[Unique335i07]

Alright basically I have a 2007 BMW 335i and my clutch was slipping so I ordered a ACT Street clutch kit for an upgrade. I brought it to my mechanic which I thought i could trust and he installed it. I came to pick up the vehicle and he said before I even got into the car that "its hard to put it in gear but thats because its a new clutch." Right there I had a weird feeling and asked him to test drive the car. Boom I test drove it and wow did I feel there was something messed up from the gate. I was having a awful time putting it in reverse and in any gear. Before I would even let go of the clutch the car would start moving right when I was moving it into any gear. Then i finally got it into gear and the car was slipping like a mofo way worst then the OEM was. I brought him back the car and he is blaming it ACT aftermartket clutch and how its cheap. Then he said "thats why i only do OEM parts because these afternmarket places dont know how to make things for these high end cars." He continues to talk bullshit but i dont believe him. I feel that he did somehting wrong on the install and need anyones help to figure it out. Im left stranded with no car and I work and live 20 miles from my job. Any help on anything about this situation would help greatly!!! Thanks in advance!!

[I335]

I have no experience with that clutch but it certainly does sound like he messed up the installation. The worst part is that he's blaming on the clutch so now I wouldn't even trust him to to fix it. It'll probably cost you double now to have it done right but I don't see any other way around it. Sound like you'll need to rent a car for a couple days too while you have it sorted out. I feel for you - I hate when stuff like this happens...

[Unique335i07]

Yea thats what I'm thinking.. Tow the car to another shop that hopefully will take the car knowing that its messed up already and fix it. He wont give me the car until i pay him and its killing me to pay for my car thats messed up horribly!!! Life huh?? lol

[cn555ic]

I would not pay him at all call the cops on him.

[cn555ic]

Make a police report of some kind so they have it on record.

[Express]

tell your mechanic to put the crack pipe down.

[cn555ic]

You should not pay for a service that was and is not done. In fact you can even threaten him with a lawsuit since if you drive off with the car and get into accident. Make sure you make a police report. Very key to have this

[newBMWownr]

If/when you do pay, use a credit card. You can dispute the charges and have the CC company help out with the situation.

I'm guessing either he didn't use the alignment tool when he installed the clutch disk/pressure plate or that he didn't bleed the slave cylinder very well. The slipping while engaged hints at misalignment of the clutch disk/pressure plate. I'd also go back to ACT. Get the experts to tell the 'mechanic' what he screwed up. It would also help if there's some issue with the clutch as they might also help out with getting it fixed.

He took the job so he needs to make it right, either by fixing the thing or paying someone else who knows what they're doing to fix it. If he installed what he thinks is substandard parts, why did he install them?

For a small garage, the biggest thing they have is their reputation. You can politely tell him that his rep in the marketplace is going to be trashed, courtesy of you complaining to every consumer watchdog group, news media, and BBB association you can think of.

[Bakeme521]

Do not pay him, he def. messed something up. It sounds like the clutch isn't disengaging all the way making it hard to put in gear. Doesn't matter if the clutch was cheap or not if you put it in right it will still work. Don't buy into his BS.

[Mr. 5]

This really sucks!
Do you have any sort of clutch stop though?
I had a clutch stop installed and then had to take it out because I couldn't get it into gear once the ACT was installed.
The ACT clutch is hard to push in at first but you get used to it.
You should have no problem with getting it into gear though.
This just doesn't sound right.

Since this is slipping right from the start sounds like something is completely wrong with the installation.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Your clutch isn't fully disengaging and need to be adjusted. I've yet to install a BMW clutch but I'd assume the adjustment is on the slave cylinder or on the clutch pedal. It's pretty common for an aftermarket clutch with non oem pressure plate/clutch disk dimensions to require adjustment for the engagement/disengagement.

[JetBlackE46]

Just put the charges on your credit card then dispute it later after you get a second opinion from a competent mechanic.

If you don't pay for it, he could put a mehanics lein on your car and sell it.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Before screwing the mechanic over or yourself, I'd adjust the engagement. If you don't know how to do it bring it to a competent BMW indy shop and they should be able to do it rather quickly.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Just did some reading and it looks like there isn't a way to adjust the clutch on these cars. The only thing that could be wrong is air in the clutch lines which would require bleeding the slave cylinder or an aftermarket clutch stop installed that requires adjusting.

[R1000K3]

If the clutch hydraulic has been opened it is probably air in the system. This would cause the symptom you experience now.

