[toryjlarsen]

Ok so I had a previous thread opened about my 2006 E90 330i, thought I had exhaust issues going on but now I deffinitly do not think it is exhaust related.
please check out the sound from the video link.
https://youtube.com/shorts/GXD-4hsX0nk

I took the bottom shield off so I could better see the underside of the engine/transmission and I also found there to be a lot of grease that had been accumulating under the transmission. with the car lifted as much as I can right now I can deffinitly tell that it's either transmission or lol unsure.
Please lay some knowledge on me guys!

2006 E90 330i
6spd, 136000 mi

[toryjlarsen]

link to previous thread

E90 330i exhaust issue? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1802505

A little more background info on what happen.

[toryjlarsen]

has my clutch just completely obliterated itself?

[toryjlarsen]

Welll.... deffinitly transmission related. check out what I just pulled out of the bottom on the transmission while I was gonna check the flywheel. Guess a spring has decided to off itself.

[Brian86]

That noise is god awful.

I hope it turns out to be just the clutch.

That sounds like a car coming off the race track with a blown engine. A broken cam bearing or cracked piston skirt or split rod or something really catastrophic.

--------

*Ninja edit

If the noise comes and goes depending on engine load then it's not inside the engine. Catastrophic engine failure noises don't go away.

Perhaps the DM flywheel has failed and is just rattling and waiting to fall off the crankshaft. That might explain why accelerating and decelerating, momentum pushing the oscillating disk on and off it's bearing.

[toryjlarsen]

Originally Posted by Brian86

That noise is god awful.

I hope it turns out to be just the clutch.

That sounds like a car coming off the race track with a blown engine. A broken cam bearing or cracked piston skirt or split rod or something really catastrophic.

--------

*Ninja edit

If the noise comes and goes depending on engine load then it's not inside the engine. Catastrophic engine failure noises don't go away.

Perhaps the DM flywheel has failed and is just rattling and waiting to fall off the crankshaft. That might explain why accelerating and decelerating, momentum pushing the oscillating disk on and off it's bearing.

I know right? The sound takes me back to days at the speedway where all the Hondas are blowing their engines .

But yeah the sound is deffinitly coming from the bell housing. I'll probably be slow going with pulling the transmission since it's gonna be a pain in the ass without a lift.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by toryjlarsen

I know right? The sound takes me back to days at the speedway where all the Hondas are blowing their engines .

But yeah the sound is deffinitly coming from the bell housing. I'll probably be slow going with pulling the transmission since it's gonna be a pain in the ass without a lift.

Glad you're headed in the right direction. Hopefully you caught it early enough and a new clutch and flywheel are all you need.

Did you have any clutch noise prior to this or was it a sudden failure?

[toryjlarsen]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

Glad you're headed in the right direction. Hopefully you caught it early enough and a new clutch and flywheel are all you need.

Did you have any clutch noise prior to this or was it a sudden failure?

it was sudden, I never had any other sounds, slippage, it just came out of nowhere unfortuantely, I just kinda laughed when I pulled piece of a spring from bell housing opening...

[Brian86]

The transmission really isn't that terrible. I did my Xdrive over the winter on jackstands. It's pretty much the same as any other front engine/rear drive transmission job.

Search the writeups available on the forum. The advice about tilting the engine/transmission way further than you think is possible to access the cylinder head bellhousing screws saved me a lot of headaches, and grinding the heads off the old aluminum screws to use as guide pins is also good stuff.

If you do use old screws as guide pins, be sure to put a grind a hex shape or a slot or something to apply torque to remove them. It's really hard to get your hand up there on the driver side to unscrew them with your fingers.

Angle torqueing the bell housing bolts is a bullcrap procedure. Trying to tighten them to an angle, while you're doing a dragonfly sit-up with your head in the center tunnel, connected to 4 foot of extensions that bend 45deg before actually moving the bolt is nigh-impossible to do right. I pretty much errored on the side of 'don't overdo it and break them' and so far my gearbox hasn't fallen off.

-------------- ninja edit

For the angle torque on the bell housing screws... If I had to do it again I would put a dab of paint or sharpie on the head of screw, or on the head of the socket for a visual reference while tightening.

[freakystyly]

Yikes, mine had a flywheel bleed out in the housing but it didn't sound or feel nearly that bad. Mine also didn't explode like yours looks to have. That sounds much worse...

Sorry for your wallet but I guess there's no putting it off now.

