How hard to swap clutch out? 95 525i

[Aaron Bakos]

Going to go with the UUC E34 M5 Clutch setup...stock clutch is slipping at 109k and I have to make a long damn trip next weekend.

I need some serious help on this one, never changed a clutch before and I don't know if I can get a pro to help me before next Friday.

Also, if there are any parts other than flywheel/press plate, TO bearing, and clutch disk that I should be changing when I rip this thing apart, somebody please let me know :)

[Bill R.]

bit of overkill ? using the uuc flywheel and the m5 clutch kit? Its 500 for the flywheel and you'll probably spend around 300 for the m5 clutch parts or more, I don't know the price on the clutch kit... I can think of a whole lot of things to spend 800 on instead... I would probably go with a stock clutch myself since yours lasted 100k already. As far as changing it out goes , its fairly difficult for a first timer. And it will go a lot easier with a helper.
For your first one plan on spending a whole day on it.















Going to go with the UUC E34 M5 Clutch...stock clutch is slipping at 109k and I have to make a long damn trip next weekend.

I need some serious help on this one, never changed a clutch before and I don't know if I can get a pro to help me before next Friday.

Also, if there are any parts other than flywheel/press plate, TO bearing, and clutch disk that I should be changing when I rip this thing apart, somebody please let me know :)

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I just did the job on a 1990 535im. I've done done a few clutch jobs in my life and IMHO this job was the biggest PITA I've run accross. MAke sure you have time.

Here's a few links of advice I was given, and info about my experience in general.
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/56336.html
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/54438.html
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/52797.html

Good time to consider a different shifter.
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/56125.html

I also replaced two of the transmission seals and the rear engine seal, and the plastic pin the clutch fork sits on.


A few more threads with advice given to me off the old board:
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/52637.html
Here's the first thread, when I asked the same question you did:
http://www.bimmernut.com/wwwboard/e34/messages/52551.html



Going to go with the UUC E34 M5 Clutch...stock clutch is slipping at 109k and I have to make a long damn trip next weekend.

I need some serious help on this one, never changed a clutch before and I don't know if I can get a pro to help me before next Friday.

Also, if there are any parts other than flywheel/press plate, TO bearing, and clutch disk that I should be changing when I rip this thing apart, somebody please let me know :)

[Aaron Bakos]

bit of overkill ? using the uuc flywheel and the m5 clutch kit? Its 500 for the flywheel and you'll probably spend around 300 for the m5 clutch parts or more, I don't know the price on the clutch kit... I can think of a whole lot of things to spend 800 on instead... I would probably go with a stock clutch myself since yours lasted 100k already. As far as changing it out goes , its fairly difficult for a first timer. And it will go a lot easier with a helper.
For your first one plan on spending a whole day on it.

Well...I know what you mean about the $$$. I have every intention of swapping motors later this year (as long as the wife lets me :) ), and doing great things with this car. The flywheel is just another step...besides, it'll have some resale value if I want to part with it later.

The other part of it is celebrating with some of the signing bonus on a new job!

[Aaron Bakos]

:)

[Bruno]

This is some great stuff...

And scrary too, I wanted to intall an E28 flywheel, after seeing this job, I am not sure I want to do it anymore.

[Aaron Bakos]

This is some great stuff...

And scrary too, I wanted to intall an E28 flywheel, after seeing this job, I am not sure I want to do it anymore.

That's no joke Bruno...trust me, I have absolutely no desire to do this job myself. The one nice thing is that the exhaust is all flange joints, so as long as I get new bolts that shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully I can swing the driveshaft down without too much problem. The rest shouldn't hurt too much...just take a long time.

My buddy's going to help me, he's a Ford expert, but together we've worked on all kinds of different cars. Hopefully we can find our way through this job without any major snafu's. The car is going to get a few thousand more miles on it over the next month.

Anybody know if the clutch kit comes with an alignment tool?

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

No, the clutch kit down not come with an alignment tool. At least the one I got from BMA didn't. I asked about a one peice (relatively inexpensive) alignment tool at a BMW dealer and they did know what I was talking about, but they would have had to order it. I ended up using a universal one.


