[whizzkid11]

Advise needed, my car decided yesterday that it needed some attention.

Driving along motorway fine, I come off at Heathrow have lots of shuddering, especially the gearstick, so decided to go to Berrys BMW Heathrow to get their opinion - the car is under BMW Warranty (driveline only due to mileage).

The engineer had a quick drive and said the dual mass flywheel imbalance.

Found out not covered by the warranty (as expected) however the service lady wasn't bothered about giving an estimate verbally said it would £1000 to remove and refit gearbox and £2000 for the parts so I would be looking at well over £3000+... !!

Anyway, I have shopped around, LUK seem to be the only other suppliers for mass flywheels and currently have some very reasonable prices.

I wanted to ask if I should change anything in addition to the DMF, Clutch and DMF bolts?

Anybody have any experience of LUK products?

All advice and thought welcome and appreciated.

[old grey steve]

This is an all too common issue but fortunately replacing cluch flywheel restores the car bsck to rude health....

So you'll be needing cluch, flywheel depending on where you buy the parts the flywheel bolts too. In addition always spend a few extra quid and from the main dealer ensure you purchase a replacement ball pin and spring as ideally these should be replaced when carrying out a clutch/flywheel and as they cost no more than £8 inc.VAT you'll be mad not too as these can fail causing issues resulting in gearbox removal to sort. Pity that the OEM parts are so expensive to buy over the counter but yes I think they are over £1300+VAT

Re where you get you parts from you've got GSF/Euro's Euro's for instance will offer LUK/Sachs for instance on the parts there are however issues related Euro's for instance supplying flywheels for 'some' 320d's they can cross the part so can only supply the clutch but it is a small minority.. Re LUK no issues whatsoever revtheir supplied parts never have any issues though you need to check to ensure flywheel bolts are there in the box if they are specified as not being supplied seperatly seen this a few times before and can create problems do open the box and check if they state they are in the kit yo ensure they are, but part from that you'll have no issues.

Is this a job you are intending to tackle yourself ?

[wolly440]

Had this same problem myself. Its being an absolute nightmere trying to source a clutch kit for a E92 320d lci. ECP show no product availble for my reg. My local indy has had the part on back order for over a month. BMW quoted me £1600 for DMF & clutch kit, parts only wtf!

Managed to get the parts from autosessive.com for a desent price. Hope its the right kit, they had 3 listed. all included engines N47, N47d20a & N47d20c. Mine is the later, the kit I chose was the only one that stated 184 bhp. Fingers crossed

[poggy]

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

Advise needed, my car decided yesterday that it needed some attention.

Driving along motorway fine, I come off at Heathrow have lots of shuddering, especially the gearstick, so decided to go to Berrys BMW Heathrow to get their opinion - the car is under BMW Warranty (driveline only due to mileage).

The engineer had a quick drive and said the dual mass flywheel imbalance.

Found out not covered by the warranty (as expected) however the service lady wasn't bothered about giving an estimate verbally said it would £1000 to remove and refit gearbox and £2000 for the parts so I would be looking at well over £3000+... !!

Anyway, I have shopped around, LUK seem to be the only other suppliers for mass flywheels and currently have some very reasonable prices.

I wanted to ask if I should change anything in addition to the DMF, Clutch and DMF bolts?

Anybody have any experience of LUK products?

All advice and thought welcome and appreciated.

Hi, did they say why the DMF is not covered? is it really considered a 'wear and tear' item e.g. Like a clutch?
If so, you've got to wonder what's actually covered by the warranty.

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by old grey steve

This is an all too common issue but fortunately replacing cluch flywheel restores the car bsck to rude health....

So you'll be needing cluch, flywheel depending on where you buy the parts the flywheel bolts too. In addition always spend a few extra quid and from the main dealer ensure you purchase a replacement ball pin and spring as ideally these should be replaced when carrying out a clutch/flywheel and as they cost no more than £8 inc.VAT you'll be mad not too as these can fail causing issues resulting in gearbox removal to sort. Pity that the OEM parts are so expensive to buy over the counter but yes I think they are over £1300+VAT

Re where you get you parts from you've got GSF/Euro's Euro's for instance will offer LUK/Sachs for instance on the parts there are however issues related Euro's for instance supplying flywheels for 'some' 320d's they can cross the part so can only supply the clutch but it is a small minority.. Re LUK no issues whatsoever revtheir supplied parts never have any issues though you need to check to ensure flywheel bolts are there in the box if they are specified as not being supplied seperatly seen this a few times before and can create problems do open the box and check if they state they are in the kit yo ensure they are, but part from that you'll have no issues.

