clutch pedal help.

[Beaubinski]

Alright, I've got a 1989 325i e30, today I've had some troubles with my clutch pedal.

At first it seemed a lot softer, and then later after driving and shifting for a while, it popped out. I was still able to engage/disengage and shift between gears, but I'm worried this may lead to more serious issues if I continue to [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]drive[/COLOR][/COLOR] it as it is.

After it popped out, it was about 3 inches out from the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]brake [COLOR=blue ! important]pedal[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], and as I compressed it, it'd make clicking noise. After driving it further, the pedal then recessed with only 2 inches or so of travel.

I just got this car recently, and while I love it a whole lot I'm very new to the whole car scene, so I don't really know the names to a lot of parts, or very many of the standard repair procedures. Sooo, detailed advice would be cool.

So, I took a flash light and looked around down there, and I noticed two [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]pumps[/COLOR][/COLOR]. The pump closest to the pedal had a torn boot. Everything down there seemed kind of warn. Has anyone else had any of sort of problem down there? What do I need to do to repair it?

[browntown]

My initial guess would be the clutch slave cylinder which is on the transmission itself, and is a common wear item in these cars. Worth the 30 bux to fix if it is original anyways. Once replaced, bleed it (probably a good time to flush and bleed all your brakes too, start from furthest away and move forward). If you're still having problems then the torn boot on the master cylinder is cause for concern. That part is a little more pricey and if you can swing it, you can replace at the same time as the slave.

It all works on brake fluid though so the very first thing to check is the cloth hose from the brake master reservoir to the clutch master.

I stopped trying to diagnose things though and just replaced the whole system. Really depends on time and budget.

[Keith M]

What's up with all the blue typing?
Anyway, the "pump" under the dash is the clutch master cylinder and the one that is on the transmission is the clutch slave cylinder. It sounds like one of them is failing.

[Beaubinski]

I'm not sure what's going on with the blue text. Anyway, I guess it seems like it's the master cylinder, I was trying to adjust it some and then a rod popped out. Any advice on where to order it from?

[browntown]

blunttech.com is our resident parts man, good prices, great service.

[DrewSkii]

Has anyone else had any of sort of problem down there?

Nope.

[jlevie]

It sounds to me like something in the pedal or pedal box has failed. Take a look under the dash for cracks or broken parts.

[Beaubinski]

Alright, it's been about a year now since I made this thread and I'm about to replace the master cylinder for the 4th time.

The first time I didn't know why it had broke, I had just assumed it was the original and happened to break after 20 years, after replacing it the second time I looked into the problem more and it seemed as low my pedal bracket being bent was causing the push rod to go in crooked causing it to break. It ended up breaking before I had a chance to find a pedal bracket.

So, the 3rd time I replaced it I first put in a new pedal bracket, I also replaced the slave cylinder, the small pipe at the bottom of the master cylinder and also the hydraulic hose that goes from the pipe to the slave. At this point I thought, awesome I've replaced everything to replace in the ares with new parts so there should be no reason for it to break again. Buuuut, it broke...and I can't think of any reason why it would.

Everything seems to be put in place correctly, the bracket, the cylinder and the spring. I've had my friend, who is a pretty reputable member of the forum check it out and thinks it's really odd that it keeps breaking. Everything seems fine.

Somethings to note, the first time it broke the push rod actually dislodged itself from the cylinder, the rubber around the push-rod was allowing me to still engage the clutch and shift, but the other 3 times the push rod broke in half. So, is there actually something I'm not doing properly? Anything I could be missing

Some issues I've noticed:
The pedal isn't as stiff as some other e30's I've driven (however my e30 is nowhere near as clean as those e30s)

After the most recent fix I would sometimes hear clicking, as if my food had hit a piece of plastic.

It seems like I must be replacing these improperly somehow, but there really doesn't seem to be any room for error. I've followed DIYs precisely.

Can anyone help me figure this out? I'd rather not have to start carrying around a spar master cylinder in my trunk so I can fix it on the fly.

[jlevie]

It sounds to me like something is causing a side load on the mater cylinder. A problem with the pedal or pedal box seems likely.