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clutch stop - useless!

3440 Views 32 Replies 21 Participants Last post by  whatheheck, 
E
i bought a clutch stop, and upon installing it realized that the car won't start as the clutch needs to be pushed down all the way for the car to turn on. so what good is the clutch stop? maybe i am installing it the wrong way or maybe i need to do something else? i get the concept of a clutch stop and think it's great but not when i turn my car on. please advise.

emperor
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S
others have reported that you need to relocate the switch aswell, then you'll be good to go.

Otherwise you could start her up, install it, then drive off. Repeat this everytime you go out :D :D
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the kit came with very poor instructions on installation. how do i relocate the switch?

emperor


stuart said:
others have reported that you need to relocate the switch aswell, then you'll be good to go.

Otherwise you could start her up, install it, then drive off. Repeat this everytime you go out :D :D
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Sorry dude, this I can't help with. I Think there where some other threads with more info, I was just paraphrasing from what I remember reading there.

Good luck,

Stu
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stuart said:
Sorry dude, this I can't help with. I Think there where some other threads with more info, I was just paraphrasing from what I remember reading there.

Good luck,

Stu
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Try searching various forums. The stops all have the same issue. Folks have found ingenious ways to deal with the starter safety cut-out.
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I think most people just cut off a mm or more of the stud.
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H
More then a MM. I got the UUC Clutch Stop v3 and I had to cut off about 1/2" and inch. I put the bolt on the stop and not the washer and threaded it down tight and the car would start fine.

Others reported about 1/4" of an inch was fine. Doing this removed anywhere from 1" to 1 1/2" of extra travel, so it's still worth it. With my setup, and my clutch at 44k miles, I still have whats seems to be about 1" before the clutch engages, so it's not as useful as it could be, but I have no desire to mess with the switch.

You can't relocate the switch, you need to bypass it, or you need to put some material on the end rod that triggers the switch so it doesn't need to travel as far to activate it.
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stuart said:
Otherwise you could start her up, install it, then drive off. Repeat this everytime you go out :D :D
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Yeah, or just leave it running!


:1: :1:

A
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Not a bad idea.........

emperor


ard said:
Yeah, or just leave it running!


:1: :1:

A
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Have fun filling her up at a gas station! Might as well smoke a cigarette at the same time...hiha hiha
:cheers:
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M
Yup, gotta cut the stud to suite. I suggest cutting in small increments. You want to get to the point that the car will start. Do not think about moving the switch!!!!!! Once you get the right length and all works, you will love this cheap mod. :thumbsup:
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I am not sure what problem you were trying to solve with the clutch stop. Care to fill us in?

Steve
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TurboCarrera said:
I am not sure what problem you were trying to solve with the clutch stop. Care to fill us in?

Steve
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The function of the clutch stop is to limit the travel of the clutch pedal for quicker, positive shifts without the over travel. If you are putting the clutch pedal all the way to the floor, the wasted time, etc... is called 'Granny Shifting'. But to shorten the pedal travel by feel alone, you risk miss shifting. The clutch stop gives you a positive stop to bump against and assured dissengagement every time. The installation problem is to get 'just' past the start switch activation. Once set, forget-about-it and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!
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T
OK, thanks.

In the 53k I have driven my M5, the only time I put the clutch pedal to the floor is to engage first gear at a stop. On my BMW bike, for the most part I don't use the clutch to upshift - I just slack off on the throttle a little and go for the next gear.

Steve
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oh - c'mon - no stud cutting needed - here is the solution

this is what I did :

I bougt these small rubber pads that you use on your chair so that they don't scratch the hardwood floor 1 dollar dozen and stack/stuck 3or 4 of them on top of each other and stuck them on the switch
the car starts now as the switch engages much earlier. that's all there is to it.

if you cut the stud you defeat all the purpose of the clutch stop
clutch stop has to be right at the point where you can engage 1st gear.
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Re: oh - c'mon - no stud cutting needed - here is the solution

OS said:
if you cut the stud you defeat all the purpose of the clutch stop
clutch stop has to be right at the point where you can engage 1st gear.
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Not exactly.... You still need to insure that the clutch is fully disengaged. Also I would not trust 'three or four rubber thingies stuck together' for safety. That glue will soften given the heat that develops inside.

Just my $.02
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Re: oh - c'mon - no stud cutting needed - here is the solution

OS said:
this is what I did :

I bougt these small rubber pads that you use on your chair so that they don't scratch the hardwood floor 1 dollar dozen and stack/stuck 3or 4 of them on top of each other and stuck them on the switch
the car starts now as the switch engages much earlier. that's all there is to it.

if you cut the stud you defeat all the purpose of the clutch stop
clutch stop has to be right at the point where you can engage 1st gear.
Click to expand...
Cutting the Stud doesn't defeat the purpose of the clutch stop because:

The clutch stop is designed to be compatible across many BMW's, where clutch travel and floorboard distance from the pedal varies. Even though I cut off a full 1/2" from the thread, I still have PLENTY (way more then I need) thread left. Why? Well, the clutch stop comes with a nut for a reason. That's so you can thread in the clutch stop to a certain point, and then thread down the not to "lock it" in place.

My clotch stop is screwing in down to the stop instead. So ALL of the thread is inside the floorboard. Considering my clutch only has 1/2-1" (roughly) of extra travel beyond engagement (necessary for clutch switch), and I have about 2 1/2" of thread left, I can easily unthread that 1/2-1" of bolt, lock down the nut, and have the full effect of the clutch stop.

Now, that's not to say a brand new clutch or after market clutch might engage higher, but another 1.5-2" higher? That's almost complete out, so I doubt it.

So basically, the extra 1/2" I lobbed off has no effect on the maximum effectiveness of the clutch stop on an M5. Perhaps on other beemers that extra 1/2" may be necessary.

And yes, I'm not refuting that the way I did it didn't give me the FULL effect of the clutch stop, but it was the easy way to remove a good 1-1.5" of extra travel in about 10 minutes of time.

I am curious as to what you needed to do to take apart the clutch activation switch/pin to put those pads on. When i looked at mine, the pin seemed to slide inside a plastic cylinder. I didn't look closely, but does that cylinder just pop open exposing the pin?
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I bet there are a lot of ways to do it and as long as it works that's all that matters. I don't see any safety issues in the solution I used, that's why I use it and it's been working great for over a year now. The worst thing that can happen is the pads can fall off and you will not be able to start your car the next time. My clutch stop elliminates all the pedal travel there is to eliminate and I like it that way. But of course there are different tastes on the pedal travel , for instance one of my co-workers was swearing loudly and hating it when I let him to take my car for a spin .... oh well ... :) to each their own..

My clutch switch does not have any plastic cilinder... all there is to it is just a statick metal piece that I stuck the pads on and a moving part that goes up and down and gets depressed when it toches the pads.
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Does a clutch stop interfere with the SAC (self adjusting clutch) feature? I ended up removing my clutch stop because it felt as though that was happening. ouich
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My car also would not start at the height I wanted to set my clutch stop. Instead of trying to relocate the clutch activation switch, I added height to the metal striking plate (the metal thingy that depresses the plastic shafted switch when the clutch is fully depressed) by JB Welding a 1/4 inch thick piece of plastic to the striking plate. If you happen to have Griot's wheel chocks laying around, the rubbery plastic strip from the bottom of the chocks secures itself around the metal striking plate tightly. You only need about one inch. Other wheel chocks may be of similar design. So far, this solution has held for 40k miles.

Joe
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