[E34 530i] Dead Clutch Pedal, goes straight to floor!

Fritzer · 02-07-2022, 09:06 AM

Over the last week or so my E34's clutch has been slipping a bit. I figured the clutch was due, however I was under the impression that it still had a certain amount of life in it. Still drivable, just slightly slipping under heavy acceleration or in high gears. Then a few days ago I got into the car and about 2 minutes into the drive, the clutch lost almost all pressure. Luckily I was able to turn around and limp it home, but it was drastically getting worse and worse to the point where I could barely get the clutch to disengage, pedal went straight to the floor and there was about 1 inch of actual throw.

Got the car back in the driveway and haven't really touched it since. I figured it was the slave or the master, but I didn't notice any fluid leaking or symptoms before-hand. The brake fluid level seems normal. I tried turning the car on to limp it from the driveway into the garage so I can get it up on jack-stands and start diagnosing the problem, but now the clutch doesn't even have enough hydraulic power to get the car out of gear!(parked in-gear on slanted driveway) Coming here for insight as I really don't have much experience in diagnosing and servicing clutch systems.

I guess my question is two-part:

1) What is a short-term fix for this so I can actually disengage the clutch and move the car from the driveway into the garage? Think I could use a pressure bleeder on the hydraulic system to give some sort of pressure to the clutch pedal temporarily?

2) What is the general cause of a hydraulic clutch failure like this, slave cylinder or master cylinder? Can a failing slave cylinder cause the clutch to slip as if it has worn down all it's material?

Thank you guys, look forward to any insight you can provide!

Fritzer · 02-08-2022, 03:58 PM

UPDATE: Okay so I haven't been able to touch the car since my initial post, valuable information everyone, thank you. I attempted to move the E34 into the garage just now. I pumped the clutch a decent amount to no avail, depressed all the way and crossed my fingers as I pulled it out of 1st, some resistance but not horrible. Backed the car down the driveway while it was in neutral, into the street. While it was sitting there running I backed the E90 out of the garage and parked it further down. Then I got back into the E34, and attempted to put it into first even though the clutch was not fully engaging. I've actually never done this before but I just firmly pressed the gear selector into 1st, but not all the way and the car started to inch forward, gained some momentum and got up the driveway into the garage and shut it off once I slowed into the spot.

Car is currently sitting in the garage, going to get it up on stands soon and start cracking into this. Will report back. At least I got the car into the garage where I can safely work on it, not being on a large incline - so that's a plus!
__________

Also, it seems the bimmerpost forums for the older cars really aren't that populated, so follow the sister thread to this over on bimmerforums that I made which you can find here, have some good responses over there so far.

TriumphTim · 02-10-2022, 06:19 AM

Depending how bad the leak is, you can fill the master and try to pump up the clutch for a few seconds or minutes of usefulness.

I would start with the slave cylinder, they are the lowest and usually the weak point. That is the only part in the clutch system that failed for me in 15 years of E30 ownership so far.

02-07-2022, 09:06 AM	#1
Fritzer No one sleep in Tokyo 945 Rep 1,507 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 328i//1995 E34 530i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: San Diego, California -> Austin, Texas iTrader: (3)	[E34 530i] Dead Clutch Pedal, goes straight to floor! Over the last week or so my E34's clutch has been slipping a bit. I figured the clutch was due, however I was under the impression that it still had a certain amount of life in it. Still drivable, just slightly slipping under heavy acceleration or in high gears. Then a few days ago I got into the car and about 2 minutes into the drive, the clutch lost almost all pressure. Luckily I was able to turn around and limp it home, but it was drastically getting worse and worse to the point where I could barely get the clutch to disengage, pedal went straight to the floor and there was about 1 inch of actual throw. Got the car back in the driveway and haven't really touched it since. I figured it was the slave or the master, but I didn't notice any fluid leaking or symptoms before-hand. The brake fluid level seems normal. I tried turning the car on to limp it from the driveway into the garage so I can get it up on jack-stands and start diagnosing the problem, but now the clutch doesn't even have enough hydraulic power to get the car out of gear!(parked in-gear on slanted driveway) Coming here for insight as I really don't have much experience in diagnosing and servicing clutch systems. I guess my question is two-part: 1) What is a short-term fix for this so I can actually disengage the clutch and move the car from the driveway into the garage? Think I could use a pressure bleeder on the hydraulic system to give some sort of pressure to the clutch pedal temporarily? 2) What is the general cause of a hydraulic clutch failure like this, slave cylinder or master cylinder? Can a failing slave cylinder cause the clutch to slip as if it has worn down all it's material? Thank you guys, look forward to any insight you can provide! __________________ 2011 E90 328i, 1995 E34 530i, 1992 E32 740i, 1991 E34 525i
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

02-08-2022, 03:58 PM	#2
Fritzer No one sleep in Tokyo 945 Rep 1,507 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 328i//1995 E34 530i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: San Diego, California -> Austin, Texas iTrader: (3)	UPDATE: Okay so I haven't been able to touch the car since my initial post, valuable information everyone, thank you. I attempted to move the E34 into the garage just now. I pumped the clutch a decent amount to no avail, depressed all the way and crossed my fingers as I pulled it out of 1st, some resistance but not horrible. Backed the car down the driveway while it was in neutral, into the street. While it was sitting there running I backed the E90 out of the garage and parked it further down. Then I got back into the E34, and attempted to put it into first even though the clutch was not fully engaging. I've actually never done this before but I just firmly pressed the gear selector into 1st, but not all the way and the car started to inch forward, gained some momentum and got up the driveway into the garage and shut it off once I slowed into the spot. Car is currently sitting in the garage, going to get it up on stands soon and start cracking into this. Will report back. At least I got the car into the garage where I can safely work on it, not being on a large incline - so that's a plus! __________ Also, it seems the bimmerpost forums for the older cars really aren't that populated, so follow the sister thread to this over on bimmerforums that I made which you can find here, have some good responses over there so far. __________________ 2011 E90 328i, 1995 E34 530i, 1992 E32 740i, 1991 E34 525i
	Appreciate 1 AR_Motorwerkz2621.00 Quote

02-10-2022, 06:19 AM	#3
TriumphTim Private 74 Rep 62 Posts Drives: 2008 328xi Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Perkasie PA iTrader: (0)	Depending how bad the leak is, you can fill the master and try to pump up the clutch for a few seconds or minutes of usefulness. I would start with the slave cylinder, they are the lowest and usually the weak point. That is the only part in the clutch system that failed for me in 15 years of E30 ownership so far.
	Appreciate 1 Fritzer944.50 Quote