Odd 2nd gear clutch slippage - help?!

[quik96M3]

Ever since I bought my '96 M3 two years ago, I've noticed if I try to accelerate quickly from very slow speed in 2nd gear (revving a little higher than normal shift into second) , the clutch slips way more than it should, allowing the engine to rev up - almost like the clutch pedal engagement point is suddenly much higher than usual. A couple days ago, the clutch did this for the first time in a different situation - when shifting into 2nd gear under hard acceleration. First gear appeared to pull fine, but after shifting (near redline) into second, it revved almost to redline instantaneously upon release of the clutch pedal. I had to back off immediately and reapply the throttle to get the clutch to engage. I've launched hard many times (autocrossing), including redline shifts from 1st to 2nd, and recall this happening only once prior, about 6 months ago - didn't think much of it until it happened again a couple days ago. I've checked my slave for the clutch delay valve, the obvious answer, but there is/was none on my car. Also, this slipping thing only happens in 2nd gear, never any other gear, and I've run it full throttle in the upper gears (on track) with no signs of any problems. So it does not appear to be worn clutch disc/PP contact surfaces. It seems to be a delayed engagement in second gear only.

Also, my clutch normally engages w/the pedal very close to the floor. I don't like it but have accepted it. I've bled the clutch many times, even with the slave cylinder dropped and tilted correctly to ensure absolutely no air inside. I've replaced the slave with a new OEM slave, still no change. No fluid leaks, no sign of what's causing it that I can find.

Anyone experienced this/these phenomenon besides me or know what might be causing it. I've almost resigned to the fact that I'll need to drop the tranny and plan on putting in a new clutch, but I'd hate to go through all that without first knowing it's my only option. Any experienced input would be greatly appreciated.

[elamcar]

I have almost the same problem, except my clutch doesn't let out real low. I have been thinking it was my CDV, but if you are having the same problem and you don't have one, maybe it is something else wrong with mine.
It only happens in a hard shift to 2nd under full throttle, all my other gears seem fine.
If you find out something, let me know...

[Darlantan]

It sounds like you have a worn clutch.

If you engage first gear at a relatively low rev before you redline it, it will be easier on the clutch then when you shift into second gear from redline.. that may be the reason why it is only happening in second gear.

I still have my CDV (99 M3 coupe), 65k miles) and it delays lock up from redline in second gear by maybe a second but it does lock up after this slight delay. My clutch engages somewhere in the middle, which I think is normal.

Because you auto cross and hardlaunch often, it's probably expectable for the clutch to be worn. Lets see what some other opinions are.

=D

[quik96M3]

Originally posted by Darlantan
It sounds like you have a worn clutch.

If you engage first gear at a relatively low rev before you redline it, it will be easier on the clutch then when you shift into second gear from redline.. that may be the reason why it is only happening in second gear.

=D

To clarify, this happens most of the time when engaging the clutch at relatively low rpms, consistently less than ~2500 rpms, almost always when trying to accelerate from very slow speed in second gear. To get accelerating in 2nd, I feed in a little extra throttle while slipping the clutch enough to try to get the engine into a little higher revs than a typcial gentle first gear start. But what makes it seem like it isn't a worn clutch is I never notice it in first gear, even when launching hard at much higher rpms, nor does it happen in 3rd, 4th, or 5th gear, as far as I can tell. Also, it hasn't changed much, if at all, during the 2+ years I've had the car, including about 100 fairly hard autocross launches.

[quik96M3]

Just a follow-up to my post above. Turns out Darlantan was right - my clutch was worn out - down to the rivets. My flywheel was also ruined. Just upgraded to a UUC Stage II flywheel w/E34 M5 clutch, so problem is solved.

[mredwin25]

try punching it on 3rd gear, if it slips it's the cluch, no doubt about it. If it is the cluch it should slip on every higher gear you shift to. It wont do it on first because the clutch is not that bad yet but it's gonna get to the point when it will slip on first to.

[quik96M3]

I've punched the throttle many times in all gears (on track) and never felt any slippage in 3rd, 4th, or 5th gears, possibly because I don't work the throttle against the clutch engagement in those gears like I do/did when this problem happened in 2nd gear.

[bmwdriver#1]

I have been starting to get that exact some problem on my car but it seems that if i jam it into 2nd gear it does fine, most of the time but it is a little iffy