E30 Zone

Recently had some luck on Ebay.
Brought a pair of unused rear drums and shoes at a good price,and an unused LUK clutch kit for my M40.

The question is...how much does it usually cost to swap a clutch if it's done by an independent specialist?

I was going to do it myself,but i've chickened out ,but if it costs a lot i'll have to do it!

For a garage with a lift I would guess this is about 2-3 hours labour, so depending on their hourly rate, I'd guess about £120-£250 on labour

I reckon you're about right with the £120-250 ish.

I wouldn't want to be doing it without being able to get under the car properly - I did a 'box change on a 318is and used a pit. It was an easy job but I wouldn't have liked to do it lying on my back

What a choice!
Lay on my back for a few hours cos i've only got access to ramps,or fork out a weeks wages!

Oh bugger!

Thanks for the replies guys.

If you lived in/ near Norwich I could have this done for you for £100

Or I could have done it if you lived in North Wales for £99.95

E30BeemerLad wrote:If you lived in/ near Norwich I could have this done for you for £100

If i lived in/near Norwich i'd have taken you up on that!

I'm quite handy with the spanners..done cambelts/camshafts/suspension swaps/brake upgrades,and even a few engine swaps when i was a lot younger(Viva/Mini),but i've never done a clutch swap before so i'm having some confidence issues.

It's not a difficult job TBH, just drop the exhaust and a few heat shields, drop the prop then it's just unbolt the box and pull it off.

The worst bit is lining the box back up whilst lying on your back, even with a clutch alignment tool and a pit it can still be a ballache

I would say the main ball ache will be getting the torx bolts undone at the top of the bell housing, plus the drive flange bolts.

If you lived near York, I'd buy you a drink and commiserate. My mechanical skills fall way short of a clutch change

Cheers Daf. I'll spend another hour staring at the Haynes,see if i can screw myself up to face it!

sihooker wrote:Cheers Daf. I'll spend another hour staring at the Haynes,see if i can screw myself up to face it!

It's far less delicate than te cambelt changes, it's more a case of brute force getting the box on and off. I'm a scrawny bugger and I managed

The torx bolts on the M42 to box weren't too bad to acess at all - the starter was a pain in the arse to acess though

Morat wrote:If you lived near York, I'd buy you a drink and commiserate. My mechanical skills fall way short of a clutch change

E30BeemerLad wrote:I would say the main ball ache will be getting the torx bolts undone at the top of the bell housing, plus the drive flange bolts.

By the sound of it i'm in for some serious testicular discomfort!!

Get a quote before you go trying anything though - you might be pleasantly surprised

Daf318is wrote:Get a quote before you go trying anything though - you might be pleasantly surprised

I'll do that tomorrow,just in case i can afford it.

I'll post up the quotes i get,see what you guys reckon..

Got to be honest,i really dont want to get the ramps out...

Just done this job on my back on the drive, "testicular discomfort" is an understatement, with my limited tools i had to drop the entire engine and subframe down to get at the top bellhousing bolts, it would have been quicker to hire that engine crane again and pull the engine out

Maybe it will be easier on a M40 though?

stonesie wrote:Just done this job on my back on the drive, "testicular discomfort" is an understatement, with my limited tools i had to drop the entire engine and subframe down to get at the top bellhousing bolts, it would have been quicker to hire that engine crane again and pull the engine out

Maybe it will be easier on a M40 though?

ON the M42 you can acess (just) the bell housing bolts from the top!

Got my 1st quote from Becket Motor Works,near Worthing.

Three and a half hours labour,so about £230 inc. Vat.

I'm going to get another quote or two later...but right now i need to sit down!

I know of them people, they do good work usually but £230 is a lot, that includes supplying the clutch?

There is a bloke that is an ex BMW specialist near hove, I used to take all my cars to him aswell... Seems reasonable.

OR, see how much BMW would charge with the labour discount card? Can't hurt! 60% off labour charges for cars older than 10 years.

That's just the labour,i've already bought the clutch kit.

Have you got any contact details for the guy in Hove?

I will dig them out for you tonight if I remember, I'm at work at the moment.

/boner
On another note, 500 posts!
/endboner

Cheers Ian.

Congrats on getting your second roundel lit up!

