Clutch replacement and cost projections

[Morgenster]

Can anyone tell me what should be replaced when a clutch starts to go bad?
I'm trying to figure out what I'm in for financially in the next six months.
A clutch disc is priced somewhere from 100$ - 150$, but I see people here having clutch jobs done at up to 2000$ in parts and labor.
Also, how long does it usually take a reasonably good mechanic to do this?

[Jon K]

Hehe just did mine - Its cheap in parts but expensive in labor.

You need a new or resurfaced/cleaned flywheel
new flywheel bolts
new pressure plate bolts
throw out bearing
some lithium grease
clutch disc
alignment tool
pressure plate

[Morgenster]

Hehe just did mine - Its cheap in parts but expensive in labor.

You need a new or resurfaced/cleaned flywheel
new flywheel bolts
new pressure plate bolts
throw out bearing
some lithium grease
clutch disc
alignment tool
pressure plate

Thanks for the reply!

So in essence a 'clutch kit' as sold by many retailers online?
If that amounts to some 250$-300$ how come there's people getting 2000$ quotes on this stuff?

It's not an urgent problem but very foreseeable since the clutch starts 'grabbing' very soflty slipping all the way up to the last centimetre of pedal travel where it sticks.

So is this much slippage from halfway to the last 0.5 inch indicative of some other issue?

[bfd]

I recently had a clutch job done on my 90 535i, 5spd, 110K miles. The throw bearing was starting to make noise and finally became really loud, so I had a shop replace it. Since he had the tranny out, I had him replace all the seals.
The shop said my flywheel looked fine.

The parts replaced include:

clutch kit $265
output seal $11
input seal $12
shift seal $7
pilot bearing $6
pivot pin $1
exhaust hanger $3
shifter bushing $7.5

Labor was the most expensive:

$450 to replace clutch with pivot pin and pilot bearing
$95 to replace trans seals and shifter bushing
$55 to tighten loose differential mount
$35 to change trans oil (and he used regular oil at $4!)

After all is said, my car is very, very quiet and shifts fine. However, it is a little stiff when cold, so I plan on changing the fluid back to synthetic (probably Royal Purple).

[John B.]

The 5 speed in my 90 535i is happiest with plain old $2 a qt Dextron 3. I tried the Redline synth version but it was stiff with that so I switched back. I just did the clutch because my throw out bearing failed. Flywheel was fine in mine also & the clutch still had plenty left but I didn't want to go back in again anytime soon. Not to bad a job if you have access to a lift. Biggest PITA was removing the pressure plate bolts.

[Jon K]

The 5 speed in my 90 535i is happiest with plain old $2 a qt Dextron 3. I tried the Redline synth version but it was stiff with that so I switched back. I just did the clutch because my throw out bearing failed. Flywheel was fine in mine also & the clutch still had plenty left but I didn't want to go back in again anytime soon. Not to bad a job if you have access to a lift. Biggest PITA was removing the pressure plate bolts.

No way, the PP bolts were cake for me. You just have to hammer you socket in to them to ensure it won't strip them.

Biggest PITA for me was removing the starter from the trans since M50 has a guide pin and two bolts on the starter, and then getting that pin to seat when putting it back in - also reaching the top most starter bolt/nut combo was a bitch.

[John B.]

No way, the PP bolts were cake for me. You just have to hammer you socket in to them to ensure it won't strip them.

Biggest PITA for me was removing the starter from the trans since M50 has a guide pin and two bolts on the starter, and then getting that pin to seat when putting it back in - also reaching the top most starter bolt/nut combo was a bitch.


You don't have to touch the starter on an M30 so no issues there. All my PP bolts were seriously stuck. They'd been on there since 12/89 & the heads were swiss cheese. I ended up heating them with a torch & breaking them loose with a small pair of vise grips. Since I was working alone & without a tranny jack getting the trans back up in there was fun.

[Jon K]

You don't have to touch the starter on an M30 so no issues there. All my PP bolts were seriously stuck. They'd been on there since 12/89 & the heads were swiss cheese. I ended up heating them with a torch & breaking them loose with a small pair of vise grips. Since I was working alone & without a tranny jack getting the trans back up in there was fun.

Yeah mine were more than likely original too. I had an extra flywheel so I figured if they got stuck I'd just grind the heads off and get them out later.

[bfd]

The 5 speed in my 90 535i is happiest with plain old $2 a qt Dextron 3. I tried the Redline synth version but it was stiff with that so I switched back.

That's the right thing to do. I recall Brett Anderson, BMW Master Tech and owner of koalamotorsport, stating that not all BMW trannys like synthetic oil like Redline. In that case, he recommended changing back to what the factory ordered.

Since I bought the car back in 95, with 38K miles, I've always had Redline in it. However, in 2005, at about 97K, I changed both the tranny and diff fluids to Royal Purple. Shifted nice and smooth, like Redline. However, when the clutch was changed, the shop said the fluid was black, which he said was unusual for RP. Since it shifted fine, I plan to give it another shot.

[Jehu]

I just had my six speed clutch and flywheel done.I took it to the shop on a Thursday morning and i got it back Friday evening.Cost $1,900.00. I live at a Condominium Complex so have no garage or tools ,certainly not anything to drop the tranny so it was never even a remote consideration that i could do any of it myself. The shop said everything looked to be original so i anticipate this to last me longer than the car will run.

[Jon K]

I just had my six speed clutch and flywheel done.I took it to the shop on a Thursday morning and i got it back Friday evening.Cost $1,900.00. I live at a Condominium Complex so have no garage or tools ,certainly not anything to drop the tranny so it was never even a remote consideration that i could do any of it myself. The shop said everything looked to be original so i anticipate this to last me longer than the car will run.

What did the shop do in regard to the flywheel, do you know? Most shops insist they be replaced - my clutch is grabbing my DIY cleaned flywheel VERY nicely.

[PaulJ]

The clutch release bearing failed on my 1991 535i toward the end of last year. 140K and original clutch. Sachs kit from BMA-$275, labor at local tranny shop (excellent shop)-$300. I had them replace the oxygen sensor while the exhaust was out. Picked up the car the next day. The owner wanted to buy the car right there! Nothing else needed. Now I could have gone nuts and replaced a lot of parts while it was on the lift but they told me nothing really required immediate attention.

Paul

[John B.]

$300 for labor is an extremely good price. Much less then I would charge after doing it myself. $1900 seems extremely high unless the job on an 8 cyl. is much more difficult??

[dave b]

I paid $650 a few years ago for a new clutch and guibo.

db


93 525i
167k

[bbig119]

The reason why the V8s cost so much for a clutch job is that if it needs a new flywheel, and it frequently does, that alone lists for about $800. I don't know how true it is, but it seems that the dual mass flywheels in the V8s aren't supposed to be resurfaced.

I was quoted anywhere between $900-$1300 for the clutch job alone, but after the new flywheel it ended up around $1900.

[Jon K]

No DMF is supposed to be resurface but I believe that to be a little heavy on the ******** seasoning.