That's no joke Bruno...trust me, I have absolutely no desire to do this job myself. The one nice thing is that the exhaust is all flange joints, so as long as I get new bolts that shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully I can swing the driveshaft down without too much problem. The rest shouldn't hurt too much...just take a long time.

My buddy's going to help me, he's a Ford expert, but together we've worked on all kinds of different cars. Hopefully we can find our way through this job without any major snafu's. The car is going to get a few thousand more miles on it over the next month.

Anybody know if the clutch kit comes with an alignment tool?

[Aaron Bakos]

Thanks again Ed, you're saving my butt on this one :)



No, the clutch kit down not come with an alignment tool. At least the one I got from BMA didn't. I asked about a one peice (relatively inexpensive) alignment tool at a BMW dealer and they did know what I was talking about, but they would have had to order it. I ended up using a universal one.

[Paul in NZ]

it may make a tiny difference or make the difference between your car another car with the original clutch...You wont get your money back.I am with Bill ....get a stock clutch

[Aaron Bakos]

it may make a tiny difference or make the difference between your car another car with the original clutch...You wont get your money back.I am with Bill ....get a stock clutch


Too late...besides, I need to have a little fun with this.

I am fully aware that this might be a terrible waste of capital, and I thank you for your concern. At the same time, I'm still young and quite curious about the effects this flywheel/clutch setup will have on my driving experience. If I discover that I was wrong and there's no difference between the UUC setup and stock, so be it, I'll put a stock setup back in and sell the UUC parts.

However, if I find that this makes the car a little more fun and worth the time and effort (er...money), then I will be perfectly content with my investment :)

There's only one way to find out...

[Bill R.]

m50 at all, in fact you may notice it hurting drivability.. the m30 has a generous supply of torque and can get by easier with a lightened flywheel
It doesn't need that stored energy capability of a flywheel,whereas the m50 makes a lot less torque and at a higher rpm so flywheel weight greatly adds to everyday low rpm drivability around town.. but everybody needs to experience something like this on their own..








Too late...besides, I need to have a little fun with this.

I am fully aware that this might be a terrible waste of capital, and I thank you for your concern. At the same time, I'm still young and quite curious about the effects this flywheel/clutch setup will have on my driving experience. If I discover that I was wrong and there's no difference between the UUC setup and stock, so be it, I'll put a stock setup back in and sell the UUC parts.

However, if I find that this makes the car a little more fun and worth the time and effort (er...money), then I will be perfectly content with my investment :)

There's only one way to find out...

[Aaron Bakos]

All the parts came in (except the guibo...somehow got the wrong one) 2 days ago, drove out to my buddy's place in PA yesterday morning. Started around 10:30, took a 3 hour break in the afternoon to go get another vehicle aligned, then finished around 12:30 this morning.

All I can say is WOW. The car just feels peppy now...it's hard to explain, but that M5 clutch connects and feels solid. The revs come faster, and the motor spins down faster so it's easier to shift quick.

Bill R. was right about the inertia factor...but I've found it easy enought to compensate for, after driving back from PA this morning I was already adapted to the new setup. The way the car feels very much outweighs the cons of a lighter flywheel.

Also...when I went up to KMS to pick up my flywheel, I picked up some UUC Bushings for the shifter linkage. I wasn't sure if it would change much, but I was wrong. The shifter actually feels like it has gates now, a very worthwhile improvement as well.

I have to do plenty more driving today...so maybe I'll see if I can better describe what the car's doing. I'm still in a *WOW* mood right now...it's an entirely different car!!



Going to go with the UUC E34 M5 Clutch setup...stock clutch is slipping at 109k and I have to make a long damn trip next weekend.

I need some serious help on this one, never changed a clutch before and I don't know if I can get a pro to help me before next Friday.

Also, if there are any parts other than flywheel/press plate, TO bearing, and clutch disk that I should be changing when I rip this thing apart, somebody please let me know :)