Is this a job you are intending to tackle yourself ?

Thanks for the advice Steve... much appreciated.

Its not a job I will be tackling myself, not physically build to fit under car without a ramp. Some thing I leave to the pros.

I have managed to source LUK Clutch kit, LUK DMF and LUK DMF bolts, and will go to BMW to get the ball pin and spring you mention on Tuesday morning.

Am trying to figure out which mechanic to take it to, my regular one is on holiday. Do you know of any/recommend around M1/M25?

Thanks again for your advice.

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by poggy

Hi, did they say why the DMF is not covered? is it really considered a 'wear and tear' item e.g. Like a clutch?
If so, you've got to wonder what's actually covered by the warranty.

Yes, they checked with BMW Warranty desk, who said that it is not covered by my BMW Warranty. I have Driveline cover due to the mileage.

My question exactly, what is covered by the warranty, hence I am thinking about not renewing it next April. She said I would be looking at £3000+ which included £1000 just to remove and refit the gearbox. Guess she knew I wasn't going to ask them to fix it.

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by wolly440

Had this same problem myself. Its being an absolute nightmere trying to source a clutch kit for a E92 320d lci. ECP show no product availble for my reg. My local indy has had the part on back order for over a month. BMW quoted me £1600 for DMF & clutch kit, parts only wtf!

Managed to get the parts from autosessive.com for a desent price. Hope its the right kit, they had 3 listed. all included engines N47, N47d20a & N47d20c. Mine is the later, the kit I chose was the only one that stated 184 bhp. Fingers crossed

I called up GSF, Euro and BMW Parts department directly to verify I was getting the right one for my car.

BMW Parts guy said all he knew was my engine was a N47, and had no clue when I asked was it a D20A or D20C - he said the system says its a N47, and does not know about the existence of the variations! I checked on my door plate and it says N47 D20C.

I bought the LUK DMF and LUK Clutch kit from GSF, got what was a good deal, came home and found Euro have a 25% discount this weekend; called and verified it was the same LUK part numbers and bought a DMF and bolts from ECP. Saving myself £60 over GSF. Euro car parts did not have a clutch kit, but GSF did - and month end also helped with pricing in store.

Just need to pick up ball pin/spring and get someone to fit it all now.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

Am trying to figure out which mechanic to take it to, my regular one is on holiday. Do you know of any/recommend around M1/M25?

Thanks again for your advice.

Yeh me www.a1bnspecialist.co.uk/

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by old grey steve

Yeh me www.a1bnspecialist.co.uk/

Thanks you have a PM, please feel free to call me when you get a chance.

[mob17]

Do yourself a favour and visit Steve (or any good bmw specialist) rather than the stealerships.

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by mob17

Do yourself a favour and visit Steve (or any good bmw specialist) rather than the stealerships.

Agreed, no stealerships... planning on getting it into Steve.

[wolly440]

autosessive.com have let me down with the clutch, said there is a problem with there suppliers and have cancelled my order I've noticed ECP do a Valeo solid mass flywheel conversion kit, is this any good?

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by wolly440

autosessive.com have let me down with the clutch, said there is a problem with there suppliers and have cancelled my order I've noticed ECP do a Valeo solid mass flywheel conversion kit, is this any good?

From my research, you should steer clear of the solid mass flywheel conversion.

Check your chassis number and speak to eurocarparts, they will do 15 % discount codes, else use quidco and you can get 12% cashback.

Check the LUK dmf and clutch kits and verify their part numbers with real oem and partying from gsf.

I got some mega deal with their 25% deal over the holiday weekend.

Depending on where you are based, I would reach out to Steve at a1bn. My cat was dropped off to his garage today.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

From my research, you should steer clear of the solid mass flywheel conversion.

