Stainless Steel Clutch Line fixes problems

[NZ00Z3 187]

Hi

Been having a couple of problems with the clutch on the EURO 2.0L Z3 since I purchased it in January 2016. Car has traveled 99,000 miles

1) Car would not go straight into reverse when cold. Had to force it into 3rd then it would go into reverse (engine running). Gear changes always felt notchy even after an oil change to Redline D4 ATF. Its a Getrag 220 gearbox and I was looking at pulling it out to do shift pins.


2) Sometimes there is a shuddering clutch when taking off in 1st gear. More prevalent in summer. On a hot summers day of city driving, it will do it for periods of time but not others. Could force it to shuddering by doing a hill start in second gear. I was investigating the cost of doing a full replacement of the clutch thinking it was the pressure plate.

Read a TIS on identifying where a gear change problem is likely to be located. It said to start the car and try and put it into gear. If it was difficult, keep a constant force on the gear lever and turn the car off. If it went into gear just as the engine stopped, then it was in the clutch. If it did not go into gear, then it was the gear box. My testing consistently showed that it was in the clutch.

During research on clutch replacements, I read lots of forum posts about the rubber clutch line getting spongy with age. A spongy clutch line could be the cause for both issues. Jacked up the car, got my good lady to push the clutch and I inspected the rubber clutch line. I could not see or fell anything wrong.

I looked up the cost of getting a UUC stainless steel clutch line shipped from the USA. Around a tenth of the cost of a full clutch replacement. Decided to give it a go as I would be fitting one during the clutch replacement anyway as per forum advice.

Fitted the UUC stainless steel clutch line today, gravity bled the clutch, started up the cold car to go for a test drive:
- It went straight into reverse.
- No shuddering clutch, not even when trying a 2nd gear hill start.
- Smooth gear changes

It sounds like the clutch was not fully disengaging. I guess there was a balance in forces between the force to expand the rubber hose and the force to fully disengage the clutch. The clutch not fully disengaging must have been wearing the clutch plate and maybe the gear box synchro's.

One happy chap having just avoided doing a full clutch replacement and stripping a gear box that doesn't need fixing.

Thank you to all the posts on this and other similar forums that assisted in achieving this outcome.

Regards

Muzz