Eric Giles
10-23-2003, 04:56 PM
Since I have some spare time at work I thought I would share my recent experience in getting my clutch replaced.
I bought my '97 M3/4 with 89k miles a few weeks ago from a dealer in Raleigh, NC. The car was listed on eBay with a buy it now of $18,900. The dealer mentioned that the car had a 'slight' release bearing noise but that the clutch itself was fine. I had dealt with a noisy throwout bearing in my '90 325is before so I figured I could get it replaced a bit later on after I bought the car. We settled on what I thought was a fair price (in the $17k range) and I bought it as-is.
Car arrived and it looked great! However, the clutch action was VERY heavy. I knew immediately that the clutch was on its last legs. And that 'slight' throwout bearing noise? HA! To me it was pretty noisy-you could easily hear it regardless if you were in or out of the car. I called my local dealership on Monday and scheduled a clutch replacement for that Thursday. I made sure to order ALL of the parts that would be needed so that the job could be completed in one day. I also ordered all new shifter bearings/bushings to tighten up the shifter feel. I was going to tackle this job myself, but I am still a bit nervous to get under a car only supported by jackstands. Also, after totaling up the costs needed for a better floor jack, extra jackstands, and a few other assorted tools, I was only going to save about $250 compared to just letting the dealer do it.
Was at the dealership at 8:30 Thursday morning. Since they know me really well they let me sit there in the service bay right next to my car and watch the entire procedure. The tech that was doing the job was the same one that replaced the clutch on my E30 325iS a year earlier. He is a very nice guy and does an excellent job. He did mention before he got started that the night before he had been on an IV drip due to an illness and wasn't feeling 100%. :paranoid:
So, by about 2:30 that afternoon he got it all back together. He took it off the lift, cranked the car, and we heard a very loud screeching/squealing noise for a couple of seconds. The noise went away and the car was idling normally. However, the clutch was not properly operating. He put it back on the lift and another tech came over to take a look. After some thought, they decided that the new pilot bearing must have siezed or gotten knocked sideways during the tranny install. So, the tech starts tearing everything apart again. Everything is going fine until....
...they get ready to pull the tranny from the engine. It would not come off. In the end, it took five techs two hours using huge crowbars and prybars to get the tranny separated from the engine. Well, in the process, they busted the bellhousing and bent the flywheel!
They then found out what happened-the tech put the clutch disc in backwards. When he started the car, the opening in the clutch disc for the input shaft of the tranny stuck onto the input shaft. The tech couldn't believe what he had done. Needless to say the other techs were picking on him pretty badly! :lol:
Most people would be pretty upset at this time. I really wasn't at all. In fact, I felt very sorry for the tech. It was human error-something that could happen to almost anyone. And from what I have heard from reading various message boards, he is not the only person to have ever done this. The only thing I was upset about was only having my car for four days and knowing I would be without it for longer than that!
In the end, the dealer took care of me. They purchased a used tranny and flywheel with MUCH less mileage than what I had and reinstalled everything correctly. Of course, they had to buy a new clutch kit and all the pieces associated with that. I have paid for the clutch and shifter parts (as well as a few other misc. things) at a VERY good price. It is getting close to two weeks since I picked up the car and they still have not called me about the labor charge (I was still going to have to pay for what I originally brought it in for-parts and labor on a clutch replacement).
Anyway, that is what happened. After all of the hassle, I came out much better in the end as the tranmission I had is very quiet compared to the one I originally had. Also, my original flywheel was very worn.
I am not going to mention the dealer's name. I doubt there is anyone else on this board that lives close enough to use them in the first place! But, I do not want to bring any negative 'publicity' towards them for this. It was human error. Crap happens, and they took care of it.
When it comes time to replace the clutch in the E30 M3, I think I just might do it myself......
I bought my '97 M3/4 with 89k miles a few weeks ago from a dealer in Raleigh, NC. The car was listed on eBay with a buy it now of $18,900. The dealer mentioned that the car had a 'slight' release bearing noise but that the clutch itself was fine. I had dealt with a noisy throwout bearing in my '90 325is before so I figured I could get it replaced a bit later on after I bought the car. We settled on what I thought was a fair price (in the $17k range) and I bought it as-is.
Car arrived and it looked great! However, the clutch action was VERY heavy. I knew immediately that the clutch was on its last legs. And that 'slight' throwout bearing noise? HA! To me it was pretty noisy-you could easily hear it regardless if you were in or out of the car. I called my local dealership on Monday and scheduled a clutch replacement for that Thursday. I made sure to order ALL of the parts that would be needed so that the job could be completed in one day. I also ordered all new shifter bearings/bushings to tighten up the shifter feel. I was going to tackle this job myself, but I am still a bit nervous to get under a car only supported by jackstands. Also, after totaling up the costs needed for a better floor jack, extra jackstands, and a few other assorted tools, I was only going to save about $250 compared to just letting the dealer do it.
Was at the dealership at 8:30 Thursday morning. Since they know me really well they let me sit there in the service bay right next to my car and watch the entire procedure. The tech that was doing the job was the same one that replaced the clutch on my E30 325iS a year earlier. He is a very nice guy and does an excellent job. He did mention before he got started that the night before he had been on an IV drip due to an illness and wasn't feeling 100%. :paranoid:
So, by about 2:30 that afternoon he got it all back together. He took it off the lift, cranked the car, and we heard a very loud screeching/squealing noise for a couple of seconds. The noise went away and the car was idling normally. However, the clutch was not properly operating. He put it back on the lift and another tech came over to take a look. After some thought, they decided that the new pilot bearing must have siezed or gotten knocked sideways during the tranny install. So, the tech starts tearing everything apart again. Everything is going fine until....
...they get ready to pull the tranny from the engine. It would not come off. In the end, it took five techs two hours using huge crowbars and prybars to get the tranny separated from the engine. Well, in the process, they busted the bellhousing and bent the flywheel!
They then found out what happened-the tech put the clutch disc in backwards. When he started the car, the opening in the clutch disc for the input shaft of the tranny stuck onto the input shaft. The tech couldn't believe what he had done. Needless to say the other techs were picking on him pretty badly! :lol:
Most people would be pretty upset at this time. I really wasn't at all. In fact, I felt very sorry for the tech. It was human error-something that could happen to almost anyone. And from what I have heard from reading various message boards, he is not the only person to have ever done this. The only thing I was upset about was only having my car for four days and knowing I would be without it for longer than that!
In the end, the dealer took care of me. They purchased a used tranny and flywheel with MUCH less mileage than what I had and reinstalled everything correctly. Of course, they had to buy a new clutch kit and all the pieces associated with that. I have paid for the clutch and shifter parts (as well as a few other misc. things) at a VERY good price. It is getting close to two weeks since I picked up the car and they still have not called me about the labor charge (I was still going to have to pay for what I originally brought it in for-parts and labor on a clutch replacement).
Anyway, that is what happened. After all of the hassle, I came out much better in the end as the tranmission I had is very quiet compared to the one I originally had. Also, my original flywheel was very worn.
I am not going to mention the dealer's name. I doubt there is anyone else on this board that lives close enough to use them in the first place! But, I do not want to bring any negative 'publicity' towards them for this. It was human error. Crap happens, and they took care of it.
When it comes time to replace the clutch in the E30 M3, I think I just might do it myself......