[neilvan]

the grease out of the drain hole from the clutch is 100% DMF flywheel failure.

Had it happen on my 5 series wagon (N52), and the car drove fine other than the metallic rattling in high rpm and if the clutch was let out Id get the rattling when turning the car off.

BTW even with the awd, pulling the trans down was pretty simple even on jackstands

20200425_175620

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by neilvan

the grease out of the drain hole from the clutch is 100% DMF flywheel failure.

Had it happen on my 5 series wagon (N52), and the car drove fine other than the metallic rattling in high rpm and if the clutch was let out Id get the rattling when turning the car off.

I thought the rattling when turning the car off was 'normal' for these DMFs, even when relatively new. I have 140K miles on mine and it does the rattle. I just push the clutch in when shutting the car off.

Also, I don't get any metallic rattling in high RPM. I have a slight downhill driveway so when backing out of my garage while moving backwards downhill when I push the clutch in I get a slight clunk noise. If I'm backing up on level or uphill, I don't get this sound at all. Definitely sounds like flywheel noise, but I don't know if it's bad or not. The drain hole is bone dry though with no signs of grease.

[neilvan]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I thought the rattling when turning the car off was 'normal' for these DMFs, even when relatively new. I have 140K miles on mine and it does the rattle. I just push the clutch in when shutting the car off.

I have 2 that don't do it (N54 and N52) and 2 that do/did it(N54 and N52 which has been fixed).

Variety of mileage from 80k km to 200k km for both rattle and non-rattle.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by neilvan

I have 2 that don't do it (N54 and N52) and 2 that do/did it(N54 and N52 which has been fixed).

Variety of mileage from 80k km to 200k km for both rattle and non-rattle.

I am getting a bit of clutch chatter when cold, so a new clutch (and flywheel) is in my future at some point. I figured I'll teach my daughter how to drive manual first then replace it after that.

[toryjlarsen]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I am getting a bit of clutch chatter when cold, so a new clutch (and flywheel) is in my future at some point. I figured I'll teach my daughter how to drive manual first then replace it after that.

lol best time to teach before you replace that clutch I guess

[toryjlarsen]

let me ask you all this: is it absolutely necessary in your experience with your e90, that you have to tilt the engine in order to get the tyranny out? I understand it's probably a snatch to do do but I want to know all your thoughts?

[Brian86]

Originally Posted by toryjlarsen

let me ask you all this: is it absolutely necessary in your experience with your e90, that you have to tilt the engine in order to get the tyranny out? I understand it's probably a snatch to do do but I want to know all your thoughts?

Yes. The only other option is to pull the engine and transmission out the front as an assembly.

Just stick a floor jack under the front of the engine and tilt until you have access to the head bell housing bolts from the center tunnel behind the gearbox.

The motor mounts hold the engine and transmission assembly in place, even with the transmission mount removed the assembly kinda stays in it's natural orientation.

Nothing got stretched or damaged on my xdrive, I didn't take anything apart on the engine. Although I certainly went slowly and kept an eye on the radiator and steering hoses and everything else I could see. I don't even think I removed the cabin air filter shelf.

It certainly takes more force on the jack than is comfortable.

[neilvan]

Originally Posted by toryjlarsen

let me ask you all this: is it absolutely necessary in your experience with your e90, that you have to tilt the engine in order to get the tyranny out? I understand it's probably a snatch to do do but I want to know all your thoughts?

I was able to do it without. I mean when everything loose; the weight of it will tilt it down enough anyways for you to slide off.

For reinstalling it I put a hammer between the rack/pan just to give me the same angle when sliding it back on.

[toryjlarsen]

Ok then so what's your opinions on going with a single mass flywheel wheel conversion? Since the DMF apparently seems to just be failure prone.

[neilvan]

That's actually what I replaced mine with; I hate dual mass and will be converting every car when the time comes.

The Valeo kit is the direct swap for the N52

[toryjlarsen]

Originally Posted by neilvan

That's actually what I replaced mine with; I hate dual mass and will be converting every car when the time comes.

The Valeo kit is the direct swap for the N52

Got a link to that kit by chance?

[toryjlarsen]

does anyone have a link to a known direct fit for 2006 330i N52 single mass flywheel, with clutch kit if anyone knows of a full kit? anything I look at seems to have conflicting information about the fitment on 2006 330i n52.
Finally starting the transmission drop today.... I've been procrastinating about it lol.