mullenc525

I believe my clutch is on the way out on my 545i at 149,000 kms. When I floor it in 5th at 2k rpm, rpms and speed rise together to about 2200 rpm, then rpm jumps to about 2600 without speed changing. A second later, rpms come down to about 2300 and the rpms and speed rise together again.

I'm a little surprised once the clutch slips the revs don't climb higher as the engine torque increases, but nonetheless I'm pretty certain the clutch is on the way out.

Has anyone fixed this themselves?

I've heard some people have had them done at shops where the shop says either they dual mass flywheel is OK and does not need replacement. However, I also have heard that the DMF will not last much longer than a clutch. Any recommendations whether to do one or both? I'd expect to own the car for another 20k kms and don't want to crack into it again.

Has anyone used aftermarket parts for this job? I'm sure BMW parts are astronomical. A luk clutch kit is $330 and a DMF is $556. They claim the DMF is a new OE part.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sh.../bmw/545i.html
http://www.phoenixfriction.com/p-299...-x3-x5-z4.aspx

dawid_w

Hi,

I did that project myself, but it was a pain. My DMF was in good shape and didn?t need to be replaced (car had 102.000 miles at that time).
I would recommend original clutch from BMW and you will need a special tool to align it. Special alignment tool from LUK didn?t fit ? it was 1 mm too big. That is why I recommend original BMW clutch ? it is not that expensive if you buy it on-line.
Looks for part number 21207546375
http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...82&hg=21&fg=05

Check
http://bmwpartssource.com
www.getbmwparts.com

I have few more pictures from my project ? I can publish it tonight.

dawid_w

OK. Few more pictures ? sorry about poor quality.

I highly recommend replacing main shaft seal (11147512101) and the end cover (11147504376)

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...51&hg=11&fg=10

Both those parts are very common to leak. That end cover seal was the main reason I started this project ? coolant was leaking pretty bad (my clutch was still in good shape).

I used following video to guide me through the process.
Be sure you support the car with good car stands ;-)
and don't cut the Gumbo bushing - not sure why they did that

This one I found today ? it may help too

I know that both of them are from E39 M5, but 545i has very similar design.

Let me know if you need anything else

Good Luck

mullenc525

Thanks for the tips. It's the clutch tool itself from LUK that doesn't fit? Or the tool does not fit on the LUK clutch? I see the BMW parts are not too much more expensive, however it sounds like LUK is very likely the supplier of the OEM parts. Does the tool come with either of the clutch kits or where did you get it?

I'm still not certain on the DMF... I've heard horror stories of them going 1k miles after a clutch job (though in this case that was at 201k miles on a 540i.) I'm around half that but obviously its been driven harder if the clutch is gone already. Did your DMF need resurfacing?

Good to see you did it without a hoist. I'm sure that was a pain but that's exactly what I'll be doing. I see its about a 6-7 hr job at BMW, how long did it take you?

dawid_w

That tool doesn?t come with the clutch. You need to buy it separately.

Original LUK tool was designed for LUK clutch, but that tool doesn?t fit the old or new BMW clutch disk (as you can see on one of the pictures)

The difference is very minimal, but it won?t fit.

So, I am assuming that the LUK clutch is a bit different ? I am pretty sure it will still fit to the transmission shaft, but it won?t be as tight as the original BMW clutch. I may be completely wrong or the tool I purchased was the wrong thing, but this is my observation.

As of time needed for the repair?.. Since I have the car disassembled - I did few more repairs at the same time.
Upper and lower oil pan gaskets
Alternator gasket
New alternator
New main shaft seal
and few more repairs?.

My car was in pieces for about 3-4 weeks. I didn?t work on it every day. It took me few days to find the right tool for the clutch, some parts were backordered, I was few days on the business trip?.
Honestly I think you can replace that in 1-2 weekends (depending on your experience and if you have all the tools and parts necessary).

mullenc525

OK thanks. Sharp looking car BTW

mullenc525

I put some more thought into the alignment tool and clutch fitment. I am going to go with a LUK clutch as it saves $70 and I'm fairly certain it will fit as they are a supplier to BMW.

What I assume is happening is that the ID of the spline on the luk clutch may be slightly different. It wouldn't have any functional impact as the splines mate on their sides not the ID / OD. I'll update once I confirm this for future reference.

dawid_w

Sounds like a good plan. Please keep us updated.
Good Luck!

Mordor110

If you look on the DMF of the first set of pics that david_w posted you can see it is stamped with BMW and "luk" up near the top of the pic. I did some research when I had my 540i and the clutch on it was made by luk. So I'm pretty sure the OEM clutch for the 545i & 550i is made by luk also. Good luck with the clutch job, I maybe doing this sometime myself on my 550i.

David_W, what part of Texas are you in? Are you close to DFW? Great pics on the clutch job, is a great help in building the confidence to tackle this job myself LOL.

dawid_w

I am from Houston...