530 5-spd, tranny slips at higher rpm

[ride1099]

Well I've been out of the E34 game for a while but my mother just bought a '94 530 w/ 5-spd and it seems to be slipping out of gear (any) under any significant load. I drove the car yesterday, babying it, and it never gave me any grief. The clutch felt great and it drove fine. However doing any spirited driving/going up a steep grade/putting the engine under significant load and the revs will climb (not relative to speed) and it acts as if the clutch is disengaging. It's not popping out of gear, but acting like the clutch is wasted even though it feels great through the pedal. Is there anything else I should be looking into? Possibly a weak pressure plate?

[M Quick]

Either clutch or pressure plate (guessing) either way you'd want to change them both + throwout bearing.

What happens if you are for example coasting at let's say 40mph in 4th and then push down the clutch and then suddenly release it? If it doesn't engage right away, and seems slipping, it's done soon. You could also try it on a parking spot or wherever, turn the car on, put it in 3rd and do the same as above to see if it the engine dies instantly or not. A fresh clutch could easily handle this "torture".

[whiskychaser]

Either clutch or pressure plate (guessing) either way you'd want to change them both + throwout bearing.

I think you are exactly right. What I am not clear about is why OP hasnt worked it out;)

[ride1099]

I think you are exactly right. What I am not clear about is why OP hasnt worked it out;)

:rolleyes Probably because I've only driven the car once (or seen it once for that matter) and it drove great. Now all I have to go off of is information I'm getting from a woman that says it's "not working". But thanks for trolling this thread. ;)

Being a '94 530 could also mean that it has the dual mass flywheel (?) which could possibly be the culprit. I haven't found a clear source stating which years/models have the DMF and don't have all my E34-specific bookmarks or links anymore.

[whiskychaser]

I think M Quick gave you a couple of clues if you were not able to diagnose this one yourself. I am not 'someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off -topic messages in an online community'. If you feel otherwise feel free to report me to the powers that be. My comment is actually bumping your thread so try not to be too cross:)

[ride1099]

^Considering a complete clutch kit is obvious, though I appreciate the advise. Mainly I'm wondering if anybody else has had similar issues and found something else to be the culprit. It would be a shame to have her buy a new clutch kit and find out that it was the DMF the whole time (if it is even a DMF equipped car) after she's paid for it and the labor.

The car is currently stranded half way across the city from me right now so I can't exactly do any tests on it. However I got an update on what happened last: Apparently she was driving just fine, going ~75mph on the highway and when she got off the highway she said it wouldn't go into any gear. Another questionable point she made was when cruising on the highway if she leaned into the throttle, even if just barely, it would accelerate harshly.

[whiskychaser]

IMHO it would be false economy not to replace the clutch if you are removing the gearbox anyway. You might find this article about fault diagnosis on DMFs interesting:
http://www.schaeffler.com/remotemedien/media/_shared_media/library/downloads/luk_fail_diag_zms_de_en.pdf

[uk525td]

smells just like a worn clutch to me
usually rear its head under heavy load, chuck it in 5th and floor the throttle, it should rev out somewhere near peak torque

[ross1]

:rolleyes Probably because I've only driven the car once (or seen it once for that matter) and it drove great. Now all I have to go off of is information I'm getting from a woman that says it's "not working". But thanks for trolling this thread. ;)

Being a '94 530 could also mean that it has the dual mass flywheel (?) which could possibly be the culprit. I haven't found a clear source stating which years/models have the DMF and don't have all my E34-specific bookmarks or links anymore.

Whisky ain't trolling. Your description of the symptoms is that of a neophyte. It is left to those who know something to figure out WTF you are trying to say.
A clutch that "feels great through the pedal"? What does that mean?
A dual mass flywheel can't make it disengage or slip and a gearbox doesn't slip.
Like has already been said, the clutch is toast.