Every time I take on brake or clutch lines they put me in fits. Managed to kill a new clutch master putting the hard line back on the e-28. Luckily, the clutch master is a fairly cheap part for it. Not to mention half the dash and steering column have to come out to get at it.
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July 22, 2010 1:11 a.m. oldtin HalfDork
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July 22, 2010 6:58 a.m. Ian F Dork
I hear ya... and times like that make me love the cable-clutch in the 1800ES... other times are when fiddling with the plastic clutch MC in my '95 Cummins... yes... the effing thing is plastic...
...oh I can't wait for the day that POS is out of my life...
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July 22, 2010 9:17 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork
I like the way the fittings will not thread up until the master cylinder drains. Then they spin right in! I swear, it seems like they're designed to be air lubricated.
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July 22, 2010 9:59 a.m. Carson Dork
The only time the fittings give me trouble is when the car is from somewhere that sees a lot of salted roads. Other than that, the clutch and brakes in my Miata and Protege (that have spent their entire lives in NC) have been a dream. You three need to move south!
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July 22, 2010 11:01 a.m. porksboy Dork
Carson wrote:
You three need to move south!
NOOOO! Stay there. We have enough Yankees for now.
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July 22, 2010 11:21 a.m. oldtin HalfDork
Born & raised country southern boy (you actually could hear banjo music in the distance on summer nights on the farm where I grew up). Wife is the yankee city girl. Maybe that's the problem - bmw is not hillbilly enough for me to get along with.
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July 22, 2010 11:32 a.m. Ian F Dork
That said, the cable-clutch is made up for by the brake lines on a 71-73 Volvo 1800. There are 18 individual steel lines on the car... and 6 flex hoses... so much fun.
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July 22, 2010 12:20 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork
Installing the clutch master on an e28 isn't all that difficult, if you pull out the steering wheel and column (a few bolts and a couple electrical connectors.) The hard part is making that connection to the hard line. Some people have been able to find enough slack in the line to pull it inside the cabin of the car so they can easily line it up with the master cylinder, but that hasn't worked for me. At least, leave the master loosely bolted in place so you have some wiggle room to get the threads started straight. Reaching down behind the engine to get to the fitting is a royal pain.
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July 22, 2010 12:41 p.m. oldtin HalfDork
Mostly just annoyed at myself and trying to get it on the road by the weekend. The fitting felt like it was threading in. It's a little crusty, so a little resistance didn't seem like a big deal - cranked it down and leaking like a sieve. Pretty much tells me I cross-threaded it - it didn't seat and probably trashed the mc threads in the process, so I get to do it again. This sort of goes along with my theory that it takes me three tries to learn stuff. First try is upside down and backwards, second try is just backwards and by the third go round I know how it works. I'm really tempted to run a flex line to the slave and avoid the fight altogether.
