engine and drivetrain 5spd clutch slave removal- methods used?

[jerry]

well, i spent about an hour this afternoon finally dealing with a failing clutch. FAQ search lead me to a leaking Master or Slave cylinder. Turned out to be the Slave in my instance.

Anyhow, i had a hell of a time getting a 13mm socket to the upper nut. after a fair bit of wrangling underneath using a prybar and wooden wedge i was able to push the tranny just enough to BARELY get the socket seated on the nut sufficiently to engage. i used a short segment Snap-On extension that allows the socket to slightly swivel. the slight movement was critical as i did not have a straight shot. i attached another 12-14in extension to that, upon which i installed the ratchet. my ratcheting wrench was too fat to be of any use.

There is a casting boss on the 320i 5spd tranny that impedes a straight shot. if anyone can confirm that it is merely a casting boss and not an intentional feature for internal clearance then i would be tempted to grind it down abit on the next installation i do, for clearance.

during installation, i installed the lower nut first to square the Slave to the tranny. then i used a small bit of tape inside the socket to hold the nut while i finagled it onto the top stud. it was a bit of an effort but it worked.

Snap-On makes a C-shaped wrench that i would have tried if i had one. i tried to work from above but i found that i'd need double-jointed fingers to deal with the restricted access.

My next 5spd install, i'm gonna play around with bending the tranny tunnel a little more downstream to facilitate this effort in the future.

What methods/tools have others found helpful. i wanted to avoid dropping the engine or tranny and was ultimately successful.

[KFunk]

I believe I've done it with just regular craftsman wrenches, and a lot of time... you can just barely get a wrench in there in such a way to get some good torque on it. Then its just a long process of rotation after rotatio...

[schliske]

When I installed the 5 speed in my '72'02 I cut (gasp) a HOLE in the tunnel about 3"x4", just to the right of the gas pedal. I then screwed a copper sheet patch over the hole from the inside with short hex drive self tapping sheet metal screws. After six months the clutch seemed kind of mushy so I opened the little panel and bled the slave in about 5 minutes. I'm sure there are lots of reasons why this is a bad idea, (and I'm sure we'll hear a lot of them) but if the slave goes out again I'll bet I can swap it out in twenty minutes without even getting under the car.

[ecpreston]

Sorry I cannot offer any good tricks, but I remember that nut taking me forever as well. It was ridiculous.

[M3M3]

"fix" the tunnel a little more, and...lower the back of the tranny slightly.

then i think i used 1/4 drive deep socket and a wobble extension.

[jimk]

Get about 3 feet of extensions and approach it from the rear. I took notes on how to do it in case I forget.

[mudchemist]

Drill bits and a slide hammer can help you open up the tunnel from the inside if you just need a little extra space. A couple pieces of small asphalt adhesive flashing can be slipped over the holes to keep everything dry.

A couple beers helps with the patience.

Good luck.

[2002inseattle]

Just did this today. I managed to get the top bolt by removing the throttle linkage and moving the feed tube to the slave from the pedal push rod. It gave me just enough space to get a 13" in through the top. It takes 10 or 15 little moves of the nut before you can start using your fingers.

[FB73tii]

Same as JimK, I use a series of extensions (two 6" and one 10") and go in from the back. First I fit the socket to the nut on a short extension, and hold it in place on the side of the trans when I come in from the back with the longer extension set. The trick is to not have the extension joint near choke points. The tape inside the socket trick works well for reinstall, I usually reach up with a long thin screwdriver to finagle it into place and get that first critical thread started. On a related note, as long as slave is good I leave it attached to the line when pulling the trans. As others have said, the 5-speed slave can be difficult to bleed.

 

Fred '74tti & '69

[Dabliz02]

"fix" the tunnel a little more, and...lower the back of the tranny slightly.

then i think i used 1/4 drive deep socket and a wobble extension.

+1

Might as well so you don't have to do fight with it after that.  I dont know why 2002's and 2002 Autos have different tunnels.  Auto tunnels are much bigger.

[tjones02]

+1

Might as well so you don't have to do fight with it after that. I dont know why 2002's and 2002 Autos have different tunnels. Auto tunnels are much bigger.

+2

BTDT on my own and many customer cars. I loosen the trans mount/crossmember, pry the trans over to the passenger side some and get at the upper slave nut with a 1/4 drive universal socket on a 2-3' extension. You'd think the 1/4 can't do the job, but if I've been in there before its not that tight. Remember, those should be nyloc or pinch loc nuts, so they won't back off...

Sometimes someone else has been in there first and I have to smash 3/8 drive stuff up there to get the upper nut loose. On "regular" BMWs with that style clutch slave cylinder I usually use the 3/8 stuff.

[thehackmechanic]

Just had to deal with this and found this old thread. The combination of unbolting the transmission support bracket to lower the back of the transmission and gain a bit more clearance between the upper nut and the tunnel, and going in from the back with a 10" and 4" 1/4" wobble extension, made this trivial. I had to do it twice, and it was cake. Harbor Freight has, for $14, a wobble extension set, including the 10" and 4" 1/4" pieces you need.

 

 

[jgerock]

Rob - is your fluid supply line connected in that last picture?  I believe that is what makes getting to that top nut a chore.

 

Here is mine from below.

 

Old slave cylinder with portion of old hard line

[bnam]

Will the slave cylinder work properly if mounted inverted?  If it will, will that help with clearance to upper nut?

[jimk]

Will the slave cylinder work properly if mounted inverted?  If it will, will that help with clearance to upper nut?

No and No