Bad clutch?

[Cadeez]

My clutch engages waaay up near the top, in fact it's pretty much at the top. I'm wondering if there is a clutch adjusment on our cars and mine's just out of adjustment? Or is my clutch shot and I'm now gonna be out $1k for a new one...?? It doesn't slip at all, just takes off at the very top. Hoping it's not a bad clutch, perhaps this is another reason why it feels a bit sluggish off the line?

[ZSP-Mafia]

Mine is all the way at the top as well. All e46's have self adjusting clutches as far as I know.

[Cadeez]

Fabulous, I hope you know then! Haha. Any idea how/where to do it?

[ZSP-Mafia]

I don't know if it can be adjusted. Self adjusting means that the engagement point in the pedal stays the same as the clutch wears down.

[danewilson77]

Fabulous, I hope you know then! Haha. Any idea how/where to do it?

Self adjusting means there is nothing you can do. It adjusts itself.

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[Cadeez]

Son of a b*tch... That'll learn me to pay attention in class, thanks for clarifying guys. :facepalm

[gr330zhp]

Yeah hydraulic self-adjusting clutch...just kills itself little by little :(

If it isnt slipping, I wouldnt worry about it. Mine was slipping quite a bit, just changed it on Tuesday

[Cadeez]

Did you do it yourself or take it to your local shop/dealership? What was the cost either way?

[RITmusic2k]

Just for a little more info here... are you saying that the clutch isn't fully engaged until you're almost at the top of pedal travel, or that your friction point actually starts that high up? I think the former is typical for these cars.

[static667]

Mine starts to grab at about 3/4 of the way up and fully grabs at about 7/8. I think part of my issue is the cdv. I really don't like that thing.

Sent from my rooted Fascinate. Hacked Droid FTW!

[danewilson77]

Mine starts to grab at about 3/4 of the way up and fully grabs at about 7/8. I think part of my issue is the cdv. I really don't like that thing.

Sent from my rooted Fascinate. Hacked Droid FTW!

Take it out. Its a 15min diy bro.

[UncleSmitty]

I'd say air in the line, but wouldn't that cause the opposite problem (clutch engaging immediately or not fully disengaging)?

+1 on CDV delete. Mine goes away tomorrow.

[Cadeez]

Just for a little more info here... are you saying that the clutch isn't fully engaged until you're almost at the top of pedal travel, or that your friction point actually starts that high up? I think the former is typical for these cars.
Is there much of a difference?


Mine starts to grab at about 3/4 of the way up and fully grabs at about 7/8. I think part of my issue is the cdv. I really don't like that thing.

That's the basic jist of mine as well...

[RITmusic2k]

Is there much of a difference?

Just trying to get a little more info... in the former case, he could be asking about how broad the friction zone is supposed to be; in the latter case, it could be a question about how much dead travel exists in the bottom part of the pedal stroke.

[Cadeez]

It seems like it's just dead travel, clutch doesn't engage till 3/4 of the way up, then completely engages when your foot leaves the pedal. Or at least that's what it feels like. I just posted a thread in the Projects section about the CDV delete, wondering if this is a worth while mod? And could it help the issue any?

[RITmusic2k]

Actually, it probably could help the situation. What you might be experiencing is the fact that the clutch has a maximum rate of re-engagement thanks to that CDV. It's possible to take your foot all the way off the pedal well before the clutch is synced up with the flywheel, simulating the feeling of unnaturally high engagement. The true engagement point is probably 'lower' in the pedal's travel, but you won't ever feel it engage there if you release the pedal quickly.

If you release your clutch pedal painfully slowly (i.e., more slowly than the CDV's regulated threshold), then you'll feel a much more direct correlation between pedal position and clutch engagement point... the same way it would feel at any pedal speed with the CDV removed.

[az3579]

I have the CDV removed and mine grabs pretty high as well. It's just how they're designed, I think...

[VA//M3]

I removed my CDV valve the second day I owned my car--Coming from a 33 yr old car with a cable driven clutch the e46's clutch just left too much to be desired with the CDV in place IMHO.

My clutch starts biting about 1 to 2 inches of clutch pedal travel without a clutch stop.

Air on the clutch line or slave cylinder isn't too big of a problem since any air bubbles would naturally travel upstream and find its way up into the master cylinder reservoir.

[Oli77]

Strange, my clutch begins to engage at most, around 25% of total pedal distance traveled (so pretty darn early). Never did the CDV delete (got used to it).