Clutch Judder from standstill on E46 330D

[M C]

Hi,

I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable when
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in first
gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000 miles,
mainly on the motorway. Any ideas ?

Thanks

MC

[Simon Cussonnet]

I've had the same problem on several 3 series (E30).
When this arrives, and the car is stopped (ie. at the traffic lights), I put
the GB in 5th, I put the hand brake and I release the clutch while playing
with the accelerator pedal. The car can't move and the engine must not
stall. I do this two or three times during 5 sec max, stopping prior to
smelling burnt rubber.

Now the last car has 196000 km on it and I didn't replace anything else than
the disks, the drums and one bearing.
I used this procedure 5 or 6 times on the same clutch and it's still worming
fine.

Post by M C
Hi,
I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable

when

Post by M C
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in first
gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000 miles,
mainly on the motorway. Any ideas ?
Thanks
MC

[Jim]

Post by M C
Hi,
I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable when
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in first
gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000 miles,
mainly on the motorway. Any ideas

This sounds like the beginning of clutch problems...
Jim

[Jim Levie]

Post by M C
Hi,
I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable

when

Post by M C
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in
first gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000
miles, mainly on the motorway. Any ideas

This sounds like the beginning of clutch problems... Jim

Could be, or it might be a driveshaft problem. Sticky bearings in the
drive shaft show up first during high torque situations, like from a
standing start. The milage is enough for either to be a credible
possibility.

[PyroJames]

Post by M C
Hi,
I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable when
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in first
gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000 miles,
mainly on the motorway. Any ideas ?

Clutch judder may also be an issue of soggy engine mounts, the whole engine
"shudders" as the clutch tries to take up. These are easier to check that
the clutch, so do it before commiting to a new clutch!


--
PyroJames
Anything burns if you soak it in liquid oxygen first.

[adder]

Post by M C
Hi,
I have E46 330D (2000) and since about a month ago I've been getting a
judder when engaging the clutch from standing. It seems more noticable when
the car is being driven from cold or negotiating a parking space in first
gear etc. The clutch is not slipping and the car has done 88,000 miles,
mainly on the motorway. Any ideas ?
Thanks
MC

Could be engine/transmission mountings going bad or even the rubber
guibo thing if there is one.

[M C]

Thanks for the replies.

I did quite a lot of driving later today and the clutch judder wasn't too
bad at all, in fact, hardly noticable, but pulling away first thing this
morning it was quite bad. Seems that it's worse when the car has been
standing for a while. Any explanation for this ?

MC

[Tom Korth]

Post by M C
Thanks for the replies.
I did quite a lot of driving later today and the clutch judder wasn't too
bad at all, in fact, hardly noticable, but pulling away first thing this
morning it was quite bad. Seems that it's worse when the car has been
standing for a while. Any explanation for this ?

With my E46 328i, I notice the judder occasionally happens when pulling
(uphill) out of my driveway when cold - but only if I let the clutch out a
bit too fast and don't give it quite enough gas. Proper coordination of
clutch & throttle (usually achieved by imbibing enough coffee in the
morning) eliminates the problem.

Hope this is of some help.

Tom

[adder]

Post by M C
Thanks for the replies.
I did quite a lot of driving later today and the clutch judder wasn't too
bad at all, in fact, hardly noticable, but pulling away first thing this
morning it was quite bad. Seems that it's worse when the car has been
standing for a while. Any explanation for this ?
MC

Could it be an oil leak on to the clutch? - that gets burned off
after normal driving? Or the rubber mounts warm up so when the car
is warm it doesn't do it

[M C]

I'm not a BMW mechanic but both those explanations sound plausable to me.
Is this something you have come across or are you speculating ? I'm getting
it looked at soon by the dealer but I they're not that good. When they tell
me to buy that expensive new clutch, maybe I'll insist that they change the
mounts first! Where could a leak be coming from onto the clutch? Again,
its hardly been noticable today, and as the other chap said, some more revs
and finesse seem to help but a 330D ain't the kind of car to drive like an
old codger, revving the balls out of it when parking and such. I can live
with ot for now until it starts slipping or getting worse.

