Clutch pedal bushings DIY - E36

[scooper]

what do you mean you swapped them? I put both delrin bushings in and it appears I need to grind away some to get that flat clip back on there. Did the clutch pedal return to regular height once you depressed it? Do you remember it sitting up on the assembly by itself if you swing it upwards? the stock bushings let the clutch pedal swing freely (or at least the worn bushings allow that).

[MSpeedAddict]

Subscribed to replace bushings next week, great info in here

[Driiven]

Do the clutch pedal bushing forget about the brake pedal bushing. Scooper is right at least with the rogue. Realistically this means probably all of them. Pretty sure they are just buying off the shelf flange bushings in delrin, brass or whatever the hell the flavor of the week is for .10cents each and charging us $20. The issue is that the bar they mount to is tapered ever so slightly. The outer bushing will fit perfect but the inner respective of both locations good f'in luck. I had him send me out another set and experienced the same issue with the new pair. When I spoke to the guy that owns rogue he was like nobody has ever had to sand a bushing before. Ultimately with a lot of cursing and busted fingers I did end up getting them on there without sanding. Clutch seems fine but the brake pedal binds. On the plus side I don't need to heel and toe on downshifts anymore, I actually need to pick UP the brake pedal with my foot from underneath or else it will grind my brakes into oblivion.

[rallydriver87]

Ok, so I'm almost done with this repair. The only thing I don't understand is how to get the U shaped clips back onto the pins!

They just won't stay on! I'm tearing my hair out right now. The just yanked off, but they don't seem to snap back on. Do I need to tap them with a hammer?

Someone please help me with this..

[scooper]

Certain bushings are a few mil thicker than spec... which ones do u have?

[rallydriver87]

Certain bushings are a few mil thicker than spec... which ones do u have?

The bushings are condor delrin. They don't seem to be the problem, I was referring to the metal clips that hold the pedal assembly together shaped like a bent "U". I had to yank them off with considerable force and now they won't go back on. they don't seem bent.

[scooper]

the bushings that you have may be taller than spec making install of the U-clip pretty much impossible. That's what I'm getting at. Compare with the stock bushings.

[rallydriver87]

the bushings that you have may be taller than spec making install of the U-clip pretty much impossible. That's what I'm getting at. Compare with the stock bushings.

I'm doing the retaining spring for the pedal assembly first, the bushings aren't even a factor in this area. Clearance is fine for everything. My problem is I can't get it to "snap" into the groove that it originally came out of. Everything fits fine, it just loosely goes on though. No snap or click to indicate its securely in. I think they are referred to as b!tch clips by some people?

There is plenty of Info out there on how to get them OFF, but so far I've found nothing on how to get them back ON. Sorry I don't know if I'm making sense here.

[ajsalida]

Wow what an enormous pain in the ass this was. Key thing was to remove the knee bolster, much easier after that. Still pretty difficult. I ended up needing to do the spring zip tie thing, spring assembly would not stay seated in the proper place fully extended, even before putting in the master cylinder pin. With the zip ties in place much easier to hold the pedal in position while slipping the MC pin in.

edit: I just did the bushing replacement not the full MC.

[earthwormjim]

Job is pretty easy if you're flexible and you remove the driver's seat. I did it on my back, laying along the floor.

[ajsalida]

Yeah, taking out the driver's seat would have helped a lot. I did it mostly on my back with the seat pushed back all the way and folded over. I thought, how hard could this be? Well pretty hard with bunch of fused neck vertebrae and shoulder reconstructions. Still got it done and pedal feels great. Went with the bronze bushings.

[bmuum3]

I need to do this soon. Mine is squeaking so loud, driving in traffic is might annoying plus adding this noise in!!!!

[ThreeD]

i'd rec just replacing with stock

my clutch bushing is AKG delrin -- it doesn't have a groove to hold the grease so after regreasing multiple times with marine grease, the squeak always come back badly. and it binds near the top, sometimes i have to pull the clutch pedal up with the top of my foot!

[ajsalida]

I used these, supposed to be "self-oiling":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121650166119

[earthwormjim]

I used these, supposed to be "self-oiling":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121650166119

It's not going to self oil in that application. Oil impregnated brass bushings need high speeds to draw the oil out.

[ajsalida]

It's not going to self oil in that application. Oil impregnated brass bushings need high speeds to draw the oil out.

I'll have to wait and see. So far so good. I've heard good things about them in other applications, similar purpose. They are bronze, not brass if that makes a difference.

[earthwormjim]

I'll have to wait and see. So far so good. I've heard good things about them in other applications, similar purpose. They are bronze, not brass if that makes a difference.

