96 328i clutch return spring replacement

96328i

Member
Hi All,

This may seem strange but my clutch return spring seems to have vanished. Looked everywhere inside the car. Auto Bavaria doesn't sell the spring alone. They quoted me R3900 for a clutch kit with pressure plate, return spring and clutch fork. Do I really need this? It just seems like the spring is missing...could it have shot up under the dashboard? Im stumped..please help..
 

beezo003

New member
are you saying the clutch pedal is not coming back up?

because it does not work with a spring if im not mistaken.

Oh okay that spring no you would not need a whole clutch kit...
 

96328i

Member
beezo003 said:
are you saying the clutch pedal is not coming back up?

because it does not work with a spring if im not mistaken.

Pedal comes up but the up position seems like the rest position. It goes down when depressed but there is no resistance.


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2aoytqS1fFM/maxresdefault.jpg

Are you sure about this? If I look at pics from the net, you can clearly see the spring but mine jus has the hole / bracket on the clutch pedal but no spring anywhere in sight...
 

96328i

Member
beezo003 said:
You sure the spring is not there?

Sounds like your pump has failed, im not sure thou.

Ask Gizmo as he is the E36 Guru

Definately not there...i removed the cover under the dash.. cos a few searches said to check for leaks in that area...the underside of the cover has some stains but seemed very old ie. not damp...


96328i said:
beezo003 said:
You sure the spring is not there?

Sounds like your pump has failed, im not sure thou.

Ask Gizmo as he is the E36 Guru

Will do so, thanks for the quick response...any idea if there are any places in midrand? Im walking to work at the moment...:cry:
 

Gizmo

Banned
Sounds like the clutch slave cylinder has failed.


Was there a small patch of brake fluid on the floor after it went?
 

96328i

Member
Thanks Gizmo...that sounds like the consensus. the brake fluid level is the same. Just above min mark. cant tell if there is break fluid under the car with all the oil stains and the paving...so do I just jack it up and change the slave? anything special I need to know from anyone who has done this before?

Can I just change the seals or must I buy a whole slave cylinder?
 

96328i

Member
96328i said:
Thanks Gizmo...that sounds like the consensus. the brake fluid level is the same. Just above min mark. cant tell if there is break fluid under the car with all the oil stains and the paving...so do I just jack it up and change the slave? anything special I need to know from anyone who has done this before?

Can I just change the seals or must I buy a whole slave cylinder?
h


Ok so changed the slave but no change...pedal still loose...wat could it be??
 

applehero

///Member
96328i said:
96328i said:
Thanks Gizmo...that sounds like the consensus. the brake fluid level is the same. Just above min mark. cant tell if there is break fluid under the car with all the oil stains and the paving...so do I just jack it up and change the slave? anything special I need to know from anyone who has done this before?

Can I just change the seals or must I buy a whole slave cylinder?
h


Ok so changed the slave but no change...pedal still loose...wat could it be??

I would suggest putting something underneath the car to see if there is a leak somewhere. You can probably go from there.

Basically the force you put into the pedal, gets transferred into fluid pressure at the Master Cylinder then back into a force acting on the Clutch. So there is a problem somewhere in that chain...

It could be a damaged clutch plate (unlikely though), a fluid leak (some of the fluid pressure gets lost, and replaced with air which is compressible), otherwise a faulty Clutch Master Cylinder. But as the above Fanatics have said, likely a leak of some kind.
 
If you're not losing any fluid it could be the 2nd seal (rubber) on the master clutch has failed, had that happened to me once on my e36 320i, removed the cover by the pedals, loosened or unclipped the master clutch pin from the clutch pedal, then I pulled the rubber (dust cover) from the master clutch, used a circlip pliers to remove the circlip, then had a small container and old towels handy and kept it under the master, pulled out the piston and saw the 2nd had failed, visually and physically inspected the master for any pitting (yes I fingered my master, but only to make sure it's not worn out [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]) bought a R45- R50 master cyl kit, fitted all the new rubbers and carefully reinserted the piston with new rubbers that I dipped in fresh brake fluid, had a syringe and squirter some brake fluid into the master before inserting the piston, it lessens the bleeding time on the slave cylinder (made sure the rubbers weren't pinching on the cylinder wall, if that happens and you force it in the rubbers will break) once the piston went in, with fluid already in the master I immediately felt resistance on the pedal, on the test pushing it with my hand then I just reversed the removal to put everything back, bear in mind we were 2 guys when it came to the bleeding, he was pumping and I was underneath the car to open the bleeding screw, bled it till there was no more air coming out just brake fluid and the pedal was back to its original place. If it's not your master,slave or leaking any fluid I'm afraid your pressure plate has collapsed.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


Tools I used after the cover was removed was an 'L' shaped circlip pliers, a thin flat screwdriver, small plastic container (margarine tub works) to catch the brake fluid and old towels under the tub for insurance and the syringe

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

96328i

Member
francoishensen11 said:
If you're not losing any fluid it could be the 2nd seal (rubber) on the master clutch has failed, had that happened to me once on my e36 320i, removed the cover by the pedals, loosened or unclipped the master clutch pin from the clutch pedal, then I pulled the rubber (dust cover) from the master clutch, used a circlip pliers to remove the circlip, then had a small container and old towels handy and kept it under the master, pulled out the piston and saw the 2nd had failed, visually and physically inspected the master for any pitting (yes I fingered my master, but only to make sure it's not worn out [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]) bought a R45- R50 master cyl kit, fitted all the new rubbers and carefully reinserted the piston with new rubbers that I dipped in fresh brake fluid, had a syringe and squirter some brake fluid into the master before inserting the piston, it lessens the bleeding time on the slave cylinder (made sure the rubbers weren't pinching on the cylinder wall, if that happens and you force it in the rubbers will break) once the piston went in, with fluid already in the master I immediately felt resistance on the pedal, on the test pushing it with my hand then I just reversed the removal to put everything back, bear in mind we were 2 guys when it came to the bleeding, he was pumping and I was underneath the car to open the bleeding screw, bled it till there was no more air coming out just brake fluid and the pedal was back to its original place. If it's not your master,slave or leaking any fluid I'm afraid your pressure plate has collapsed.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


Tools I used after the cover was removed was an 'L' shaped circlip pliers, a thin flat screwdriver, small plastic container (margarine tub works) to catch the brake fluid and old towels under the tub for insurance and the syringe

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk



Thanks guys. This is sorted. Turned out we were doing something wrong in the bleeding process. Don't ask exactly what cos im not 100% sure..but thanks again for all your help and suggestions:rollsmile::rollsmile:
 
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