'94 R1100RS Clutch replacement

1996 Gs with less than 30K miles is slipping - advice

I am the second owner of this 96 gs with rather low mileage that is just starting to slip in 4-5 gear if I push it. The local shop suggests this might be due to a seal leaking. I am planning to do the job myself, so, where is the best place for parts? What parts do you think I will need? My first clutch job. Help!

I have a good lift to work from, but would I be better off on the floor with a floor jack under the tranny? All advice would be appreciated. Also, I would like to borrow those pins, Dave, if they have been returned.

jimbobmw01 said:

I am the second owner of this 96 gs with rather low mileage that is just starting to slip in 4-5 gear if I push it. The local shop suggests this might be due to a seal leaking. I am planning to do the job myself, so, where is the best place for parts? What parts do you think I will need? My first clutch job. Help!

I have a good lift to work from, but would I be better off on the floor with a floor jack under the tranny? All advice would be appreciated. Also, I would like to borrow those pins, Dave, if they have been returned.

Click to expand...

Working on a lift is fine. No need for a jack if you seperate the FD and swingarm from the transmission. If you remove it all together, it can be pretty akward and heavy to handle, and a jack might help. Seprating the components is not a bad idea anyway as it gives you the opportunity to inspect and lubricate the pivot bearings and the drive shaft splines.

R1100gs clutch

Thanks for the advice Ed. I would rather stay off the floor.
Jim Moore

clutch

PM sent.
Good advice.
I had to replace one of the rear pivot bearings and later learned about Tom Cutter's bushings in one of Paul Glaves' postings. That's for sure the way to go. You'll need a 30mm socket for the nuts on the pivot screws. Tom also has the Honda Moly 60 paste you'll need for lubing the splines and the contact points on the clutch kit.(sparingly) I also made a rather crude but very effective bearing puller that I'll send to you if you need it.
Lee

clutch

Jim ,
Here is a link to a discussion that you might read before you disassemble the drive shaft prior to removing the transmission.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=41725

Also, I replaced both input and output shaft seals in the tranny since I was in there. And if you're having difficulty with the neutral switch, it is a good time to replace it.
Lee

I can speak from direct experience with having done the clutch three times myself on my 94 R1100RS. The first time was because the rear main seal had failed and oiled the friction plate by 60,000 miles. So I only replaced the friction plate to save some bucks. BUT! At about 100,000 miles the clutch started slipping again. So I took it apart again, and again replaced the friction plate because I thought the flywheel and pressure plates looked good yet.

Well, only 20,000 miles later I had a slipping clutch when hard on the throttle again. So I took it apart again, and I wasted a LOT of time trying to figure out then why a new friction plate would not solve my slipping issues. In fact I could not even get the clutch to work right by simply replacing the friction disc again. That is, until the dealer and I finally figured out the extremely shallow "cone type" wear pattern on the flywheel and pressure plate, which resulted in only a 1/4" edge of contact on the friction plate.

So I finally ponied up the bucks for the complete clutch kit, $375 I think it was (after I had already spent the $125 for the friction plate), and put it back together and everyhting worked perfectly, as it has now for another 23,000 miles with no problems at all. So, when it comes time to replace the clutch, don't go cheap like I tried with only the friction plate. Get the complete clutch kit and do it right, once.