Clutch Slipping.

[Stohlen]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

That's the one from Spec.

Better take it up with the shop if it is the bearing. They are completely responsible for a mis-installation. If there was a question regarding installation they should have called spec. And you know spec isn't gonna be responsible for it regardless if its their fault.

[..]

Originally Posted by Stohlen

Better take it up with the shop if it is the bearing. They are completely responsible for a mis-installation. If there was a question regarding installation they should have called spec. And you know spec isn't gonna be responsible for it regardless if its their fault.

Update:

The shop calls me and tells me to pick up the car because it is all fixed and was test driven for 15miles with no issues.

Took it for a test drive. Was perfect, as soon as I drive home it starts again. Not even compared to as bad as it was before. I called the shop (V&S Motorservice) they tell me there's nothing else we can do, we've installed it correctly.

And unfortunately, Spec is away on vacation until January 2nd and I no longer have my stock clutch.

[..]

Anyone think it could possibly be the BMS clutch stop?

[Stohlen]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Anyone think it could possibly be the BMS clutch stop?

take it out and check. Should be a quick swap right?

[..]

Originally Posted by Stohlen

take it out and check. Should be a quick swap right?

Took it out and nothing changed.

After some trial and error I figured out how to make the issue consistently occur. I'm not sure what it means but when trying to shift from 1st to 2nd if you try and shift at anything above 2k rpms it will NOT go into 2nd. However if you shift anything below 2k rpms it will go into gear smoothly. When going from 2nd to 3rd if you are at 3k rpms or higher it will NOT go into 3rd and if you shift at anything below 3k rpms it will go into 3rd smoothly.

I also felt some notchyness in 4th and 6th tonight so I wouldn't necessarily rule out that it's only 1st-3rd.

[RimasRS]

I think this would be throw out bearing installed incorrectly

[..]

Update:

Took the car to a highly reputable BMW performance shop (Auto Couture). One of the Techs drove my car and immediately stated it can not be a defective unit. He stated it might possibly be either the clutch/ pressure plate wasn't aligned properly or pilot bearing wasn't placed correctly. I dropped it off for the weekend. The old shop (V&S) said they will cover the cost if it results in being an installation error.

[..]

Update:

Auto Couture confirmed everything was fine when they dropped the transmission. They said it's not the synchros because if it were the issue would occur all the time. When they bled the clutch line they noticed air pockets in the line. They also rotated the TOB to the other position. After a test drive everything was smooth and could not duplicate the issue however because of what happened last time they wanted to keep the car overnight to drive it more tomorrow in order to ensure it was 100% okay to take home.

Fingers crossed everyone! If it occurs again I can't see it being anything other than a defective unit or something wrong with the TOB.

[..]

Spoke to one of Spec's Techs; the tech stated that it has to be a issue within the hydraulic line. He also said the fact that it doesn't occur all the time is not clutch related and that pumping the clutch to get it out of gear when stuck signifies that it is a hydraulic issue. The line has already been bled twice however everytime it gets bled it gets better and better.

The Tech from Spec went on to say that there might also be an issue involving the slave cylinder.

At this point i dont know what to do. Open to any suggestions. Already paid for a clutch install twice $1,300 in total (second shop charged me $850...)

I will admit, right now I'm rarely having any issues. If it does get stuck in gear it's only when parked.

[Suds]

How do you stop the engine?
In gear with the clutch in?
Out of gear clutch out?
On any kind of slope?

If the car is parked out of gear what happens?

One thing that bothers me is how the brake system and clutch share the same reservoir, at least that's how the N55 is set up.

[..]

So I just wanted to leave an update with my Spec Stage 2+ clutch kit. It's been a few months now so I thought I'd leave my final impressions with you all....

So after having brought my car to another shop to inspect the original installation I noticed a significant improvement which was said to be due to the clutch line being bled, "properly." However, it would still occasionally get stuck in gear.

After having driven it for over 1,000 miles I can say with much confidence that the Spec clutch assembly is the biggest POS I have ever had the experience of dealing with.

It's been confirmed that either my flywheel or pressure plate is now warped. My clutch pedal shakes, the chatter is ridiculously loud, the flywheel itself is constantly makes noise, occasionally when leaving from a stop I get a grinding noise and worst of all it continues to get stuck in gear. The clutch overall is very uncomfortable and brings displeasure in driving. Let me make this clear before I recieve any comments..

