[brocklanders]

i red lined the car today from a rolling start in first, red line killed power. when i took it out of first at the light, the clutch pedal stuck to the floor. while i was waiting i ran it though the gears, it was very notchy and the clutch pedal still stuck to the floor. there was no resistance in the clutch pedal, as i waited for the light it started feeling better. it was a nice long houston feeder road stop light so by the time it turned green i was able to take off very slowly in first and i shifted clutchless the rest of the way home. when i got to my neighborhood first felt much better but i still have to go extremely easy on the clutch. i can shift with the clutch but it is very notchy in the low gears 1-3. i am hoping all i did was overheat the disc, which may have glazed it, if thats possible, it is all speculation for me, and it will slowly return to normal. it is drivable and i think the damage is all mechanical, as i got no warning lights what so ever. any previous experience or thoughts on this manner would be appreciated, even if they are about how much of a dumb-ass i am.

[e92oholic]

You may have blown it. When your in fifth and give it some gas does it slip and rev up?

[brocklanders]

no it holds i didnt notice any slipping at all even directly after, it just shutters really bad on release, but it seems to be getting better.

[gunnerxq]

I don't understand, you shifted near redline and you think you burned the clutch? Or am I missing something?

[triger716]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

I don't understand, you shifted near redline and you think you burned the clutch? Or am I missing something?

I think he went past red line and the car shut itself down to save his engine. As for the clutch ?

[e92oholic]

It sounds like he dumped the clutch at redline and the pedal stuck all the way up

[brocklanders]

no i was already rolling 5-10mph, gunned it, car went to red line, lost power. when i depressed the clutch to take it out of 1st gear the clutch pedal stuck to the floor, dead. i just now drove it to the store and it was operational, i had to take it very easy and when i started from a stop on a hill i got a little shuttering. 3rd and 4th were very hard, had to wait till rpms dropped for them to pop in, kind of like shifting clutchless when you dont do it right. on the way home i was taking a turn in second and accelerated to 4k rpm and clutch pedal went dead again. i will be taking it to the shop asap. just not sure if im even going to try the dealer for warranty.

[///M3NACE]

If you got warranty they will check it out and possibly do it free. Regardless check it out for free

[brocklanders]

brand new 10k miles

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by brocklanders

no i was already rolling 5-10mph, gunned it, car went to red line, lost power. when i depressed the clutch to take it out of 1st gear the clutch pedal stuck to the floor, dead. i just now drove it to the store and it was operational, i had to take it very easy and when i started from a stop on a hill i got a little shuttering. 3rd and 4th were very hard, had to wait till rpms dropped for them to pop in, kind of like shifting clutchless when you dont do it right. on the way home i was taking a turn in second and accelerated to 4k rpm and clutch pedal went dead again. i will be taking it to the shop asap. just not sure if im even going to try the dealer for warranty.

Hi,

My guess from your description is that the clutch master or slave cylinder has failed. Chances are you "jumped" on the clutch pedal to disengage when the limiter kicked in and this damaged the seals in the master or slave (master more likely). With seals blown, there is no restoring force to make the pedal come back up.

With this kind of damage, when you press the pedal, you are getting only some fluid pumped to the slave. Therefore, the pedal is not fully disengaging the clutch disc, resulting in very hard shifts, or as you describe, it's like shifting without a clutch.

I think you got lucky and will only have to replace one or both cylinders. Far better than having to replace the clutch itself! Let's hope my reasoning is correct.

Regards and good luck.

[brocklanders]

thanks for the reply, i think you are right. i dont think the acceleration had anything to do with it as the car is running normal other wise. i just dropped it off at the dealer and i am pretty confident it will be covered under warranty.

[achien]

+1, most likely the hydraulics which activates/de-activates the clutch.

I red-line my car everyday and the clutch never had problems.

I wish we will go back to the days when cable was used. You can "feel" the power of the engine through the clutch pedal.

