[e82n54]

I just switched mine tonight. Wow does it feel better. Thanks to the original poster, larryn, and all who have contributed to this thread. I have almost no experience working on cars and got this done without any issues thanks to you guys.

This is very late in the thread, but I thought I would summarize most of the great tips and instructions previously posted. I purchased the CDV/lock valve from United BMW (~$16 including shipping) and modified it myself. I just stuck an allen wrench in the small end and smacked it once with a hammer. The 2 internal constrictive parts popped right out. I purchased a floor jack and 2 jack stands. I made wooden ramps (using free scrap wood from the Home Depot) to allow the floor jack to slide under the front bumper. I cut up a hockey puck and inserted the pieces inside the jack points to prevent damage to the plastic jack points. I switched the CDV, which was very easy, and had a bunch of towels and a drip tray ready. I was able to keep fluid loss to a minimum by plugging the rubber hose with my thumb. I bought a motive brake bleeder (for European cars) from amazon.com and used some spare DOT 4 - Motul RBF 600 brake fluid. I poured about 3/4 of the 500 mL bottle into the motive bleeder tank. As stated previously I pumped it to about 10 psi (I think that's the recommended pressure). I then pumped the clutch about 20 times, but it already felt firm after the first pump. (I don't know if the clutch pedal should be pumped before attaching the motive bleeder or not, but I pumped it after pressurizing the motive bleeder and didn't burst anything.) I bought a 11 mm half moon wrench from amazon.com, which worked very well considering the position of the valve. That was the only wrench I used. There's a picture of this wrench in post #84. I turned ~1/16 of a turn at a time, repositioned the wrench, and turned again... over and over. I counted ~14 partial turns to get fluid out of the bleeder nipple. I banged on the hoses and metal tubing while bleeding, but I didn't see any big bubbles only tiny ones. I hope I didn't leave any air in there. After bleeding and detaching the motive bleeder tank I noticed that the brake fluid reservoir was overfilled (above the max arrow) so I sucked out the excess with a syringe. I closed everything up and took it for a short spin. Total time was about 2 hours because I was so slow and didn't want to make any mistakes. Releasing the clutch in 2nd gear (after 1st) is much smoother now. It was definitely worth the effort.

Thanks again guys!!!