That's what the "L" in 750Li means. Lang
I preferred when it was 750iL. Sounds better that way IMO.
Are clutches and clutch components maintenance wear items?
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I preferred when it was 750iL. Sounds better that way IMO.
In the UK the majority of cars are manual, although autos are now more common than ever.
The life of the clutch is entirely down to the driver and the type of driving. A car that sees a lot of motorway/highway use could easily do several hundred thousand miles on it's original clutch plate. My Mother who is a district nurse that does mainly slow moving, start/stop journeys around town usually gets about 85k out of a clutch.
I had my first experience towing our 3000lbs caravan with my 6 month old 1.5 3 cylinder diesel Vauxhall Insignia a few weeks ago and while doing some final manourvering to get the caravan in position I had the clutch billowing smoke. It cooled down and seems absolutley fine but I'm sure I took a good few thousand miles off it's life.
The life of the clutch is entirely down to the driver and the type of driving. A car that sees a lot of motorway/highway use could easily do several hundred thousand miles on it's original clutch plate. My Mother who is a district nurse that does mainly slow moving, start/stop journeys around town usually gets about 85k out of a clutch.
I had my first experience towing our 3000lbs caravan with my 6 month old 1.5 3 cylinder diesel Vauxhall Insignia a few weeks ago and while doing some final manourvering to get the caravan in position I had the clutch billowing smoke. It cooled down and seems absolutley fine but I'm sure I took a good few thousand miles off it's life.
This is why us Amuhreecan rednecks like a true 2-speed transfer case in our trucks and bonus points for manual hubs so you can get 2 wheel low for ultimate maneuverability
Lesson learned for me anyway. For the future I'll get the caravan to the plot, unhitch it and push it in by hand. Might look into a caravan motormover also.
We do have the Defender which has a 2 speed transfer case but it's just too loud, small and uncomfortable for long towing journeys.
This and the type of traffic, in urban areas, same conditions, the clutch will last less than in a rural area.
I replaced my OEM clutch at around 180K miles due to throw-out bearing (or release bearing) noise. The friction surface still had plenty of life left, but the dual mass flywheel was out of spec free-play wise. The surface was fine. I know people that have had to change clutches early due to the location of a failing slave cylinder - some cars have concentric slaves which are inside the bell housing. If you are going to pull it apart...
I do consider clutches to be maintenance/wear items, but not scheduled maintenance. I would put them in the same category as brake components. You know you will eventually have to replace them, but you don't know when that will be, and it is largely determined by your driving style, ability, and environment.
I do consider clutches to be maintenance/wear items, but not scheduled maintenance. I would put them in the same category as brake components. You know you will eventually have to replace them, but you don't know when that will be, and it is largely determined by your driving style, ability, and environment.
Clutch life is driver depend for sure . But release bearings, pilot bearings, slave cylinders or cables are more based on the way the vehicle is driven (lots of shifting, etc). I never ride the clutch, but the pilot bearing and release bearing were toast on my Focus. There was lots of clutch material left. It had a lot of city miles.
Re: internal slave cylinders ... such an incredibly stupid design. But I get it; saves money combining the release bearing and slave into one unit.
Re: internal slave cylinders ... such an incredibly stupid design. But I get it; saves money combining the release bearing and slave into one unit.
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I’ve “smoked” a clutch in my old pickup pulling a trailer with a farm tractor loaded on it. After it cooled it seemed fine. Drove it another 5 years without a problem.
A lot of that has to do with gearing, too. My F-350 has 4.10 gears and a 5.72:1 first gear. If I really need to, I can drop it in low range with the hubs unlocked. There's really no reason to slip the clutch. When we were in PA on cowpath roads more than once I had to stop on a hill that was a 7-10% grade. I'd take off with the transfer case in low range, run 1-2-3 in low range, then shift to high range , 2nd gear and keep going. Just let the clutch out and take off. No slipping needed!
Was following someone in a Jeep that had their clutch smoking on the same hills ... just the Jeep. Nothing in tow. Crappy 3.07 gears, large tires and no granny gear.
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Some clutches last 30k, some clutches last 300k. It's up to you.
Clutches are wear items as well as dual-mass flywheels and throw-out bearings.
