Riddle me this, Batman (clutch content)

[ckpitt55]

My car's got 213k on the clock, figured it was about time to replace the clutch and all related parts after hearing the beginnings of some throwout bearing whine. I got everything apart and made a surprising discovery:

old clutch (original part, never replaced in 17 years. i have the complete history of the vehicle for its entire lifespan, maintenance records, receipts, etc, so i am not full of it)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/548423_2842313064690_1465230162_2168320_358145302_ n.jpg

new clutch (m3 3.2 sachs):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/398213_2842312424674_1465230162_2168319_1930993222 _n.jpg

in 213k miles, my original clutch only wore 0.3 mm? wat

a question though: for those you who have installed ltw flywheels, did you get your pressure plate/flywheel balanced as an assembly? the instructions for the jbr fly i have said to do this, but turner motorsports claimed to never have problems with forgoing this step. for f/i and race prep applications i know its pretty important, but how critical is this for an n/a street car?

[NeilM]

...in 213k miles, my original clutch only wore 0.3 mm? wat

Good for you — you don't abuse your clutch.


a question though: for those you who have installed ltw flywheels, did you get your pressure plate/flywheel balanced as an assembly? the instructions for the jbr fly i have said to do this

I took a JB flywheel with assembled stock pressure plate and clutch disk to be balanced as an assembly. (We have an excellent local place that does this.) They told me it was dead nuts balanced as received, no work needed.

Just one data point.

Neil

[RatedM3]

Nice, I'd be interested to gauge mine. A girl owned the car before me; not implying anything....yet. Pedals still real low though so ?? Guess that's quality right there.

[HeelAndToe85]

I took a JB flywheel with assembled stock pressure plate and clutch disk to be balanced as an assembly. (We have an excellent local place that does this.) They told me it was dead nuts balanced as received, no work needed.

Just one data point.

Neil

I bought a new JB-racing 10lb from bimmerworld and installed it with a new clutch disc and pressure plate. I have zero perceivable imbalance issues. I'm pretty sure each component is balanced from the manufacturer.

Just to confirm your plans- you aren't going to re-install your used clutch disc are you?

[ckpitt55]

Good for you — you don't abuse your clutch.

I took a JB flywheel with assembled stock pressure plate and clutch disk to be balanced as an assembly. (We have an excellent local place that does this.) They told me it was dead nuts balanced as received, no work needed.

Just one data point.

Neil

i wasn't implying anything by the clutch measurement, i was just really surprised because the car has been driven spritedly throughout its life.

and thanks for your input.


I bought a new JB-racing 10lb from bimmerworld and installed it with a new clutch disc and pressure plate. I have zero perceivable imbalance issues. I'm pretty sure each component is balanced from the manufacturer.

Just to confirm your plans- you aren't going to re-install your used clutch disc are you?

thanks for your input

and no, of course not. i went in with the intention of replacing everything whether it needed it or not - flywheel, pressure plate, pilot bearing, to bearing, fork, pivot pin, clutch disc, pressure plate, slave cylinder, rear main seal, input shaft seal, etc. etc.

[zdriver]

I've never replaced a clutch with that little wear before, impressive.

[jayjaya29]

Somebody did a clutch job on your car in the middle of the night lol

[Butters Stoch]

Not driving it hard enough lol jk

That a cool observation.

[LagWagon]

You may not have the receipt on the clutch. The job is so expensive to do at a shop that a lot of people just have a friend of a friend do it. Original clutch at 200k miles is just.... super unlikely

[Butters Stoch]

You may not have the receipt on the clutch. The job is so expensive to do at a shop that a lot of people just have a friend of a friend do it. Original clutch at 200k miles is just.... super unlikely

200k on a clutch is common with vehicles that use a duel mass flywheel and aren't abused.

[bennyfizzle]

Yeah if it was just daily driven in anywhere but San Francisco I can totally see that being normal wear.