They're porous so they should hold lubricant that you apply fairly well, but I wouldn't install them and rely solely on the internal oil.

[ajsalida]

They're porous so they should hold lubricant that you apply fairly well, but I wouldn't install them and rely solely on the internal oil.

Well I'm going to have to, no way I'm doing this again any time soon! This is a very light load, minimal use scenario. Not a spinning shaft situation. And they had a thin layer of oil on them already, no binding or anything on the test drive. Very nice firm pedal feel + zero slop.

[35nhma]

Contrary to what many people have said, you DO NOT need to compress the release spring prior to installing it.

This has been discussed many times, and it is partially correct. There are two kinds of clutch springs. If you have the kind with two closed pivots, you will be able to avoid the arduous task of pre-compressing the spring. On earlier models you will need to use zip ties.


Note how my 10/95 build M3 has the dual pivot spring grayed out on realoem.


img-8921.jpg screen-shot-2021-01-24-at-12-43-07-am.png


I have started a new thread here specifically discussing the ECS-assembled e36 clutch pedal rebuild kit.

[35nhma]

Ok, so I'm almost done with this repair. The only thing I don't understand is how to get the U shaped clips back onto the pins!

They just won't stay on! I'm tearing my hair out right now. The just yanked off, but they don't seem to snap back on. Do I need to tap them with a hammer?

Someone please help me with this..

Practice on the master cylinder or spring pins that you have removed. The circlips slide on with little effort when they are aligned correctly.

- - - Updated - - -

The bushings are condor delrin. They don't seem to be the problem, I was referring to the metal clips that hold the pedal assembly together shaped like a bent "U". I had to yank them off with considerable force and now they won't go back on. they don't seem bent.

The should slide off easily once you lift the little catch that locks them in place. You may have damaged them when applying force, as this is not remotely necessary.

- - - Updated - - -

I just did this and ended up reusing my old bushings. The UUC bushings would not slide back onto the pin. It seemed impossible so I gave up! I even made a lever to try push it in but no luck.

On the bright side, my clutch engagement point is no longer .5" off the floor anymore. While removing the clutch pedal, I found all kinds of jerry rigged pins, circlips, bolts, you name it. Yes, I said bolts. The PO must have lost some parts at and used a really thick diameter bolt in place of the return spring pivot pin. AND to top it off, the spring holders were cracked (part 14 in the parts diagram). This obviously messed up the travel for the clutch master causing hard shifts since the clutch wasnt disengaging properly.
The videoon youtube helped so much. Big thanks to fiveightandten. If you follow that vid, this job should only take about 30-40 mins.

Anyone want to buy UUC delrin clutch bushings for $20 shipped? PM me.

Thanks,
Jay

The UUC bushings will need to be installed with a press. This was my experience. You can easily make a bearing press if you don't have one with a bolt, two washers and a nut. The trick is to keep everything aligned, axially, as you compress the system. Others have reported being able to insert by hand. My pedal arm was brand new, maybe this had something to do with it. Keep your bushings, try to install some other time. I think you'll be happy!

[topnotchrally]

re3: Cable Ties

I did this job on my 95 Euro M3 RHD. There was NO WAY I could get the spring back on without compressing it. I think, if you have done that, you have put it in the wrong place. Perhaps other cars are different. There are two 'slots' (see photo) I think it is possible to put it in the round slot, which is the wrong one. I had to compress the spring 1/2" to get it to fit in, before I put the master cylinder pin in.

The job was a bit of a PITA but not too bad. Getting the bolt out of the brake switch bracket is the worst part. I removed the air duct to make access easier.


clutchspring.JPG

[BMWManiac]

It is funny because I want to say, 99.9% of people would see that notch and figure the spring sits in there...just looks like a natural spot for it

[jamrobin]

Haha I am enjoying this thread.
I got the Condor Speed delrin clutch bushing... Spent a day watching various videos of people doing the job... Grabbed tools, bushing, and an Android endoscope for light and to look around corners... went to my car, dropped the roof so I could go completely upside down without kicking anything.

An hour and a half later I had put back everything I had managed to get off and swore a blue streak while washing my hands, which looked like a was in a fight with an angry cat. My doorbell rang and my new stage 3 street clutch and steel single mass flywheel had arrived!

I put the cursed bushing on the passenger seat, and drove directly to my favourite speed shop and called my daughter to pick me up. I asked the guys to "toss in the bushing while they were busy with installing the clutch anyway.

LOL... 2 days later I had a beautiful stiff pedal, and no slop. (they didn't charge me for the bushing)

Happy ending but I was annoyed to pay the blood sacrifice without success on my own install ;-)