Average life of 3 Series clutch

It seems I may either have a worn clutch, or perhaps an oil leak of some
sort, which is causing my 2000 318Ci to 'judder' when pulling away from
stationary. I spoke with a colleague at work today who had exactly the same
problem on her 316, which on investigation revealed a 'shiny' clutch plate
(but the suspicion was an oil leak onto the clutch plate).

Only taking the gearbox off will tell I guess, but I wanted to get opinions
on how 'poor' 36k miles on a BMW clutch sounds? This is all it has done, and
those 36k miles will all have been 'gentle' miles, ie I do not thrash my car
in the least (I have a motorbike to do that on!).

The car is out of warranty (typical, I did not renew the BMW warranty this
year!), but do you think BMW would think 'hmmm, something not right here,
will replace free of charge', or is that just extreme wishful thinking? )

TIA
tim

"tim" > wrote in message
...
> It seems I may either have a worn clutch, or perhaps an oil leak of some
> sort, which is causing my 2000 318Ci to 'judder' when pulling away from
> stationary. I spoke with a colleague at work today who had exactly the
same
> problem on her 316, which on investigation revealed a 'shiny' clutch plate
> (but the suspicion was an oil leak onto the clutch plate).
>
> Only taking the gearbox off will tell I guess, but I wanted to get
opinions
> on how 'poor' 36k miles on a BMW clutch sounds? This is all it has done,
and
> those 36k miles will all have been 'gentle' miles, ie I do not thrash my
car
> in the least (I have a motorbike to do that on!).
>
> The car is out of warranty (typical, I did not renew the BMW warranty this
> year!), but do you think BMW would think 'hmmm, something not right here,
> will replace free of charge', or is that just extreme wishful thinking?
)
>
> TIA
> tim
>
>

I sold a 318 at 60K with no signs of wear and a 323 with 80K, again no signs
of wear. Both driven hard, so 36K sounds a bit poor but I very much doubt
BMW will do anything.

I drive a '94 325i with 205,000 miles and the factory original clutch. I am
certain BMW will not be giving me a new one for free.

Your clutch life of 36k miles is very short indeed. That said, your habits
have much to do with short life of the clutch.




"tim" > wrote in message
...
> It seems I may either have a worn clutch, or perhaps an oil leak of some
> sort, which is causing my 2000 318Ci to 'judder' when pulling away from
> stationary. I spoke with a colleague at work today who had exactly the
> same problem on her 316, which on investigation revealed a 'shiny' clutch
> plate (but the suspicion was an oil leak onto the clutch plate).
>
> Only taking the gearbox off will tell I guess, but I wanted to get
> opinions on how 'poor' 36k miles on a BMW clutch sounds? This is all it
> has done, and those 36k miles will all have been 'gentle' miles, ie I do
> not thrash my car in the least (I have a motorbike to do that on!).
>
> The car is out of warranty (typical, I did not renew the BMW warranty this
> year!), but do you think BMW would think 'hmmm, something not right here,
> will replace free of charge', or is that just extreme wishful thinking?
> )
>
> TIA
> tim
>

> Your clutch life of 36k miles is very short indeed. That said, your habits
> have much to do with short life of the clutch.

My "habits" as in what exactly?
tim

Jeff Strickland wrote:

> I drive a '94 325i with 205,000 miles and the factory original
> clutch. I am certain BMW will not be giving me a new one for free.

I finally had to put one in my old 325e at 350k or so. And that was only after
driving around for a year or so with a leaky slave cylinder, while parallel
parking on steep hills.

> Your clutch life of 36k miles is very short indeed. That said, your
> habits have much to do with short life of the clutch.

Indeed. Is it really hillly where you live? Is your car's mileage accurate?

Matt O.

> Only taking the gearbox off will tell I guess, but I wanted to get
> opinions on how 'poor' 36k miles on a BMW clutch sounds?

36k seems unlikely. I've put at least 75k on this car with no serious
clutch probs so far. The bite point is now slightly higher than I'd like
though.

However, these days, most (all?) cars should reach 75k on a clutch.

Al.

"tim" > wrote in message
...
>
> > Your clutch life of 36k miles is very short indeed. That said, your
habits
> > have much to do with short life of the clutch.
>
> My "habits" as in what exactly?

A clutch only wears whilst it's slipping. In practice this should only occur
when you're pulling away, or travelling extremely slowly.
Once moving there's no need to slip the clutch at all.
Keep slip to a minimum, and there's no reason why a clutch shouldn't last
for well over 100k.
Mike.

There are several things, all of which sound as though I am being
judgemental on your ability to operate a manual transmission. Please accept
these possibilities in a light which can improve the way you operate the
clutch.

1. You could be slipping the clutch excessively when you start out. This is
particularly easy on a hill. If you have the habit of letting the revs go to
1500 or 2000 before the car begins to move, this will eat the clutch in very
short order. You have 36k miles, I have 200k miles, your clutch-life
experience is "very short order."

2. You do not engage and disengage the clutch crisply between gears. If you
engage the clutch but allow the engine to race a little, then the clutch is
slipping during gear changes. If you apply gas before the clutch is
disengaged after selecting the next gear, then you are slipping the clutch
during gear changes.

3. If you rest your foot on the clutch pedal as you drive on the freeway,
you can be slipping the clutch, particularly when climbing hills.


You should never rest your foot on the clutch pedal. You should keep the
engine speed down while starting from a stop. If you live in a very hilly
area, this can be difficult, but if you don't even try to keep the revs down
you are doing considerable wear to the clutch. You should try to match the
engine speed to the drive train when shifting either up or down. On
up-shifts, the engine should be going slower than before you depressed the
clutch, on down-shifts the engine should be going faster. Basically, if the
ride for your passengers is smooth and clean, the wear and tear on your
clutch is minimized. If the ride is jerky and rough, then the wear on the
clutch is going to be high.





"tim" > wrote in message
...
>
> > Your clutch life of 36k miles is very short indeed. That said, your
habits
> > have much to do with short life of the clutch.
>
> My "habits" as in what exactly?
> tim
>
>

I don't think there is an "average life". 186K on my 325i and still
going strong. Lots of variables determine overall life though.


tim wrote:
> It seems I may either have a worn clutch, or perhaps an oil leak of some
> sort, which is causing my 2000 318Ci to 'judder' when pulling away from
> stationary. I spoke with a colleague at work today who had exactly the same
> problem on her 316, which on investigation revealed a 'shiny' clutch plate
> (but the suspicion was an oil leak onto the clutch plate).
>
> Only taking the gearbox off will tell I guess, but I wanted to get opinions
> on how 'poor' 36k miles on a BMW clutch sounds? This is all it has done, and
> those 36k miles will all have been 'gentle' miles, ie I do not thrash my car
> in the least (I have a motorbike to do that on!).
>
> The car is out of warranty (typical, I did not renew the BMW warranty this
> year!), but do you think BMW would think 'hmmm, something not right here,
> will replace free of charge', or is that just extreme wishful thinking? )
>
> TIA
> tim
>
>

In article >,
Mike G > wrote:
> > My "habits" as in what exactly?

> A clutch only wears whilst it's slipping.

Who says it's worn? A worn out clutch slips. This one is juddering. Could
be doing this with no wear.

--
*What was the best thing before sliced bread? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.