Originally Posted by Healey3000

Hi,

My guess from your description is that the clutch master or slave cylinder has failed. Chances are you "jumped" on the clutch pedal to disengage when the limiter kicked in and this damaged the seals in the master or slave (master more likely). With seals blown, there is no restoring force to make the pedal come back up.

With this kind of damage, when you press the pedal, you are getting only some fluid pumped to the slave. Therefore, the pedal is not fully disengaging the clutch disc, resulting in very hard shifts, or as you describe, it's like shifting without a clutch.

I think you got lucky and will only have to replace one or both cylinders. Far better than having to replace the clutch itself! Let's hope my reasoning is correct.

Regards and good luck.

[JuppiOne]

most likely, you damaged the throw out bearing

[DMafia46]

Originally Posted by Healey3000

Hi,

My guess from your description is that the clutch master or slave cylinder has failed. Chances are you "jumped" on the clutch pedal to disengage when the limiter kicked in and this damaged the seals in the master or slave (master more likely). With seals blown, there is no restoring force to make the pedal come back up.

With this kind of damage, when you press the pedal, you are getting only some fluid pumped to the slave. Therefore, the pedal is not fully disengaging the clutch disc, resulting in very hard shifts, or as you describe, it's like shifting without a clutch.

I think you got lucky and will only have to replace one or both cylinders. Far better than having to replace the clutch itself! Let's hope my reasoning is correct.

Regards and good luck.

This. He redlined it felt the fuel cutout hit the clutch because he bounced off the cutoff and the clutch cylinder has failed.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Healey3000

Hi,

My guess from your description is that the clutch master or slave cylinder has failed. Chances are you "jumped" on the clutch pedal to disengage when the limiter kicked in and this damaged the seals in the master or slave (master more likely). With seals blown, there is no restoring force to make the pedal come back up.

With this kind of damage, when you press the pedal, you are getting only some fluid pumped to the slave. Therefore, the pedal is not fully disengaging the clutch disc, resulting in very hard shifts, or as you describe, it's like shifting without a clutch.

I think you got lucky and will only have to replace one or both cylinders. Far better than having to replace the clutch itself! Let's hope my reasoning is correct.

Regards and good luck.

This sounds just like what I was going to say.

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by patrickch

most likely, you damaged the throw out bearing

That's definitely a possibility, which I considered. T/O bearings usually don't fail abruptly; they give you fair warning. The force of the tines is very high, making it less likely that the bearing is stuck in the forward position. If it is then stuck in the retracted position, the clutch pedal would be very difficult to press.

From a mechanical standpoint, it is absolutely a possibility that the bearing has failed, resulting in the symptoms given.

OP, has the feel of the pedal changed since the incident?

[MrPig]

Originally Posted by achien

I wish we will go back to the days when cable was used.

Yeah, until that cable snaps in the middle of a busy intersection and the car stalls >.<

[techwhiz]

Sound's like a blown master/slave to me.
Throwout doesn't sound right. Bearing is on a carrier. Normally they seize and make an awful sound.

[brocklanders]

Originally Posted by patrickch

most likely, you damaged the throw out bearing

havent heard from the dealer yet, but im thinking it is hydraulic because it was drivable last night but got progressively worse. this morning there were times where it would build pressure, the drive to the dealership was interesting.

[brocklanders]

just talked to the service advisor, he said the clutch is destroyed. thats a very vague description, all he said was there was residue all over the bell housing. dosent make sense to me, i would have thought the clutch would have slipped in gear. waiting on word from bmw, but my guess is they are going to call it abuse.

[adriang]

let us know!

[project6]

Originally Posted by brocklanders

just talked to the service advisor, he said the clutch is destroyed. thats a very vague description, all he said was there was residue all over the bell housing. dosent make sense to me, i would have thought the clutch would have slipped in gear. waiting on word from bmw, but my guess is they are going to call it abuse.

Why would you think they will make this assessment? (Of course, barring the fact that they will say this in the beginning just to try and wash their hands out of warranty work)

Is BMW really that much of a fragile and delicate little flower that it will break down at the slightest "spirited" driving?