M3 has 58k miles.

Complaint: M3 started making loud grinding noise..stalled while driving...engine has no crank/no start. SMG light is lit up. FC 59 or 3B for actuation, clutch, dynamic.

Cause: Plastic ball pin at one end of clutch fork broke causing the piston to push further on the fork thus hitting the pressure plate. Spinning pressure plate grinded some metal off of the clutch fork making it thin enough for the piston to punch a hole through it. Clutch is now inop.

Correction: Removed transmission and replace ball pin, spring clip, clutch fork, and new clutch assembly.

I have done over 100 launch control functions and numerous HPDE events and the clutch still looks good. Not going to take any chances and just replace the pressure plate and disc.

more pics.. last couple of pictures is the new clutch slave cylinder.

Ok.. so the head techs were looking at the clutch disc, pressure plate, and flywheel. They said at 58k miles the clutch parts still look almost new. The pressure plate even still has the small ridges on it. They said it's because of the SMG system that gives the clutch the longevity. I just wished that BMW used a stainless steel ball pin instead of plastic.

wait. you say in ur cars: that you own an E36 m3? they dont come w/ SMG.

It's my dad's E46 M3. I do have an E36 M3 but it's sitting at the shop with a blown engine

this thread should read, " i broke my dad's m3, o shit!" lol

The techs told you that SMG was good for the clutch.

You had a failure with the transmission, and apparently what you're trying to say is that because of this issue, normal 6 speeds have far fewer transmission failures than SMG's?

I'd bet that since you have the "human" error factor with the normal 6 speed, more m3 standard transmissions have problems than SMG's

Money $hift anyone? Cant pull it off with SMG.

You should probably sell your car if you do not appreciate SMG and give it to someone who will so we can avoid posts like these :rolleyes

wait. you say in ur cars: that you own an E36 m3? they dont come w/ SMG.
Actually that's not true - E36 M3 had the option of SMG I - what a dog that was !!

over 100 launch controls may have had something to do with it

^^^^ I'd second that. Launch control can't be a good thing. It stresses the system, considering at full pelt, SMG engages the clutch @ around 10,000bar. But i can see why you're upset, plastic parts in an environment like a transmission is a pretty dumb idea.

Wow... looks like a prime opportunity for somebody to engineer a better aftermarket replacement. I wonder where I could find the blueprint for that part :devillook

^^^^ I'd second that. Launch control can't be a good thing. It stresses the system, considering at full pelt, SMG engages the clutch @ around 10,000bar. But i can see why you're upset, plastic parts in an environment like a transmission is a pretty dumb idea.

On the F1 Style LC, the SMG ECU engages the clutch 8x per second. Since one end of the clutch fork pivots on the plastic ball pin, it's no wonder the item failed.

Wow... looks like a prime opportunity for somebody to engineer a better aftermarket replacement. I wonder where I could find the blueprint for that part :devillook

The E39 540i and the 850Csi uses a stainless steel ball pin. BMW should have used that on the SMG M3s.

Why isn't this titled another reason FOR SMG?

doing all those launch controls i think are just stupid. unless you have a set purpose, you dont need to do it.. it shaves what, maybe 0.1 or 0.2 seconds off a 0-60?

if you are lucky enough to fry your SMG tranny while the cars still under warranty, and furthermore lucky enough to have the dealership replace it for you and not just say fuck you because you abuse the hell out of your car, then well good, but if not its really your own fault if your clutch or tranny has problems due to excessive abuse.

SMG FTL anyway :devillook

doing all those launch controls i think are just stupid. unless you have a set purpose, you dont need to do it.. it shaves what, maybe 0.1 or 0.2 seconds off a 0-60?

if you are lucky enough to fry your SMG tranny while the cars still under warranty, and furthermore lucky enough to have the dealership replace it for you and not just say fuck you because you abuse the hell out of your car, then well good, but if not its really your own fault if your clutch or tranny has problems due to excessive abuse.

Why was I doing so many launch controls? Maybe because my dad and I were on the drag strip and on certain nights we would be doing some bracket racing with the M3 at guess what.. we won! The SMG can help give you consistant times.

Car is out of warranty and the only thing major that was covered was the engine after it blew at 8k miles. This clutch/transmission issue is the most expensive repair when the warranty was gone.

Tell me.. what is the difference between abuse and driving the car hard? It's a M3! They are meant to be driven hard! Drive them hard and sure.. you'll be replacing control arm bushings, rear toe bushings, driveshaft guibo, etc etc. I haven't even done launch control this year or any driving event. I know there are many guys out there that has more HPDE events than I did with SMG.

I've have own this M3 since Feb 2002. This was when SMG first came out. I also have a turbo E36 M3 with a 5spd manual and I split the driveshaft in half from wheel hopping.

This purpose of this post is to give my opinion on the system, to HELP others with SMG that this can happen to them and to expect the unexpected. I am probably the only one that did this many LCs and prove that the clutch is still good and to show whats weakness in the clutch system.

I got the new stainless steel ball pin. Its part number 21 51 1 223 406 and retail is around $18.00.

I'm confused the plastic ball pin snapped, the same part BMW uses in every manual application, and it's SMG's fault?

