanic) need to figure out why it failed and EXACTLY what failed before throwing any more parts at it.

I don't know if the dual mass flywheel can be resurfaced- I think not. Pretty sure you can use a single mass flywheel from another BMW, just not sure which one....sorry.

Bret.

[boardburton]

Thanks guys. I wish I had just towed it the extra 40 miles to the Import place with more experience... but I was cheap. I'm going to get another auto place to give second opinions before replacing ANYTHING else and wont be paying for any labor or parts my mechanic may have messed up.

He risked damaging my car further (any my life because i had to drive the car @10mph on the highway until a gas station) when he told me to drive it more.

I really need my car fixed though.. my rents want their ricer (civic) back.

[Dave M]

Hey guys, been a while,

I wouldn't put it past a slave cylinder to spray copious amounts of fluid if the circular metal 'pressed in clippy thing' wasn't hammered on far enough. When i had the M50 out, a friend stepped on the clutch and blew the slave apart. While trying to put things back together, the metal guy blew off a few times and sprayed fluid everywhere in the process.

I don't like to question mechanics due to second hand info, but..... I would hesitate to call this a flywheel problem. For what its worth, I'm driving a very high mileage and it flywheel and find it hard to believe yours would warp coincidentaly following a clutch replace.

Let us know what turns up,

Dave M

[Phat1983]

Had the same problem, turned out a seal on the gearbox was busted, so gearbox oil sprays on the clutch which causes the friction material to literally break up.

[Phat1983]

Also, try as much as possible to buy the original clutch from the stealer, u won't regret it on the long run.

[boardburton]

I purchased an original BOSCH clutch kit.

[boardburton]

UPDATE: Today he took it apart. Clutch disk is completely torn up and wadded up. Trying to get new part but waruntee is complicated.

Does anyone know if it is standard procedure to resurface the flywheel when replacing a clutch?

The auto parts store said if he did not do this then the waruntee doesnt apply...

[Bill R.]

flywheel, you cannot resurface a dual mass flywheel according to bmw





UPDATE: Today he took it apart. Clutch disk is completely torn up and wadded up. Trying to get new part but waruntee is complicated.

Does anyone know if it is standard procedure to resurface the flywheel when replacing a clutch?

The auto parts store said if he did not do this then the waruntee doesnt apply...

[Jeff N.]

...either you have contaminents on the surface or a problem causing the friction disc to fail.

Contaminents could be from:
- blown slave cylinder
- bad main tranny bearing seal
- bad rear main seal

Failure of the friction disk could be any of the following:
- warped flywheel
- assembley problem from the past job
- bad part
- bad driving habits

It should be real easy to figure out if it's oil or not.

BTW, who ever suggested buying a clutch kit from the dealer is wasting your money. A Sachs kit from BMA is OE quality and you won't have any problems with it.



flywheel, you cannot resurface a dual mass flywheel according to bmw