[itsbrokeagain]

Ive have installed a few ACT clutch setups and all have acted the same way out of the box...pedal engages right off the floor. A quick bleed of the slave cylinder usually helps.

The ACT clutch disk is a hair thicker than stock..some good local street driving will help it break in faster and seat itself to the flywheel. I had one guy whos clutch was a bit low for about 4 days. He drove it everywhere as much as he could, and by the end of the 3rd day the clutch pedal was back up to a normal point in engaging.

But most of all none of my customers never had an issue getting it into gear. If the lever bushing on the opposite end of the throwout lever broke or wore down, this will also cause issues with getting it into gear...I make a habit of replacing it as it is only 2 bucks from the dealer. E36s were notorious for breaking the top off this pin, causing the throwout lever to fall back, thus causing more pedal effort and harder shifting because it wasnt applying full pressure to the clutch.

[packinDSS]

Call the police. He took the job which meant he agreed to install the part properly. Do not let him fall back on the non-oem part BULLSHIT. If all fails pay with a credit card.....and not your debit card!!!! (debit cards are like writing checks...not much you can do and not the same protections as a real cc card). Call the credit card company and dispute the payment. Then take it to a reputable repair shop.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Originally Posted by Matt@Camber-Toe

Ive have installed a few ACT clutch setups and all have acted the same way out of the box...pedal engages right off the floor. A quick bleed of the slave cylinder usually helps.

The ACT clutch disk is a hair thicker than stock..some good local street driving will help it break in faster and seat itself to the flywheel. I had one guy whos clutch was a bit low for about 4 days. He drove it everywhere as much as he could, and by the end of the 3rd day the clutch pedal was back up to a normal point in engaging.

But most of all none of my customers never had an issue getting it into gear. If the lever bushing on the opposite end of the throwout lever broke or wore down, this will also cause issues with getting it into gear...I make a habit of replacing it as it is only 2 bucks from the dealer. E36s were notorious for breaking the top off this pin, causing the throwout lever to fall back, thus causing more pedal effort and harder shifting because it wasnt applying full pressure to the clutch.

Listen to this guy rather than finding new ways to sue people.

[Bimmer This]

Quick question, where does your mechanic work? Independent shop? Dealership? Was this done as a side job?

[ZTUNER]

There is a reason why BMW mechanics become assholes and charge so much for installs. Except for 2 people on here lookig for solutions, the rest are looking to sue. Here is what i would do in order of importance.

Bleed the clutch
Confirm with ACT that there is no step height requirement for this car clutch combo
check the fulcrum point for wear.

ACT's are known to make thicker than stock discs and this issue is common with ACT in other cars too. Most other cars have adjustments to account for the change. Apparently this car does not. After doing everything listed above try to drive the car and break in the clutch. Most likely it will get much better with some wear on the disc.

Before jumping on the mech try and find a solution, usually works better that way. If i was the mech i would switch everything back to stock and tell you to go away and never come back if you threatened to sue.

Harry

[Unique335i07]

Originally Posted by Bimmer This

Quick question, where does your mechanic work? Independent shop? Dealership? Was this done as a side job?

It's a independent shop and not done as a side job.

Everyone else thanks for the help. I'm gonna go back to the shop tomorrow and have him bleed the system and then test drive it around for about 20 miles or soo an see what happens. Hopefully it self adjust and if not he said he would take it apart and see everything is installed correctly and if he made a mistake that I would only have to pay for the first round and if not I would have to pay double the labor n he would put a stock clutch which I have to much horse power for. But thanks everyone for the help

[packinDSS]

Originally Posted by ZTUNER

There is a reason why BMW mechanics become assholes and charge so much for installs. Except for 2 people on here lookig for solutions, the rest are looking to sue. Here is what i would do in order of importance.

Bleed the clutch
Confirm with ACT that there is no step height requirement for this car clutch combo
check the fulcrum point for wear.

ACT's are known to make thicker than stock discs and this issue is common with ACT in other cars too. Most other cars have adjustments to account for the change. Apparently this car does not. After doing everything listed above try to drive the car and break in the clutch. Most likely it will get much better with some wear on the disc.

Before jumping on the mech try and find a solution, usually works better that way. If i was the mech i would switch everything back to stock and tell you to go away and never come back if you threatened to sue.

Harry

seriously? We should pay money for a job and then pay to have him bleed the clutch, try something else, etc...... This was part of the job! How about we diagnose the problem and pay him to fix it twice? How about I just give him the money and he punches me in the face? This mechanic is an asshole dumb dumb who is using the non-oem BULLSHIT on a job he agreed to do. Really? You sound like a mechanic