Clutch does not engage after Clutch/Flywheel swap
 

So,

I'd removed the tranny from the engine and swapped over an m3 clutch and flywheel. To be honest, I don't remember looking at the state of the throw-out fork. Anyway, it's been bolted back to the engine and placed in the car.

So, I connected up the shift linkage and clutch slave cylinder, depress the clutch and no resistance at all, just drops down. Regardless of whether I depress the clutch pedal or not, I'm able to shift into any gear.

I filled and semi bled the brake fluid reservoir. Now my clutch (and brake) pedal provides plenty of resistance, though the clutch remains disengaged regardless of the state of the clutch pedal (ie, I can shift gears). Same situation when the clutch slave cylinder is disconnected from the transmission.

Is there something I'm missing or am I going to have to pull the engine and tranny out again?

It sounds like the slave cylinder isn't long enough to move the clutch release fork lever far enough to engage the clutch. Or maybe the throwout bearing is different for the M3 clutch. Basically the slave cylinder pushes the fork which slides the throwout bearing against the pressure plate which in turn releases the clutch plate. It's possible that the ZF tranny has a deeper bellhousing or perhaps the fork is further back than the Getrag trannys used with the m44 and m50 motors. I'd suggest if you're going to use an M3 clutch to use an M3 throwout bearing and slave cylinder.

Edit; I misread your post. It sounds like the slave cylinder is too long, or maybe the throwout bearing is either sticking or not seated properly. It's supposed to be recessed in the clutch release fork lever. Are you sure that the clutch release fork lever is seated properly and clipped into place? You might be able to see in there if you remove the slave cylinder and use a flashlight and inspection mirror.

I read on a different forum about some guy who installed the clutch disc on backwards. If that was the case, the clutch wouldn't disengage. The clutch disc has a splined center. The spline protrudes out further on one side of the disc. The side with the longer part of the center spline faces the engine. In your case, I would eliminate this possibility as you would have the opposite situation and wouldn't be able to shift as it would remain engaged.

I'm pretty sure I put it in correctly but I'm not 100% on this. Since I've got about a week, I'll look into getting the m3 parts. I'll pull it and if it turns out everything was put in correctly, I'll just swap in the remaining m3 components.

This kinda sucks that I have to tear down the engine again. At least this time I know most of what I'm doing.

Yeah, it definitely goes easier the second time around. Especially since the bolts aren't seized.

The only thing that sucks are the top two bolts on the bellhousing and the starter bolts. The key is a really long extension and a breaker bar.

Did you bleed the slave cylinder with it attached to the transmission or disconnected so that you can press in the cylinder? I was never able to completely bleed my slave cylinder without removing it from the transmission, pointing the bleed screw straight up, and then pressing in the cylinder all of the way..

Works out to be a two person job as you need somebody to push the clutch in and verify that the cylinder is moving through the entire range.

Im just going to chime in here and say you better get the M3 throwout bearing and M3 slave... you can probably get both for under $100.

IIRC, I believe my slave was $40ish from Bavauto... and I bought a throwout bearing locally (local markup ripoff) and it was like $60-80.

Yeah, I'm going to do that. The throwout bearing is the only thing I can think of that would cause this problem. Almost everything else would result in full clutch engagement and me being unable to disengage the clutch.

Was your car a manual or auto?

it was a manual. I just replaced the 318ti clutch and flywheel with m3 ones.

The first time, I did it and put it in correctly. However, I forgot to put that metal washer plate back and had my buddy do it while I was working on other stuff. It's possible he put it one backwards.

Now that I think about it, if the clutch was on backwards, the longer spline would be facing the throwout bearing. So, there would be little engagement of the clutch. However, I don't think it would fully engage as cooljess suggested, instead, I think it would just slip on the flywheel.

I'm going to still consider buying the m3 slave cylinder and throwout bearing. . .especially if monday goes as planned :)

ok I see. isn,t the clutch labeled "gertriebeseite"?

Umm. . I don't think so. Or if it was, I didn't notice. Where would this be on the clutch?

I have seen it in the past but I'm not sure if ever manufacturer labels them.

Is that supposed to help with putting it in the right way?

well getriebeseite is "transmission side" in German.

ok, so it turns out that the clutch was installed correctly. Grr.

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm at my wits end with this (and tired after pulling out the engine and tranny) but:

Should I be able to shift through the gears with the car off without having to push on the clutch pedal?

I'm trying to think of how I could test this on the ground to make sure everything is fine before putting it back into my car.