Project E46 M3: Part 13 – Lightweight clutch and flywheel, and more!

Here’s a close-up of the braided line fitting for the High Performance hydraulic bearing conversion, with double O-ring orientation.

I haven’t had to do a clutch job in years, so here goes nothing. With the weight of that tranny (especially trying to put it back on), it was imperative for my weak arms to have a lift.

Since I have some family members who work at the local hospital, I always demand they bring me a box of latex gloves home but they always seem to rip.  I got these Raven gloves from Sparkplugs.com and they hold up to considerably more abuse.

Okay, let’s get started with the clutch removal. First, *DISCONNECT THE BATTERY* . Then, while the car is still on the ground, we can go ahead and free up the shifter so that it can be dropped while still attached to the tranny when we lower it. Start this process but putting the shifter into second gear and yanking back on the knob real hard until it frees itself.

With the knob out, the boot should come off easily. What you’re left with is an exposed shifter assembly. Remove that foam and your job is done up here. Now it’s time to get out of the car and get it off the ground. To save you time, keep the car in neutral and with the E-brake OFF when it is up in the air. This is for when we remove the driveshaft, so you can spin the back wheel to access the three bolts.