Hi again,
I was trying to upgrade from my rubber line to a steel braided line for my master-slave clutch line. Found out that the replacement part didn’t fit. Tried putting the car back together, bled it, & no pressure.
The fitting for the current rubber line has a nipple that screws into the slave, the other obviously doesn’t. Any recommendations for a new line that works?
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You can get the correct line from ECS, Turner, FCP, or a few others known on this site. ..... These cars are tricky to bleed properly. Here's some info: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ted-Out-Normal
Tried reverse bleeding still nothing
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Got a new line, new slave, bled it, but really low engagement point, to the point where it grinds sometimes even though my foot is to the floor
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Bleed it again. The way you describe it, I don't think it is anything mechanical. ..... The reverse-bleeding has worked for me a few times, but others say it doesn't work for them, so maybe it's not working for you. .... You may know that conventional bleeding does not work because of the location of the bleed valve.
Bled it again, and now the car is back how it was, clutch feels good, just super super stiff. I’ve tried my other friends e36 and his clutch is way lighter. I thought replacing the clutch line would work but no. Any ideas on why it might be so stiff?
Things done to clutch system: Helper spring deleted, cdv deleted, new clutch line, new slave, had new master when car was manual swapped. Has a stage 1 clutch max kit (don’t know which one previous owner didn’t say)
Why not put the helper spring back on?
Is the OP certain he has the correct size clutch line? I think it is 2 AN or 1/8” or 3.5mm. He obviously bought the wrong one at least once since one end was not correct. Size affects pedal effort. 3 AN will be much stiffer than stock.
Helper spring does even out the pedal effort but I doubt its removal is the problem. Plenty of us have removed them.
Another way the pedal effort can go up is when the pedal bushing wears out and the pedal moves a little bit off center as a result. A new pedal and an aftermarket Delrin bushing help. If all was well with the OP’s pedal before, I doubt the pedal bushing suddenly failed.
I have had great success with the UUC SS Clutch Hose. Been using it on my E36 for years with no issues. It fit right the first time, I bled the slave manually (as detailed in the Bentley Manual) and my clutch pedal feels great.
As far as your clutch pedal being so stiff or requiring a lot of effort. That is driven 100% by the pressure plate (PP). The E36 (OEM) Sachs PP results in an almost feather light clutch pedal. Aftermarket racing clutch kits like your "Stage 1 Clutch Max" will require extra pedal effort; as much as 30%. How do I know? Glad you asked.
About a year ago I installed a Stage 2 Gripforce (eBay) clutch kit on my E36 M3/4/5, because it was a great price and I wanted to try it. It worked great and I really liked the reviness of the engine with the single mass flywheel (SMF). After 6 months and 3,000 miles of downtown traffic, and back and forth school drop-offs & pick-ups, I was done. The clutch pedal required about 30% more effort and after 30 minutes on the highway, the SMF would result in a very noisy drivetrain. So, I dropped the tranny again and installed a Sachs Clutch Kit w a LUK DMF. The clutch pedal is now ultra light and the car is very quiet. The DMF kit cost twice as much as the Gripforce kit, but it is worth it.
If you want that lighter clutch pedal feel, you have to swap out that aftermarket clutch kit and go with the OEM style.
Last edited by DonM3Z; 04-06-2023 at 08:10 AM.
2006 E46 M3 (Interlagos Blue), 1997 E36 M3/4/5 (Cosmos Black),
1999 M Coupe (Imolarot)
How many miles on the car? On other, older BMWs, I've found old pressure plates can dramatically increase pedal effort. E36s do have fancier PPs, but the same thing may occur.
98 328is
02 525ita
80 528i
81 528ia
and decades of owning and driving BMWs
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