[kern417]

I replaced my clutch and made a video to document the process. I know most people don't take this on in a garage, but the concept is pretty simple and I'm sure more people in the future will be interested in DIY. So I figured why not throw it up on YouTube.

A lot of people don't know that BMW has been using the same clutch since 2007 in a lot of our cars. The 335is/550i Clutch is a viable upgrade to increase the torque capacity without sacrificing the daily driving experience. I did the upgrade to prepare for future mods instead of waiting for it to slip.

Also my car is a B58/RWD. Your exact process will be different for all the different engine/drivetrain combinations out there. But the concept is the same. Remove trim, Remove exhaust, Remove heat shields, remove drive shaft(s), and then drop the trans. More detailed pictures on the process is available on newTIS website.

I'm no youtuber so I know the production quality isn't great. But as always, feedback is welcome.

[CTNYCLurk]

very nice. kudos to you

[eluded]

Niiice

[akgambino]

@kern417 did the clutch alignment tool come with the LUK clutch kit?

It didn't look like you used any of the special tools that the newtis procedure requires, can you think of anything that you wished you would have had as far as tools to tackle this job that would have made it easier?

I will be doing this project fairly soon, roughly how many hours did it take you start to finish?

Thanks a lot!

[kern417]

Originally Posted by akgambino

@kern417 did the clutch alignment tool come with the LUK clutch kit?

It didn't look like you used any of the special tools that the newtis procedure requires, can you think of anything that you wished you would have had as far as tools to tackle this job that would have made it easier?

I will be doing this project fairly soon, roughly how many hours did it take you start to finish?

Thanks a lot!

I used the one that came with the clutch kit, but it was a little loose. I'm assuming the correct one for our cars fits a little tighter, but it worked for me.

I jammed a screw driver between the flywheel teeth and the subframe to prevent it from rotating when removing/torquing the pressure plate bolts.

Didn't need a trans jack but it's helpful if you don't feel like bench pressing it yourself.

Don't need any of the pressure plate locking tools since you're not reinstalling the oem clutch

Not sure on the hours, it pretty much took me 3 weekends working 1-2 hrs at a time. Maybe 10-12 hrs total. If I wasn't trying to make the video it would have been a lot faster.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by kern417

... A lot of people don't know that BMW has been using the same clutch since 2007 in a lot of our cars. The 335is/550i Clutch is a viable upgrade to increase the torque capacity without sacrificing the daily driving experience. I did the upgrade to prepare for future mods instead of waiting for it to slip.
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Dog! I would love to have a stronger clutch! My last car was an E46 330i that I put an M5 clutch into.
My present 330i will give me a "hot clutch" warning whenever I'm in a traffic jam & the sun is out.

Thanks, Murf

[akgambino]

Originally Posted by kern417

I used the one that came with the clutch kit, but it was a little loose. I'm assuming the correct one for our cars fits a little tighter, but it worked for me.

I jammed a screw driver between the flywheel teeth and the subframe to prevent it from rotating when removing/torquing the pressure plate bolts.

Didn't need a trans jack but it's helpful if you don't feel like bench pressing it yourself.

Don't need any of the pressure plate locking tools since you're not reinstalling the oem clutch

Not sure on the hours, it pretty much took me 3 weekends working 1-2 hrs at a time. Maybe 10-12 hrs total. If I wasn't trying to make the video it would have been a lot faster.

Thanks a lot for the tips really appreciate it!

I have reviewed and printed out all the necessary TIS documents, they pretty much call for every bolt to be replaced. I think that is way overkill but can you think of any specific bolts that actually should be replaced or that would be nice to have on hand during the install?

Also, did you use thread lock on every bolt that you reused/reinstalled?

My car is xdrive, it looks like the only extra step is to remove the front driveshaft and in the TIS it seems like the TC actually stays attached to the transmission and they come out of the car together.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by akgambino

Thanks a lot for the tips really appreciate it!

I have reviewed and printed out all the necessary TIS documents, they pretty much call for every bolt to be replaced. I think that is way overkill but can you think of any specific bolts that actually should be replaced or that would be nice to have on hand during the install?

Also, did you use thread lock on every bolt that you reused/reinstalled?

My car is xdrive, it looks like the only extra step is to remove the front driveshaft and in the TIS it seems like the TC actually stays attached to the transmission and they come out of the car together.

I didn't feel like any bolts had to be replaced, especially if this is the first time you're tearing into everything. I recommended having extra transmission bolts on hand, particularly the 3 up top, because they are easy to damage and get chewed up during removal. But if you're less of an ape than I am, there's no reason why they couldn't be removed without damage. I just had difficulty getting my socket on them fully, so the teeth got chewed up. If your dealer has them in stock, it's easy to buy them and return the ones you don't need to get your money back.

I did put loctite on the pressure plate bolts before reinstallation.

The only other ones that i noticed needed to be replaced were for the underbody bracing, but again when removing the first time i wouldn't worry about it. The only bolts i remember torquing were the pressure plate, transmission, and the bracing/trans mount. Nothing else really sees a lot of load or weight.

Yeah, i'm sure people will still ask for an x-drive specific diy. But from what I see, the only difference is unplugging the control box and removing the front driveshaft. Otherwise parts may look different for bracing, underbody covers, etc., but the concept is the same. I know the N55 downpipe bracket is a little different as well from the B58, but when you see it it's easy to see what to remove.

[jdwrght55]

Originally Posted by akgambino

Thanks a lot for the tips really appreciate it!

I have reviewed and printed out all the necessary TIS documents, they pretty much call for every bolt to be replaced. I think that is way overkill but can you think of any specific bolts that actually should be replaced or that would be nice to have on hand during the install?

Also, did you use thread lock on every bolt that you reused/reinstalled?

My car is xdrive, it looks like the only extra step is to remove the front driveshaft and in the TIS it seems like the TC actually stays attached to the transmission and they come out of the car together.

Did you end up DIYing this? I’ve done clutches on other cars but the fact that I can’t find any info on people who have done it on an xdrive is giving me second thoughts..

[akgambino]

Originally Posted by jdwrght55

Did you end up DIYing this? I’ve done clutches on other cars but the fact that I can’t find any info on people who have done it on an xdrive is giving me second thoughts..

No I did not.