Aren't BBB near Sussex...
or is it Essex they are near?

You should be able to get all the bellhousing bolts on an M40 from the top,any that are very tight may need a long extention and an assistant to guide the tool into place.
Most difficult part is going to be guiding the 'box back into place,Getrang 240 is not over heavy,it would be worth buying/hiring/borrowing a clutch alignment tool to garentee that the clutch plate is properly centred as it will be tricky to do it by eye from under the car.
With the back end on DiY ramps and the front up on axle stands you should have enough room!
With the added incentive of saving £230 I would have a go!

daimlerman wrote:You should be able to get all the bellhousing bolts on an M40 from the top,any that are very tight may need a long extention and an assistant to guide the tool into place.
Most difficult part is going to be guiding the 'box back into place,Getrang 240 is not over heavy,it would be worth buying/hiring/borrowing a clutch alignment tool to garentee that the clutch plate is properly centred as it will be tricky to do it by eye from under the car.
With the back end on DiY ramps and the front up on axle stands you should have enough room!
With the added incentive of saving £230 I would have a go!

It's looking like i'll be doing it unless i can get a quote i can afford!

I think the guy in Hove that Ian's on about is probably AJ Robertson. He's at:
9 Victoria Grove (off 2nd Ave), Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2LJ
Tel: 01273 770838

I've had him recommended to me a number of times before, but not used him yet. Has excellent reviews on here

Finn

Dave_M3 wrote:Aren't BBB near Sussex...
or is it Essex they are near?

I just called Treble B...They wouldn't do it cos i'd already got the parts,even though the kit is new and in the box!
They are in Sussex.

freynolds wrote:I think the guy in Hove that Ian's on about is probably AJ Robertson. He's at:
9 Victoria Grove (off 2nd Ave), Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2LJ
Tel: 01273 770838

I've had him recommended to me a number of times before, but not used him yet. Has excellent reviews on here

Finn

Cheers Finn.I've left the guy a message,so hopefully i should hear something from him soon

Just have a go chief, a cam change is harder!!lol. Halfrauds have got the clutch alignment tool that I have, only about 15-20 quid I thinks. As long as you've got the right tools for the job it doesn't matter if it takes you 6 hours it will still save you 200 quid.

I am being a bit of a wimp!20 years ago i'd have thought nothing of it,but since turning 40 i've avoided doing anything 'heavy'.

My last attempt was fitting a scorpion back box myself 6 months ago..it all went wrong and took over two days to get it on right.Since then i've hardly touched the car!

sihooker wrote:I am being a bit of a wimp!20 years ago i'd have thought nothing of it,but since turning 40 i've avoided doing anything 'heavy'.

My last attempt was fitting a scorpion back box myself 6 months ago..it all went wrong and took over two days to get it on right.Since then i've hardly touched the car!

Well that exhaust would have to be one of the first things off so perhaps you are better off having it done

Daf318is wrote:

sihooker wrote:I am being a bit of a wimp!20 years ago i'd have thought nothing of it,but since turning 40 i've avoided doing anything 'heavy'.

My last attempt was fitting a scorpion back box myself 6 months ago..it all went wrong and took over two days to get it on right.Since then i've hardly touched the car!

Well that exhaust would have to be one of the first things off so perhaps you are better off having it done

Never mind the exhaust, that comes off in one piece, just go for it, we'll all be here if you have any problems!

ricey46 wrote:

Daf318is wrote:

sihooker wrote:I am being a bit of a wimp!20 years ago i'd have thought nothing of it,but since turning 40 i've avoided doing anything 'heavy'.

My last attempt was fitting a scorpion back box myself 6 months ago..it all went wrong and took over two days to get it on right.Since then i've hardly touched the car!

Well that exhaust would have to be one of the first things off so perhaps you are better off having it done

Never mind the exhaust, that comes off in one piece, just go for it, we'll all be here if you have any problems!

Couldn't agree more - but seeing as removing the exhaust caused such a problem and it should be a piece of cake who knows how long it would end up taking to do the clutch

Remember to allow for sh4gged gearbox oil seals/prop doughnut/gearbox mounts and worn gear linkage bits . Most M40 engined E30s at this stage are corpses on stretchers and the chances of these bits being ok are very slim