I've got one for ya

[Lori]

I'm hoping that someone out there has either dealt with this or at least heard of it and know right away how to fix it. It's a little hard to explain, so here goes..

I have a 93 325is, manual tranny. I've had it about 4 years and it is nearing 99k miles. About 2 years ago while driving in stop and go traffic I noticed when starting from a stop in 1st, the car (hard to explain what part of the car) or tranny or something would shutter and I would have a hard time moving. Once moving I'm fine but then when I would stop again the same thing would happen. I tried starting in 2nd and it would be fine with no shuttering but I'd be screwed if I had to start on a hill. Ok, so this really ticked me off and made me wonder what the heck? It doesn't happen all the time so it wouldn't be the clutch plate right? Well I took it to my mechanic and of course I couldn't replicate it, so we started small and flushed the tranny which I believe has never been done. It was pretty gunky so we thought maybe something just got jammed in the gears. Well I was smooth sailing for about a year and it would happen again but not as severe, just a minor shutter but it wouldn't last long. By the way, getting in the car the next day after this first episode, no problems at all. So we thought flushing the tranny fluid was the deal. Well it happened to me again today. It's really hard to describe it, but my thoughts are could the linkage need adjusting? Do I just gotta keep flushing the tranny every year or ???

Do any of you have any thoughts at all on this? There is absolutely nothing else wrong with this car. It is my first bimmer and I wonder how I've lived without one all these years.

Thanks,
Lori

 

[Big Daddy]

There is no linkage adjustment, and replacing the fluid in a manual transmission is a good idea every three to five years. Sound to me like it might be a bad bearing in the transmission that flushing helped, but with your description it is hard to tell. I would look at all the drive line componets, center bearing, Gubio bearing and clutch including the input shaft bearing, throw out bearingm, etc.

 

[Kirby]

Welcome Lori!

It sounds like this is happening intermittently. Does it perhaps happen only after you have been driving a bit, maybe in stop and go traffic? I have experienced the problem you describe in my 94 325i as well as other manual transmission cars, under somewhat predictable circumstances.

In stop and go traffic where you are using the clutch alot, the clutch plate will heat up. This can cause the clutch plate and/or flywheel to warp temporarily, causing the symptom you describe. After it cools down, the problem goes away.

If it just shudders but the car moves along OK, the clutch is not excessively worn. If it continues to slip, the clutch is worn.

A good test, with the clutch cold, is to try pulling out in second gear. After the clutch pedal is all the way out, step on the gas hard. If the engine revs up and the car does not move faster, the clutch is worn. If the engine does not rev up, and the car starts to move faster, the clutch is probably OK.

It won't cause any real damage if it is a warped plate, but it can be annoying. If you can't live with it, replacing the clutch plate and inspecting the flywheel is the only real fix.

 

[Lori]

Thanks Big Daddy and Kirby for your quick responses.

Yes, it is happening intermittently only in stop and go traffic. And now thinking about it usually in the summer months when the temp outside is warmer. So your theory on the clutch plate warping makes sense. The first time it happened to me I was driving to a rock concert in Seattle and it was summer and pretty warm. I got into stop and go traffic for quite awhile and suddently it started in with the shuttering, making it hard to move from a stop. By the time the concert ended (and the car cooled down) it was fine for the trip home.

The clutch does not and has never slipped before so I think that is fine. But I'm sure if I were to take it in to replace the plate I may as well replace the clutch while everything's torn apart.

Kirby, did you end up replacing the plate fixing the problem or did you just live with it?

 

[Kirby]

On the 325 I did not replace it. It actually only happened on the 325 when I was teaching my daughter to drive stick and it was taking a beating!!