330i - talk to me about flywheels and clutches

[clarko74]

My E46 330i (171,000 miles) has developed a nasty judder through the clutch when pulling away, which seems to be slowly getting worse. It only seems to be really apparent when pulling away from a standstill or from very slowly and is really bad when reversing. It can be felt when changing gears once moving but is nowhere near as bad. So my first question is what is this likely to be? I suspect it's the clutch or flywheel and when doing either of these it seems prudent to do both of them at the same time.

Assuming it is the clutch and/or flywheel this then got me thinking about flywheels generally, I keep seeing stuff about single mass flywheel conversions, what are the benefits in going for a single mass one over a dual mass one? Is it worth changing or should I just stick with what's in there at the moment?

If I am going to change the clutch and flywheel is there anything else in that area that's worth changing while I'm at it/in there?

Changing a clutch/flywheel is one of few things I haven't done (on either my e30 or e46), I assume it's a bit of a b*tch of a job to do on a driveway? How long is it likely to take? Are there any special tools required? And if I decide not to do it myself how many hours is it likely to it take a garage to do it?

Cheers,


Adrian

[Simon13]

tough job on the drive, is your car a 5 speed? They aren't too bad but the 6 speed box is a heavy old box compared to the 5 speed

Clutch alignment tool is about the only special one needed. As for how long......on a ramp and everything going well and no rounded bolts 3-4 hours. On the drive? A whole weekend wouldn't be unrealistic.

Sounds like a clutch flywheel problem. Sinlge mass flys often highlight strange gearbox noises and vibrations a dual mass soaks up but you get much better low end pick up when driving and generally the engine revs more freely - only if you fit a nice light weight one

[Silverfang]

I've got a 330i Touring myself and given I've done the CDV delete, the clutch hasn't been all that happy.
I'm nursing it along till i've got the funds to swap out the duel mass to one of these.

http://www.clutch-specialists.co.uk/cg- ... 009170.htm

Have heard good things, and given it's got a sprung centre should prevent the rattles and noises normally associated with single mass conversions. The problem is with the stock SMF setup that most companies do, is they lack the sprung damper in the centre which stops most of the vibrations going into the gearbox and causing gear chatter.

[clarko74]

Cheers Si, it's a 5 speed box. I thought it might take a while to do on a driveway and I don't really like the idea of spending a whole weekend on my arse under it.

Silverfang, that does look interesting, although quite pricey. I may look into that further.

[DanThe]

The CG kit is a bit overkill for a road car TBH

[clarko74]

I was wondering that as it did look a bit racey.

[DanThe]

I fitted one of these to an E30 fast road/track build and you would soon get fed up with the heavy pedal sitting in traffic or driving through town etc

[Andyboy]

If it's a five speed, an E36 325i or 328i single mass flywheel will do the job if you're not really brutal with it. E46 clutches need the sprung cover setting up as well.

[DanThe]

Didnt realise there was such thing as an E36 6 pot with a single mass fly Andy? The E34 had it but what a lump....

[gareth]

I have a Valeo (i think) single mass conversion kit on my 5 speed E46 330i. It uses a conventional (E36 M3 i think?) clutch, so none of that self adjusting bollocks. Cheaper than the OEM parts too.

Jobs worth doing:
Plastic clutch fork pivot - replace or upgrade to metal
5th / reverse gear detent plunger thingies like to stick (one of mine had). BMW do a kit for each. Easy once the box is on the floor so worth doing.