Z3 Clutch Problem

Hi all, lately it has become more and more difficult to pass from gear to gear in my 2001 3.0. When I ease the clutch out, the car seems to jump and make me look like an amateur (have driven stick only for 30 years). In the morning it is smooth. Driving back from work at night, the clutch engages very harshly. I can feel the gears through the stick and it just feels rough. Searched forum and web and am wondering it the slave cylinder or CDV is to blame. Car has less than 60K miles...can't believe the clutch is bad already. Does this sound like I am on the right track?

sometimes the clutch can become contaminated, like from a mainseal or slave cylinder leak. any oil drips from that area?

Thanks tohbi. No leaks whatsoever. I need to move the shifter deliberately and slowly and it goes okay. No matter how easy I let the clutch out and coordinate with throttle, I get a loud clunk from the d-shaft. I bled the clutch yesterday and it seemed in order. I also screwed in the clutch pedal stop as far as it would go. It got a little better, but still seems like I am forcing the gears with all the resistance and noise. I am clueless. Will the clutch give any other symptoms? There is no burning clutch smell. I CAN feel some slippage in first gear.

could be a pressure plate problem [i luv alliteration]. if the plate isn't parallel to the clutch disc, shifting can be difficult. if it's slipping, either the disc itself is worn or contaminated. broken pressure plate spring? maybe. i saw a cracked shifting fork once. you may have to pull the tranny to take a look.

i get a "clunk" in first gear from behind the seats in my '97. i think it's the shock mounts.

you wrote it shifts worse when warm? that sounds like a slave or master cylinder.

Thank you for the help! I am not yet convinced the clutch is bad....but something is amiss. I am a teacher, so $1K for a clutch job is not in the cards just now. Praying it is the cylinder....THAT I can do! Thanks again!

May just need to bleed the clutch system.

Originally Posted by Pinecone

May just need to bleed the clutch system.

Replace all the hydraulic fluid in the clutch system while you are at it. Contaminated clutch fluid could have a host of side effects.
Something else is that as I understand it most of these cars have a "CSD" or Clutch System Delay Valve in the line just before the slave cylinder.
As I understand it, this valve delays the clutch action slightly. This would have the effect of delaying the clutch action in reference to what you think your clutch foot is doing. I think this was put there to protect clutch components, perhaps a cool thing by engineering standards, but in my mind no to much as the car ages and components don't work like new anymore.
There are replacement valves that have been gutted available in the aftermarket, or perhaps you can modify the stock valve if this is an issue in your case. At any rate, something to keep in mind when you are shifting.
In my case, I tend to back off the gas just a little bit before the shift, then clutch in after that and shift. It seems to make a difference for my passengers heads and the quality of the shift.

It is not a Brake Delay Valve, but a CLUTCH Delay Valve. Commonly known as teh CDV and was mentioned earlier.

But since this seems to be a change in how things act, it is more likely fluid or need to replace some clutch parts.

Originally Posted by Pinecone

It is not a Brake Delay Valve, but a CLUTCH Delay Valve. Commonly known as teh CDV and was mentioned earlier.

But since this seems to be a change in how things act, it is more likely fluid or need to replace some clutch parts.

My mistake on the naming of the valve, but duly noted and hopefully committed to memory (yeah right).
Thanks for the correction though.

i have a hyundai elantra with a clutch delay but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with clutch release. instead, it appears to delay engagement. presumably, this makes for "softer" shifts, but there are drawbacks.

for one, the car also has a delay when releasing the accelerator pedal; that is, the power doesn't drop right off but comes down gradually. this means one is often shifting while the rpm is too high for good engagement, presumably contributing to clutch wear. there is a fix for this in which one removes a cup in the clutch fluid line but i haven't gotten around to doing it. don't know what to do about the accelerator delay.

is this the system to which you're referring on the bmw?

Originally Posted by tohbi

i have a hyundai elantra with a clutch delay but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with clutch release. instead, it appears to delay engagement. presumably, this makes for "softer" shifts, but there are drawbacks.

for one, the car also has a delay when releasing the accelerator pedal; that is, the power doesn't drop right off but comes down gradually. this means one is often shifting while the rpm is too high for good engagement, presumably contributing to clutch wear. there is a fix for this in which one removes a cup in the clutch fluid line but i haven't gotten around to doing it. don't know what to do about the accelerator delay.

is this the system to which you're referring on the bmw?

My Beemer seems to have both of these sub systems. I bought it used so I don't know if the clutch still has the CDV, but I believe that it does judging by my perceived clutch action. I hope to remove that device from my clutch soon.
As for the slow RPM drop, I have just started to notice that as well. Mostly when I sit at a light or in my driveway and blip the throttle. I am fairly sure this is a smog control related action and someday hope to find it and turn it off if possible.

Getting back to "Girevicks" issue, it could be a mix of the CDV and dirty fluid causing his issues. At the very least I would pump the old fluid through and get some clean fluid in for a known baseline.

Thanks for all the help guys! Here is what I am doing/have done: I ordered a braided clutch hose (30 bucks), a CDV bypass ($30) and a new slave cylinder ($50), all from BAV. As suggested, the fluid is going to get replaced and I will install the new parts. Will make it a father/son event. If I shift really slowly, things are much better with the clutch. I think y'all may have nailed this one. Thanks again!

Send the boy over to help me when you're done!

Actually, that's great and a cool thing to share with your son! Keep us in the loop!

Rudy