[khaos]

Look how much friction material there is to begin with... I mean, the whole plate is only 9mm thick... and the rivets have some thickness too...

[asianvenom]

mine had 220k miles on stock clutch, but it definately almost worn down, not like that at all. My commute is about 100 miles a day on the highway for the last 8 years, and I thought that was amazing on stock clutch.

[mobil1]

Mine has 150k on the original clutch and I just ordered a new one today. I'll measure mine when its out to see where it is at...

Btw, my clutch is fine but the TOB is making noise, so that sparked the overhaul.

[sjpgoalie]

I took a JB flywheel with assembled stock pressure plate and clutch disk to be balanced as an assembly. (We have an excellent local place that does this.) They told me it was dead nuts balanced as received, no work needed.

Just one data point.

Neil

That's almost creepy lol

[ckpitt55]

Look how much friction material there is to begin with... I mean, the whole plate is only 9mm thick... and the rivets have some thickness too...

true. there was still probably 2-2.5 mm to go per side before i'd hit the top of the rivet heads though


Mine has 150k on the original clutch and I just ordered a new one today. I'll measure mine when its out to see where it is at...

Btw, my clutch is fine but the TOB is making noise, so that sparked the overhaul.

i'd be interested to see where yours is at. same with me though, my TOB was shot when i pulled it out. lots of play and zero lubrication left. glad i got to it before it seized up

figured i'd take some time to clean up and paint my gearbox a bit while waiting for parts...

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/ckpitt55/photo-1.png

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/ckpitt55/photo-2.jpg

[propcar]

You may not have the receipt on the clutch. The job is so expensive to do at a shop that a lot of people just have a friend of a friend do it. Original clutch at 200k miles is just.... super unlikely

At about 105k my throwout bearing started making noise... I had it replaced alone without doing the clutch as I was very short on cash as I was moving out of my parents.

Now I'm at 162k miles and clutch still grabs awesome. I don't plan on changing it until

A) my throwout bearing goes out again

or

B) my clutch starts slipping

I really don't see the need to replace the clutch unless it needs to be replaced.

[khaos]

true. there was still probably 2-2.5 mm to go per side before i'd hit the top of the rivet heads though

i'd be interested to see where yours is at. same with me though, my TOB was shot when i pulled it out. lots of play and zero lubrication left. glad i got to it before it seized up

figured i'd take some time to clean up and paint my gearbox a bit while waiting for parts...



I would never paint anything that gets hot... You're insulating it lol. But I doubt it's a big deal.

[ckpitt55]

I would never paint anything that gets hot... You're insulating it lol. But I doubt it's a big deal.

i used engine enamel. its not a race car so im not too worried about transmission temps. figured if nothing else it would help me spot any leaks that develop

[HeelAndToe85]

I would never paint anything that gets hot... You're insulating it lol. But I doubt it's a big deal.

+1 I would just clean it with some chemicals, rags and brushes... too late now, but you're not doing much harm.

[khaos]

Engine enamel is made to withstand heat, not not insulate it (double negative). Your engine happens to have a built in liquid cooling system lol. Also, if you paint it, you should use flat, dark colours (flat black) because it vents heat best. Shiny, light colours are poor radiators.

That said it's probably not a huge deal at all. I'm sorry, being a MechE it's always on my mind lol.

[WATTSBMW3]

I've dropped my tranny twice for TOB failure. The factory plastic housing is crap so I replaced it a second time with an all metal housing bearing from Active and replaced the flywheel/clutch with UUC m5/lighweight fw combo . That stock flywheel is HEAVY but very smooth to operate . I didn't bother selling mine, it went straight to the dumpster . I've never regretted the lighter UUC combo . Your clutch pedal will be much easier to push after the UUC install , no master cylinder replacement was needed nor was a fw/clutch balance . You'll like the way the engine spins compared to stock . Some people recommend tuning your idle rpm's an extra 200 but I haven't found that necessary . I've never stalled . Of course while the tranny is out change the fluid . Happy wrenching . . .