This is not my first car with an aftermarket clutch.

I reached out to a reputable company in the Vw/Audi market called Southbend. I used their daily clutch kit for my old MK6 GTI so I thought I would give them a shot.

After speaking to them they stated that they do in fact offer a pressure plate w/clutch disk, however no flywheel. Personally, I'd rather an entire assembly from one company. Anyways, they went on to say that they are in development for an entire kit with flywheel which they predict to be released in the next couple of months. This will be the direction I lean towards.

Now I know I'll receive the questions, "Why not call spec and have them replace the unit?" Number of reasons...

First, in their disclaimer they state that they do not offer refunds but instead will replace the unit after careful inspection. Meaning, it is Spec's discretion as to whether or not their unit is defective. I have read many horror stories with Spec in similar scenarios, from varieties of car markets. It's the same story day in and day out, "This seems to be a installation error" or, "driving error caused this." So in essence it is a losing battle. To pay a shop to remove the unit and then ship it out to spec my car will be immobile leaving me without a vehicle until they ultimately decide that they are not responsible for this.

Secondly, after having dealt with the amount of stress this clutch has cost me I will never own another Spec product nor will I ever recommend them to anyone. When I originally spoke to Spec one of their employees named Jeremy could not even come to grips of there being a possibity that the unit may be defective. I knew from there where this would go....

Well there you have it. I hope none of you ever have to deal what I have gone through. I will be waiting for Southbend to release their kit in the near future. Until then I am forced to drive on this miserable clutch.

[Dmacc]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

So I just wanted to leave an update with my Spec Stage 2+ clutch kit. It's been a few months now so I thought I'd leave my final impressions with you all....

So after having brought my car to another shop to inspect the original installation I noticed a significant improvement which was said to be due to the clutch line being bled, "properly." However, it would still occasionally get stuck in gear.

After having driven it for over 1,000 miles I can say with much confidence that the Spec clutch assembly is the biggest POS I have ever had the experience of dealing with.

It's been confirmed that either my flywheel or pressure plate is now warped. My clutch pedal shakes, the chatter is ridiculously loud, the flywheel itself is constantly makes noise, occasionally when leaving from a stop I get a grinding noise and worst of all it continues to get stuck in gear. The clutch overall is very uncomfortable and brings displeasure in driving. Let me make this clear before I recieve any comments..

This is not my first car with an aftermarket clutch.

I reached out to a reputable company in the Vw/Audi market called Southbend. I used their daily clutch kit for my old MK6 GTI so I thought I would give them a shot.

After speaking to them they stated that they do in fact offer a pressure plate w/clutch disk, however no flywheel. Personally, I'd rather an entire assembly from one company. Anyways, they went on to say that they are in development for an entire kit with flywheel which they predict to be released in the next couple of months. This will be the direction I lean towards.

Now I know I'll receive the questions, "Why not call spec and have them replace the unit?" Number of reasons...

First, in their disclaimer they state that they do not offer refunds but instead will replace the unit after careful inspection. Meaning, it is Spec's discretion as to whether or not their unit is defective. I have read many horror stories with Spec in similar scenarios, from varieties of car markets. It's the same story day in and day out, "This seems to be a installation error" or, "driving error caused this." So in essence it is a losing battle. To pay a shop to remove the unit and then ship it out to spec my car will be immobile leaving me without a vehicle until they ultimately decide that they are not responsible for this.

Secondly, after having dealt with the amount of stress this clutch has cost me I will never own another Spec product nor will I ever recommend them to anyone. When I originally spoke to Spec one of their employees named Jeremy could not even come to grips of there being a possibity that the unit may be defective. I knew from there where this would go....

Well there you have it. I hope none of you ever have to deal what I have gone through. I will be waiting for Southbend to release their kit in the near future. Until then I am forced to drive on this miserable clutch.

That's a bummer man, I've been running the same combo for 10k miles now no issues, except I do receive that slight grinding noise when the clutch is at the end of engaging with the flywheel, other than that everything else is solid. That's pretty strange your car gets stuck in gears. Hopefully southbend will solve your issues.