"Scott Dorsey" <kludge@panix.com> wrote in message:

Gift (Answer) from JoshIII:
I have a friend that had exact same problem, on
about the same year and model as yours, i.e.
mid 80's 5-series with manual transmission.

We replaced the clutch master cylinder and
slave cylinder, but problem was still
apparent.

I  determined the problem was
in the clutch pedal itself, and not
with the pressure plate or
throw out bearing sticking on the
transmission input shaft.

You can make this determination
just by loosening the two
nuts holding the slave cylinder
to the transmission
and pressing the clutch all the way
down to see if it sticks to floor again.

If pedal still sticks to the floor, *AND*
the slave cylinder is still under load  with
tension from the clutch pressure
plate springs, then you know your
problem is with the clutch pedal itself
and not the transmission.

Next, I got on my back underneath his
steering column to see how the
clutch pedal linkage works.

If you notice there is a spring
loaded hinged linkage that
connects between the
clutch pedal and the firewall
(doing this from memory).

Seems like I remember
the clutch master
cylinder plunger connects directly
to the clutch pedal.

Anyway, this linkage should
have a little coil spring on it
that compresses when you
press your clutch pedal.

If you notice the little coil
spring also has an adjustment
nut and a lock nut on it.

Loosen these two nuts
as far out as you can, and still
are able to make the lock
nut lock on the threads.

The way the clutch pedal linkage
is designed, the linkage rotates
past top dead center when
the clutch pedal is fully
pressed down, and will
not allow pedal to come back up.

There should be an adjustment
to the linkage itself, but there is not.
The only other simple alternative
is to loosen the coil spring tension
nuts as described above.

This *should* resolve your problem.

It did on my friend's
mid 80's 5-series BMW.

Please post result in this newsgroup.

Hope this helps resolve your problem!

JoshIII
upstate south carolina
josh3i at hotmail . com

1986 BMW 535i.  I bought it a few years ago with a bad transmission and only
120k miles, and a friend of mine dropped an '83 junkyard transmission into it
and a new clutch.  It's been running well, and I have slowly been cleaning
various things on it up.

Starting around 220,000 miles, the clutch began sticking closed.  That is,
I'd put my foot down, the pedal would stick to the ground, and the clutch
would remain engaged.  I could pull the pedal up and pump it down a couple
times and the clutch would open properly again.  It started happening now
and then, and then more and more often.

I replaced the plunger on the clutch master cylinder, which was leaking,
on the suspicion the seal in it was bad.  Didn't fix anything.  Took it
to a respected BMW indy mechanic around here, who swore I did it wrong and
replaced the plunger again.  Didn't fix anything.  Replaced the whole master
cylinder.  Didn't do anything.  Changed the fluid and replaced the slave
cylinder.  Still no go.  

Now, I am assuming that there is no possibility of the line between the
two cylinders being an issue, and no backflow valve anywhere in the system.
Is this correct?

Recently it got worse, and I took it in to him again.  At this point, we
figure it has to be something inside the transmission.  He drops it, and
replaces everything that looks even a bit suspicious, namely the throwout
bearing release lever, the lever pin, the clutch release bearing, and
the shift bushings.  Everything else looks clean, though neither one of us
could see how any one of these would cause the problem.

Putting the thing back together, the problem is now actually worse, since
the friction point is closer to the floor than it was before.  The car is
now doing it almost all the time, making it impossible to drive except on
the highway.

Help!  Anybody have any suggestions about what could be causing this issue?
--scott