Removing clutch delay valve on e36 M3

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:36 am

Has anyone done this to their M3?

My brother in law is dead set in his mind to do this on his M3 and I offered to help. Googling the topic for all of 20 minutes led me to believe it's pretty simple: clamp (gently) the soft line near the slave, remove the inline valve, reconnect things and bleed the clutch. However, once I started reading the horror stories of bleeding e36 clutches, I was having second thoughts.

I have a motive bleeder 107 (don't think this works on the bimmer), but have any of you got away with just pumping the clutch pedal and opening the slave cylinder bleeder? Seems that the slave is hard to fully bleed due to the location of the bleeder nipple. From what a read a lot of people recommend removing the slave, angling it so the nipple is at the highest point and then pumping the slave cylinder.

Anyway, just thought I get some other opinions before I agree to do this for my brother in law since he can't have his car out of commission if things don't go smoothly.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

I've done this at least 3 times. No need to clamp any lines, just let the fluid dribble out (be quick).

1. Put saran wrap over the reservoir and replace the cap before you start -- this will seal the vent hole and reduce the drip

2. Crack the threads on both sides of the CDV

3. Unscrew the CDV then quickly reattach the lines. Done right this won't put much if any air in the system

4. Bleed by pumping the pedal (with a helper -- all the way down, open fully, squirt, close, all the way up). No need to bench bleed or do anything else unless the slave is totally dry. Recommend having a BRIGHT trouble light on a clear tube to spot if/when bubbles are escaping

People really only have problems bleeding the clutch when it's totally or nearly dry.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:49 am

I think the E30 and E36 slave cylinders are similarly oriented, and with the bleeder in a dependent orientation, air can get stuck in the slave. Some bench bleed the slave, others just try to angle the slave so the bleeder is non-dependent, but if it's as tight under there as the E30 is, good luck.

(As an aside, it's also fun to get air in the clutch line while bleeding the brakes as the E30s use a shared reservoir. Conveniently the clutch line attaches to the reservoir on its side at a slightly higher point than the brake lines do, and if you're not careful air will get in the clutch. Yep, I suck. :oops:

)

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:08 pm

When bleeding the clutch, don't underestimate the size of the clutch side of the divided fluid reservoir. Check it often and keep the clutch side topped up.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:34 pm

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

When bleeding the clutch, don't underestimate the size of the clutch side of the divided fluid reservoir. Check it often and keep the clutch side topped up.

Yes, this is the advice that seems to be the bane of the people who had problems issue. The divider is not glaringly obvious and therefore it can sneak up on you and run dry.

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Removing clutch delay valve on e36 M3

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