MC

Post by adder

Post by M C
Thanks for the replies.
I did quite a lot of driving later today and the clutch judder wasn't too
bad at all, in fact, hardly noticable, but pulling away first thing this
morning it was quite bad. Seems that it's worse when the car has been
standing for a while. Any explanation for this ?
MC

Could it be an oil leak on to the clutch? - that gets burned off
after normal driving? Or the rubber mounts warm up so when the car
is warm it doesn't do it

[adder]

Post by M C
I'm not a BMW mechanic but both those explanations sound plausable to me.
Is this something you have come across or are you speculating ? I'm getting
it looked at soon by the dealer but I they're not that good. When they tell
me to buy that expensive new clutch, maybe I'll insist that they change the
mounts first! Where could a leak be coming from onto the clutch? Again,
its hardly been noticable today, and as the other chap said, some more revs
and finesse seem to help but a 330D ain't the kind of car to drive like an
old codger, revving the balls out of it when parking and such. I can live
with ot for now until it starts slipping or getting worse.
MC

I started to get judder, albeit on a much older E36. I replaced the
clutch (while replacing the gearbox) but it was hardly any different
after. Never did bother trying replacing any mountings or bushes. I
sold the car about a year later.

My E46, I can pull away just using idle revs.

[goose]

"M C" <***@mail15.com> wrote in message news:<cjcr2v$7qt$***@news8.svr.pol.co.uk>...

<snipped>

Post by M C
old codger, revving the balls out of it when parking and such. I can live
with ot for now until it starts slipping or getting worse.

I've found that to be the most accurate way of pinpointing a problem
(i.e. waiting for the damn thing to die totally so you know exactly
which bit broke).

Sometimes it evens works out cheaper getting a tow when it finally
breaks than to replace things one at a time until you've nailed the
fault.

One car a I purchased had a *very* slight hum at around 100km/h, and I
was advised to change the wheel bearing, change the tires, check out
the gearbox (was difficult to pinpoint actual suorce of noise) and
check out the gearbox. I decided to wait until it got loud enough
to get an accurate fix on the source of the problems.

That was over a year and 32000 km ago, and the hum has remained
pretty constant (no increase in volume).

Waiting until the fault is more obvious is the best approach.

<snipped>

cheers
goose,
humming cos I dont know the words :-)

[M C]

Was the hum in a BMW??. I get a hum/whine in mine at 65-75mph which equates
to about 100kmh+. Thats a completely different story and one that I have to
live with but the dealer is looking at again in a couple of weeks, nothing
broke yet, just annoying! I see your point though, I just get annoyed by
the strange little noises, judders,jolts...


MC

Post by goose
<snipped>

Post by M C
old codger, revving the balls out of it when parking and such. I can live
with ot for now until it starts slipping or getting worse.

I've found that to be the most accurate way of pinpointing a problem
(i.e. waiting for the damn thing to die totally so you know exactly
which bit broke).
Sometimes it evens works out cheaper getting a tow when it finally
breaks than to replace things one at a time until you've nailed the
fault.
One car a I purchased had a *very* slight hum at around 100km/h, and I
was advised to change the wheel bearing, change the tires, check out
the gearbox (was difficult to pinpoint actual suorce of noise) and
check out the gearbox. I decided to wait until it got loud enough
to get an accurate fix on the source of the problems.
That was over a year and 32000 km ago, and the hum has remained
pretty constant (no increase in volume).
Waiting until the fault is more obvious is the best approach.
<snipped>
cheers
goose,
humming cos I dont know the words :-)

[goose]

Post by M C
Was the hum in a BMW??.

Twas/is a bmw ('86 525e) indeed.

Post by M C
I get a hum/whine in mine at 65-75mph which equates
to about 100kmh+. Thats a completely different story and one that I have to
live with but the dealer is looking at again in a couple of weeks, nothing
broke yet, just annoying! I see your point though, I just get annoyed by
the strange little noises, judders,jolts...

Dont get annoyed, get even :-) when it finally gives up the ghost,
think of all the frustration you've saved yourself (not having
to hunt for a dodgy part that will work perfectly if eyeballed!).

Anyway, my suggestion is to wait only until the problem is *more*
obvious; once you have a definite /fix/ on it, replace; if you
never pinpoint before it breaks completely ... well ... at least
you've saved some headscratching :-)

<snipped irrelevant text>

goose