What are the signs of a failing Clutch?

[Beemie320i]

Please help me do a self-diagnosis for a failing/ failed Clutch.
What are the tell-tale signs?
What are the causes of pre-mature clutch failure?
Thankyou:bangdesk:

 

[Ralf*]

Symptoms

1)shuddering when you let the clutch out
2)A sense that it seems to be slipping
3)A smell of "heat" and possible light smoke coming from the gear lever
4)A screetching noise when you depress the clutch pedal
5)Gears engaging with a "clunk", sometimes difficult to disengage a gear

common causes

1)Low clutch fluid
2)Oil leak from engine onto clutch plate
3)Overheated clutch plate
4)old age wear-n-tear
5)Thrust bearing failure

anybody wanna add ?

 

[Spiro]

+1 on the Above....



you will have delays in rpm build up and pull off... car will rev high then move...


you can do a basic load test, from what I've seen...

take each gear up to about 2000~3000 rpm

when you get to 3rd Gear, hold the acceleration pedal at current point, press the clutch in and release...

if it slips then you will know which side of the good side the clutch is sitting, if it takes when u leave the clutch pedal there will be no delay, the car will simply take and pull


that be the best description from me...

 

[Peejay]

Welcome buddy.


Slipping with be one. Maybe when you depress the pedal you could hear grinding or knocking that's signs of a aged release bearing.

What you could to is pull the hand brake right up. Engage first gear, release the clutch pedal and see if the car wants to pull away or switch off. All this is based that you have good hand brakes. Make sure the front of the car is clear as well.

*please attempt this at your own risk.

 

[ChrisBrand]

:flyfun:

I answered yes to 3 of the 5 questions Ralf posted....

 

[Dippies]

Symptoms

1)shuddering when you let the clutch out
2)A sense that it seems to be slipping
3)A smell of "heat" and possible light smoke coming from the gear lever
4)A screetching noise when you depress the clutch pedal
5)Gears engaging with a "clunk", sometimes difficult to disengage a gear

common causes

1)Low clutch fluid
2)Oil leak from engine onto clutch plate
3)Overheated clutch plate
4)old age wear-n-tear
5)Thrust bearing failure

anybody wanna add ?

Nope you said it all

 

[Jarv]

I also answered to the shuddering, especially when car is cold

 

[Gilbert]

+ 2 on the above.

Seems like all aspects have been covered.

 

[tman]

I also answered to the shuddering, especially when car is cold

+1 for the shuddering. Weirdly enough mine only shudders when the car is hot, ie if Im in stop start traffic on the highway...

Could this be a sign of a failing clutch?

 

[BuFFy_ZA]

Mine shudders in first only on incline's or heavy load, its had a new clutch done at BMW.

 

[lucian]

I also answered to the shuddering, especially when car is cold

+1 for the shuddering. Weirdly enough mine only shudders when the car is hot, ie if Im in stop start traffic on the highway...

Could this be a sign of a failing clutch?

Mine did the same and I had to rev up to make car move and not shudder. I tried to not heat up the clutch by removing my foot from the pedal and control speed with the accelerator. This seems to work for me.
Another thing is that the engine does not give enough power on low rev's.
I had bad idling and occasional power loss. Replacing the crank case valve (after a diagnostic pointed this out) solve almost all the above problems. There's enough power now on low revs and no more power loss.
Good idea to keep the foot off the clutch, only on there when shifting.

 

[ernest maurice]

Also check your rev counter when vehicle is shuddering, if its bouncing up and down then its also confirmation that the clutch is on its way

 

[Webmaster]

Is a clutch replacement covered under MP? Just curious as mine slightly shudders on cold mornings going up a steep driveway.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Replaced 6 times on 2 different E90s on MP.. Make doubly sure they do the DMF as well then you should be okay for another 20,000kms of traffic driving.. It's a common fault on the manuals I could not live with it, having it shudder like that each day in traffic drove me insane.. :bangdesk:

 

[Mrcloc]

I also answered to the shuddering, especially when car is cold

+1 for the shuddering. Weirdly enough mine only shudders when the car is hot, ie if Im in stop start traffic on the highway...

Could this be a sign of a failing clutch?

My manual 320d also shuddered a lot - especially when hot. And that was after BMW replaced the clutch.

 

[Sankekur]

Keep in mind that shuddering can also be caused by a buggered dual mass flywheel. Generally BMW's attitude is when you replace the clutch you have to replace the DMF as well....as much as I dislike these kinds of if you do this you have to do this statements this one is unfortunately true for the most part. As even though the surface might be fine or can be skimmed it is a dynamic component and if it is out of spec it won't work as intended.

Other things that can lead to premature clutch failure:
-If any of the components have been installed incorrectly.
-If the pressure plate/flywheel are burnt, glazed or have other sort of damage on the friction surfaces.
-If the pressure plate's springs are worn out or a pressure plate with a too low clamping force was used.
-Riding the clutch
-Hard launches and hard gear changes.
-Allowing too much slip during up and down shifts.