E46 clutch.

I thought you said that because of the high reverse gear, and the need to travel slowly when manoeuvring the caravan backwards, your brother needed to slip the clutch? Presumably, the longer distance he was doing this, the greater the wear on the clutch, regardless of the type of road?

Chris

If you were travelling any distance, it's fair to assume you could go at a speed where the clutch doesn't need to be slipped?

On the vehicle in question, 1st gear is ok. Reverse is the problem. I'm wondering if it's to do with having synchromesh on that gear? At one time reverse was commonly a lower gear than 1st.

I do take your point that a clutch only wears when the pedal is not fully up; otherwise, it should last forever.

I've fitted quite a few clutches in my time, but never to my own vehicles. I put this down to starting out riding British motorcycles designed in the fifties...

Chris

My brother once changed the clutch on an Austin A 105 at the roadside when on holiday. Towing certainly puts a strain on such things. He did the clutch himself on his previous tow car - a BMW E28 (which he still has) - but reckons this one beyond him. Although he is getting on a bit. ;-)

Oh - before John starts, the E28 is coming up to 250,000 miles, with only one clutch change...

:-)

Would an auto not be a better bet?

Chris

Certainly for creeping along. But may need a bigger cooler. I've said this before to my brother - but SIS says she doesn't like them. Although my guess is she soon would if forced to use one. ;-)

He originally wanted an E39 tourer which I'd guess would be a better tow vehicle. IIRC, they have air assisted rear suspension. But he simply couldn't find a manual.

I tow a luggage trailer behind my BMW bike and that may have been partly why it tore the clutch splines out on the first day of or two week motorcycle camping holiday (after several thousand-mile trips previously).

I say 'partly' because I believe the splines should have been regularly lubricated but because it's a bit of an awkward job it hadn't been done by the PO or BMW (FSH).

I'd not long had the bike and it wasn't due for that level of service for a while.

Re the car thing though ... you would also have reversed a caravan or loaded goods / car trailer across a field or up a slope to get the full idea of how much clutch work you sometimes have to do. Possibly not as easy as a tractor / trailer (HGV) as presumably it was 'designed' to do such things?

I also know how much extra legwork you have to do with the BOB Yak attached when going uphill, even when it's behind the tandem. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. And yes, it only took me about an hour to change the clutch (and swap the gearbox) on the MkII Escort based kitcar the other day.

Pretty well spot on. Sadly, the flywheel had to be replaced too, so a total bill of 1100 quid. It's just about the most unreliable and expensive car to fix going...