Hi Guys,
Well... the 2nd try was the charm! I think my first attemp I was just worn out after mounting my winter tires and doing an oil change and taking all those photos for the DIY section.
Today I got my CDV delete done! It really wasn't all that hard. Just teadious I would say. You really need a god set of THIN jewelers screw drivers(flat blade) to slide the clips off of the CDV.
Also... even using my nice yellow hose clamps, I still got a decent amount of brake fluid dripping down on me! Have your thumb ready to cap that fountain off!
I think anyone attemping this DIY should really have/use a pressure bleeder like the Motive unit. I have the european cap on my Motive and it fits the BMW's res cap just fine. No leaks. Use new DOT 4 brake fluid. You will end up loosing about 10oz of fluid - atleast thats is what I went thru. Most of that is from bleeding the clutch slave.
I would not want to do this DIY with out a pressure bleeder! That is for sure. It seems like any job where i have to lay on my back - just makes life miseable. Its like Exh work... nothing really hard... just gets on my nerves! lol
As for the slave bleen screw... it is 11mm. Not 10mm like in the OP. I used mostly my offset box ring wrenches(the middle photo of the three wrenches) and also that special half moon wrench. I think its always best to have a few 11mm wrenches in one's tool box for such jobs. I think IF I were to do this job again, I would buy an extra wrench and then heat it up with a torch to MAKE myself a special wrench JUST for this job. Its a pain trying to turn that bleed nipple 1/8 of turn at a time!
Here are just three pics. I thought they might shed more light on this DIY.
Here is the brake res - the slave feed in on the right read(towards teh driver's side) of teh resivior.
here is a shot with my wrench on the bleed nipple and my yellow hose crimps locked onto the feed line. But it was still a gusher!
Btw... I used some clear 6mm I.D. hose - for my bleed line. I went to a fish aquarium shop to buy one meter of hose. Makes it easy to see the air bubbles when your bleeding the clutch. Hope this helps future DIY's!
I forgot to say HOW NICE it is to shift now! Esp going from 1st to 2nd gear. There is 80% less notchyness. Its smoother now and less jerky. Before it felt like you never were really depressing the clutch fully. Like only 70% down. Now... it fells like a clutch pedal SHOULD feel. The engagement point is the same. The wieght and feel is the same too. Its just now the clutch FULL releases durring shifts. I think this will put less wear and tear on the gears.
I guess the best way I can explain what I am feeling is... you know when your right hand shifts the shifter one or two nano-seconds before your left foot, presses down on teh clutch. Know how the shifter kind of moves into the next gear, but really doesn't want(like) too. Well... that is how the clutch felt before the CDV delete. Now... the car shifts and feels like the BMW Gods meant it to feel and shift!
bye,
David