They're often better replaced at the same time. Not just because this is Bitog, I'd
say the same about transmission oil. Since it's been mentioned, a transmissions's
synchronizers and bearings rarely fail prematurely. If they do there's quite often
some external cause such as a not fully releasing clutch or bad driving habits.
I prefer longer strings!
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Some clutches last 30k, some clutches last 300k. It's up to you.
Clutches are wear items as well as dual-mass flywheels and throw-out bearings.
They're often better replaced at the same time. Not just because this is Bitog, I'd
say the same about transmission oil. Since it's been mentioned, a transmissions's
synchronizers and bearings rarely fail prematurely. If they do there's quite often
some external cause such as a not fully releasing clutch or bad driving habits.
I prefer longer strings!
.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
Depends on the car, power output, drivetrain, driver. Many variables. Trans Am is at 70,500 miles. Clutch #3 but over 440HP and 440Ft/lbs of torque to the wheels and close to 600 1/4 mile passes. The first clutch was the stocker. The last two were McLeod Twin Disk. I suspect this last one will go at least 70,000 as it leads an easy life now. Sunny days and Sunday drives. 
I am happier like that. Man I am getting old.
I am happier like that. Man I am getting old.
A blast from the past thread. Clutch life depends on two things, the driver and the conditions the driver is driving under. You can have an ace driver driving everyday in bumper to bumper traffic and a novice who lives in the middle of some rural desert area, where he gets into OD and stays there for 200 miles at a clip w/o shifting. He is going to have a longer lasting clutch than the ace who drives in B to B traffic everyday. Switch the roles and the ace might have his clutch last a few hundred thousand miles more than the novice driver. Many people who brag about long clutch life don't drive everyday in B to B traffic.
Yes, clutches are typically a wear item that is not included in the powertrain warranty of a vehicle
on my 2008 Passat 2.0T (modded for more power and torque), got rid of the car with 220,000 miles on the original clutch, with plenty of stop & go driving and hard driving.
on my 2008 Passat 2.0T (modded for more power and torque), got rid of the car with 220,000 miles on the original clutch, with plenty of stop & go driving and hard driving.
I had an 07 325ci with a 5 speed tranny. The clutch was always weird in the car, its like it was not reacting to your shifts responsively enough. When up shifting you would press the clutch in and start your shift and the **** thing was notchy coming out of gear. What I mean by notchy is when moving the stick out of gear there was a noticeable amount of resistance like the clutch was not depressed fully. When letting off the clutch after your shift it took a noticeable amount of time to for the car to accelerate. When I say a noticeable amount of time I mean a bit less than a second but I could feel the lag.
I tried everything I could think of to deal with the issues. New trans fluid, clutch bleed, making sure the pedal assembly was not loose through any of its travel.. After a year of trying I just accepted it and learned to ignore the slop.
I was on a BMW forum and I found out that there is a restriction valve in the the clutch line. It was made to slow the fluid down, and it resulted in a softer, gentler clutch release and contact with the flywheel. There was a mod where you removed the restriction valve and drilled it out, re-installing. It apparently made the clutch perform like a normal clutch would. BMW thought it would be more gentle on the driveline and result in less wear.
Before you think it may have just been me, I'll let you know I've been driving standard since I was eight, and I took my standard jeep Cherokee up to 300k on the original clutch.
I tried everything I could think of to deal with the issues. New trans fluid, clutch bleed, making sure the pedal assembly was not loose through any of its travel.. After a year of trying I just accepted it and learned to ignore the slop.
I was on a BMW forum and I found out that there is a restriction valve in the the clutch line. It was made to slow the fluid down, and it resulted in a softer, gentler clutch release and contact with the flywheel. There was a mod where you removed the restriction valve and drilled it out, re-installing. It apparently made the clutch perform like a normal clutch would. BMW thought it would be more gentle on the driveline and result in less wear.
Before you think it may have just been me, I'll let you know I've been driving standard since I was eight, and I took my standard jeep Cherokee up to 300k on the original clutch.
I've seen that in a '90s Suzuki Sidekick as well
Same on all manual BMWs, Minis, VWs, Audis and probably many others as well.
I always wanted to do that mod, but never found the time.
I always wanted to do that mod, but never found the time.