Does anyone have a DIY for a clutch swap?

[Cleanest135i]

Hey guys I wanted to see if anyone had a DIY for doing a clutch swap. There used to be a video on youtube of someone doing the whole thing but its gone now so not sure if someone ever saved that or has a write up. Thank you.

[NorthernDancer]

go to bavauto.com, bottom of page "blog", and search clutch. It's there, maybe not exactly 1 series but close enough.

[Cleanest135i]

I see some videos on there about installing the clutch but I also need some info on removing the transmission to get to it.

[dtla1]

check the e90post side.

[Cleanest135i]

I found the video actually for some reason it doesnt come up with search but here it is.

[tglazed]

I just got done doing a clutch/smfw yesterday. Pm me if you have questions. The two bolts in the top of the bell housing (starter bolt and bell housing bolt) seem to be the hardest. Swivel sockets will be your hero during the job. Everything is pretty easy though, at least a lot easier than a Subaru.

[vtl]

I'll be doing a clutch DIY at home, mine started to slip on tuned boost

How long did it take to do? Is it easy enough for an experienced DIYer on a ramp + jackstands + transmission jack?

[tglazed]

Ya it isn't very hard and the transmission is pretty light. Power tools are awesome if you have them. When doing the job make sure your E brake is off and your car is out of gear so that you can turn the drive shaft to get bolts on the guibo. Careful with the pressure plate bolts. I ended up stripping one of them and just bent the pressure plant until I could get to all the flywheel bolts. I then un did all the fly wheel bolts and the entire assembly comes off. I had new hardware and flywheel/clutch/pressure plate so I didn't have to worry about the stripped bolt. Honestly the hardest part is the starter bolt and top bell housing bolt. They are a royal pain in the ass and took me an hour to get! I had the transmission out in three hours and those two took me an entire hour!!!

[vtl]

Originally Posted by tglazed

Ya it isn't very hard and the transmission is pretty light. Power tools are awesome if you have them. When doing the job make sure your E brake is off and your car is out of gear so that you can turn the drive shaft to get bolts on the guibo. Careful with the pressure plate bolts. I ended up stripping one of them and just bent the pressure plant until I could get to all the flywheel bolts. I then un did all the fly wheel bolts and the entire assembly comes off. I had new hardware and flywheel/clutch/pressure plate so I didn't have to worry about the stripped bolt. Honestly the hardest part is the starter bolt and top bell housing bolt. They are a royal pain in the ass and took me an hour to get! I had the transmission out in three hours and those two took me an entire hour!!!

Thanks for that!

With the top bolts, people said they could only get them off with a flexi head ratchet. That's all fine but how are you supposed to get a torque wrench on them when doing them back up? Do you just have to do them up by hand and just guess the torque by hand? Or is it possible to get a torque wrench on them with a combination of ujoints and extensions?

[tglazed]

There is no way in hell you are getting a torque wrench down there! Get a flexible head ratchet with a lot of teeth. Also, the skinnier the better. It's an e12 and e14 socket if I remember right. If you could find a flexi head wrench that is an e14 and e12, it would be the perfect tool although I don't think anyone actually makes them

[vtl]

Does it require one with a stubby handle?

My E12 and E14 are 3/8" drive, was thinking of something like this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-8-FLEX-...oAAOSw-vlVnd9B

Not sure if the long handle will get in the way.

Otherwise this is smaller but might be hard to get leverage.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-8-DR-ST...kAAOSwjVVVneHQ

[tglazed]

Buy them both haha. Honestly I had a long handled one and it was tricky, I'm not sure if a short handled one would be better

[Cleanest135i]

Do you have any tips for getting those bolts? I have heard that if you jack up the transmission or from of the motor or something it makes it easier to get to them. How many miles does your car have and did you find that your flywheel needed to be replaced?

[tglazed]

I was replacing the transmission for money. Wasn't my car but it had around 90,000 and I'm assuming it went out due to a leaky rear main seal. No tips to getting them out, just be patient. I found it easier to get them out with the transmission mount still on. I also did a single mass fly wheel conversion on the car but the flywheel still looked good

[dtla1]

Would one of those electronic torque wrench adapters like the one from Harbor Freight work? You can put it on the flex head wrench, just not sure how much room there is.

[louie12345]

Originally Posted by vtl

Does it require one with a stubby handle?

My E12 and E14 are 3/8" drive, was thinking of something like this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-8-FLEX-...oAAOSw-vlVnd9B

Not sure if the long handle will get in the way.

Otherwise this is smaller but might be hard to get leverage.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-8-DR-ST...kAAOSwjVVVneHQ

don't need to get E12, E14, just go to Sears and buy a set of universal sockets
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-9-pie...1&blockType=G1
or the deep socket set. less than 20 dollars.

[vtl]

I've already got a full etorx set, I wouldn't think of using universal sockets on aluminium head bolts, much less contact area.

[Cleanest135i]

What did you use for a clutch alignment tool?

[vtl]

Originally Posted by Cleanest135i

What did you use for a clutch alignment tool?

I bought this:

83300495449

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ol-83300495449

Haven't installed the clutch yet, still need to source a new flywheel

[vtl]

Just an update, I did the clutch swap a few weeks ago on jackstands, was like a 12-13 hour job. Spent 2 hours refitting the exhaust as the aftermarket downpipes were supplied with the wrong size bolts and made it difficult to rotate the mid pipes for a good fit. Was a two person job on jackstands, you'd be abel t odo this yourself but it would be difficult to drop/refit the transmission by yourself.

I used a transmission jack adapter on a standard jack. This was garbage. Ended up using my low profile jack and two people to balance the transmission on the jack while lining it up.

See last few posts on the install
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1191143


The top starter bolt gave me headaches as the bolt started to round off as I couldn't put torque on the ratchet and keep the head squarely on the bolt. Managed to get it off by supporting the ratchet and using all my finger strength to break it loose. Top bell housing bolt came out no issues. Once I broke the bolts loose I had them out in a few minutes, they spun out pretty easily. The long handle 3/8" flex head ratchet I linked was good for the job, don't get the stubby one as you won't have enough leverage to break the bolts loose.

To get the E18 bolts out, make sure you have a 3/8" E18 socket with a reasonably thin wall. My 1/2" E18 was too thick and I had to machine down the socket on my lathe. They need to be thin wall as the bolts are right next to the bell housing, which doesn't give much space for a socket.

Make sure you get new exhaust gaskets and exhaust bolts. The bolts that connect the muffler to the midsection were very soft and got stripped. Did not have the special bolts on hand and had to clean up the damaged threads with a die. Managed to get it all back on but man that was frustrating getting the midsection back on.

[hokejka]

I am about to do this also on jack stands. fingers crossed

[hokejka]

why did you have to buy an alignment tool? I believe my spec 2+ came with it. What clutch did you do?