My cat was dropped off to his garage today.

Your cat well it was dropped off today perhaps one of the worst vibrations I've felt for a good while you can easily feel it through the seat and gear stick clearly vibrates like mad though one clutch take up which I wuickly did in front of Waseem I noted onthis quick simple test that there was no change in vibration and the clutch take up didn't alter what I felt, pedal travel as this was a quick test felt quite high mind but we'll in a day or so (due to the amount of wirk facing us right now) be able to spend some time with the car but this one does feel like a very unhappy flywheel that IMO would of compromissed the clutch.

Re the solid wheel flywheel option never done one been offerd the alternative arrangment a few times to my mind I think it would cause issues with average joe namily noise vibration and harness issues, if you were chasing big BHP and torque figures it might be worth a go.

[wolly440]

Whizzkid11 could you tell me the part no. and where you got the clutch kit from, also how much it cost, you can pm me that bit if you want

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by wolly440

Whizzkid11 could you tell me the part no. and where you got the clutch kit from, also how much it cost, you can pm me that bit if you want

Clutch came from GSF in Watford.

GSF part number: 189BM0880
BMW Part Ref: 21207638466
LUK Part number: 624 3540 00

However I would check the part for your car, if you call GSF they can check on their systems, and on Parts Link and RealOEM.

Price wise, the clutch kit was just under £200 inc vat

I had to get the DMF and bolts.

Steve at A1BN has been great and will post some pics of it this evening...

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

Clutch came from GSF in Watford.

GSF part number: 189BM0880
BMW Part Ref: 21207638466
LUK Part number: 624 3540 00

However I would check the part for your car, if you call GSF they can check on their systems, and on Parts Link and RealOEM.

Price wise, the clutch kit was just under £200 inc vat

I had to get the DMF and bolts.

Steve at A1BN has been great and will post some pics of it this evening...

No worries Waseem

Here's the pictures you've stated earlier which you already have. I sat in the car the other night couldn't get over the vibration it was awful, not the worst one I've that's come my way but nevertheless not good, surprised the AA allowed the car to be driven after they'd been out to Waseem, ideally I'd of said to be safe it might of been a good idea after visiting/inspecting the car to get it low loaded but it was their call and Waseem drove the car to us not that it couldn't be driven but ideally if it were my call I'd of gone low loading, but it costs money so maybe if the car had been driven previously in this condition this was there take on it they suspected clutch when I spoke to Waseem I though flywheel sitting in the car I said within 10 seconds to Waseem it was 100% flywheel.

So we pulled the gearbox and this is what we saw



looking a little more closely




it looks like the whole assembly has dropped by about 2mm if that there's a gap at the top the gap below which should be even isn't the units almost touching the casing

when the assembly was disasembled we took a quick look and saw this as circled



note its not quite 100% central (tried to illistrate with the circle) as we'd seen in the pictures above

So once removed the parts were looked at the friction plate though worn had some life



main clutch assembly was blue in colour with if you can may be see some red heat spots too as I hope you may be able to make out it was also scored



and here the killer when we removed the flywheel



part of the bearing casing had completely come apart the flywheel had loads of movement present... closeup of the broken section of the bearing casing



this had completly come away and fell out as we removed the flywheel. After I'd spoken to Waseem and given him some info re what was needed what to do re warranty I got a call from the workshop went over and they were prepping the gearbox side of things (ball pin, spring and guide tube) on the fork side and noticed this



this is the guide tube that sits on the gearbox shaft as you can see colourwise its a few shades, due to heat/stress plus look where circled its broken clean the other section was broken in to a good few pieces if you look at the picture below you can get an idea where this lies and what shape it should be (you are looking at No1) the end section wasn't present



So the flywheel had suffered the bearing collapsed hence the vibration and what greeted us once the gearbox was removed. All being well tomorrow afternoon the car will be back on the road.

[old grey steve]

Its all done car drives like a dream

[whizzkid11]

Originally Posted by old grey steve

Its all done car drives like a dream

Thanks Steve, you're a star, and I know you have gone above and beyond with this one!

Looking forward to picking up tomorrow and an improved drive!