First, specs of car: 91 318is with s52/zf tranny swap, e30 325i clutch and flywheel
So last week, I started noticing some chatter in my clutch that sounded just like a throw out bearing going bad. So I ordered a new one, and was just waiting to get a free day to get into the shop to change it out. Then one day I crank the car, and its making a TERRIBLE noise coming from the bottom back side of my motor, like shoving something into a metal fan blade that was spinning at the same speed as the engine. The horrible noise increased in speed proportionally with engine speed, in gear and in neutral, with clutch depressed or released, under load while moving and while sitting still. Oddly enough, the clutch was operating perfectly, engaging as it should and shifting smoothly. So I figured maybe a broken or loose bolt in the flywheel. Having no towing options, and being only about 2 miles from home, I decided to gently drive the car to my house. It drove perfectly, aside from sounding like it was about to fly to pieces. So after spending about 4 hrs getting the tranny out (NOT a fun job and almost impossible without pulling the motor, but I managed to do it), this is what I find. I knew it wasnt going to be good when I pulled the slave cylinder out and found it filled with aluminum shavings...:
Note the ninja star-like appearance of the pressure plate where the sheet metal ripped from the three rivets that hold the flywheel contacting surface on (sorry not sure of the technical name of this piece)
inside of the bell housing on transmission
side of transmission where the pressure plate cut ALL THE WAY THROUGH
The clutch disk looked perfect, barely worn. The flywheel surface was perfect also, with zero signs of slippage
Both of my friends who are BMW mechanics said that in 20+ years of work they have neither seen or even heard of this type of failure. Have you guys ever seen anything like that?!
I think just a few more miles would have sawed it completely in half!! Tranny is at a highly reputable aluminum welder today for a hopefully successful repair of circumferential cut, I will update how this repair and reassembly progresses. Wish me luck lol
So last week, I started noticing some chatter in my clutch that sounded just like a throw out bearing going bad. So I ordered a new one, and was just waiting to get a free day to get into the shop to change it out. Then one day I crank the car, and its making a TERRIBLE noise coming from the bottom back side of my motor, like shoving something into a metal fan blade that was spinning at the same speed as the engine. The horrible noise increased in speed proportionally with engine speed, in gear and in neutral, with clutch depressed or released, under load while moving and while sitting still. Oddly enough, the clutch was operating perfectly, engaging as it should and shifting smoothly. So I figured maybe a broken or loose bolt in the flywheel. Having no towing options, and being only about 2 miles from home, I decided to gently drive the car to my house. It drove perfectly, aside from sounding like it was about to fly to pieces. So after spending about 4 hrs getting the tranny out (NOT a fun job and almost impossible without pulling the motor, but I managed to do it), this is what I find. I knew it wasnt going to be good when I pulled the slave cylinder out and found it filled with aluminum shavings...:
Note the ninja star-like appearance of the pressure plate where the sheet metal ripped from the three rivets that hold the flywheel contacting surface on (sorry not sure of the technical name of this piece)
inside of the bell housing on transmission
side of transmission where the pressure plate cut ALL THE WAY THROUGH
The clutch disk looked perfect, barely worn. The flywheel surface was perfect also, with zero signs of slippage
Both of my friends who are BMW mechanics said that in 20+ years of work they have neither seen or even heard of this type of failure. Have you guys ever seen anything like that?!
I think just a few more miles would have sawed it completely in half!! Tranny is at a highly reputable aluminum welder today for a hopefully successful repair of circumferential cut, I will update how this repair and reassembly progresses. Wish me luck lol
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