I'm confused the plastic ball pin snapped, the same part BMW uses in every manual application, and it's SMG's fault?
Actually the E39 540i and the E31 850Csi uses a stainless steel ball pin. I didn't know about this till yesterday.

I guess the excessive use of the F1 Style LC wore out the plastic ball pin. The pin was in pieces.

Just curious how much the labor will cost? You said the part is only $18?

And I do believe this should not have happened on a M3 since it's meant to be the sportiest model of 3series. The price difference of M3 over 330 or whatever should have gone into further strenghtening drivetrain parts from more stressful environments vs regular 3series. And my personal opinion is that if BMW put the luanch control button into design, it shouldn't break the tranny. Of course the more you use it, the more wear and tear you'd put on your car, but still shouldn't break anything. Just my $.02

yeah its pretty stupid. launch control shouldnt really make the diff between winning and losing anyways.. but its BMWs fault for their shitty design on implamenting a feature that is not safe for the longetivity of th vehicle.

Just curious how much the labor will cost? You said the part is only $18?

And I do believe this should not have happened on a M3 since it's meant to be the sportiest model of 3series. The price difference of M3 over 330 or whatever should have gone into further strenghtening drivetrain parts from more stressful environments vs regular 3series. And my personal opinion is that if BMW put the luanch control button into design, it shouldn't break the tranny. Of course the more you use it, the more wear and tear you'd put on your car, but still shouldn't break anything. Just my $.02

I'll know the exact labor at the end of the day today or Monday.

Just to let everyone know, customer pay for this type of job can be anywhere between 8hrs-16hrs. Obviously the dealer will be the higher rates.

I just realized that the ball pin can only be replaced with the transmission removed.

yeah its pretty stupid. launch control shouldnt really make the diff between winning and losing anyways.. but its BMWs fault for their shitty design on implamenting a feature that is not safe for the longetivity of th vehicle.

Yes exactly! If a BMW is going to have launch control and that they know the ball pin will be the fastest wearing component, they should've at least used a stronger part. Heck maybe they didn't know?

Worse case is that the ball pin breaks under high engine speed and the clutch fork and pressure plate get severly damaged to the point of grenading and BAM! New transmission because they just made holes in the bellhousing!

The failure happened to me under 5mph just after making an U-Turn.

Picture of the stainless steel ball pin...

that isnt even worth $18bucks.

i could make a part like that in metal freaking shop.

M3 has 58k miles.

Complaint: M3 started making loud grinding noise..stalled while driving...engine has no crank/no start. SMG light is lit up. FC 59 or 3B for actuation, clutch, dynamic.

Cause: Plastic ball pin at one end of clutch fork broke causing the piston to push further on the fork thus hitting the pressure plate. Spinning pressure plate grinded some metal off of the clutch fork making it thin enough for the piston to punch a hole through it. Clutch is now inop.

Correction: Removed transmission and replace ball pin, spring clip, clutch fork, and new clutch assembly.

I have done over 100 launch control functions and numerous HPDE events and the clutch still looks good. Not going to take any chances and just replace the pressure plate and disc.


Let's see............58K mikes, a bunch of track days and 100 launch control starts....and I would bet that the car has been driven pretty hard most of the time...........and you are complaining? Get serious. If you are going to drive hard.....you get to pay.

that isnt even worth $18bucks.

i could make a part like that in metal freaking shop.
oh come on now, do you realize what it takes to produce parts from billet steel? I challange you to make the same part at a local metal shop for less then $18. factor in hardware, labor, equipment and general overhead and $18 is cheap.

And I do believe this should not have happened on a M3 since it's meant to be the sportiest model of 3series. The price difference of M3 over 330 or whatever should have gone into further strenghtening drivetrain parts from more stressful environments vs regular 3series. And my personal opinion is that if BMW put the luanch control button into design, it shouldn't break the tranny. Of course the more you use it, the more wear and tear you'd put on your car, but still shouldn't break anything. Just my $.02
Trust me, an M3 can put up with all of the shit you give it. IF you MISUSE or ABUSE it, ie. Too many Launch controls or constantly riding the shit out of the suspension, things break. You can't possibly expect everything to last forever.

I bet you will see E46 M3's in 10 years time still going strong because they've been treated well. 100 Launch Controls is pretty intensive for any transmission.

Relax, don't be all like "OMG!!11211!! BEE-MM-UU didn't make a 1337 part that can withstand like a billion degrees and a thousand launch controls lol... lets sue them!!11one one"

Treat it with respect and it will last for a long time.

I never understood the appeal of revving your car to its limits and dumping the clutch. Doing it over 100 times is asking for drivetrain trouble.

I never understood the appeal of revving your car to its limits and dumping the clutch. Doing it over 100 times is asking for drivetrain trouble.
Hmmm. Ok maybe you don't know but there are two launch control features. The 1st one is the burnout mode on which the US models rev at 1800rpms and dumps the clutch.

The 2nd one is the F1 style launch where the engine revs at 1800rpms and engages the clutch 8x per second. It does not dump the clutch at all! I was using mostly the F1 style launch.

I am well aware of the drivetrain wear and tear issues! I already replaced my guibo and rear toe bushings last year. Right now my rear differential mounts are cracked. The broken plastic ball pin was unforseen because that is a part that never really breaks on a clutch type transmission.