Leaking Clutch Reservoir ?

[GaryE]

Hi, working on a UK 91 M50.

I have been topping up my clutch reservoir almost weekly now, so thought time to find the leak. And need some help!

I've been following this guide http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/maintenance/transmission/clutch_hydraulic.htm

I first did a very simple check of removing the dashboard covers and checking under the pedal for leaks. Everything is dry, and no visible problems. So I assumed it must be the slave cylinder.

Yesterday, I went under the car and removed the slave cylinder (took me ages...) and I was quite hoping I would find my leak. At first there was no visible leaks but thought I'd remove it anyway as my Haynes manual suggests this as being a main area for leaky clutch + to check the condition of pushrod.

The slave looked fine to me, the pushrod seal was in very good condition and hardly any wear on it. So I cleaned the unit and remounted it to the car, bled the clutch and now im on the hunt again.

So I now assume that the leak must be somewhere between the reservoir and the master cylinder OR between the master cylinder and the slave??

Reading some posts about this type of problem, it could be leaking from a plastic link above the master cylinder. My problem is how do I get access to inspect it?

I've taken some (poor quality) pics of my problem...

1. img of the pipe coming down from the reservoir and into a "black hole" - I haven't seen the blue line again and would like to find out where exactly it has gone :)
http://www.network49.com/clutch/1line.jpg

2. a shot from above the pedals, no leaking or wet carpets.
http://www.network49.com/clutch/2abovepedal.jpg

3. shot of rubber seal, this has a small tear (not visible on shot) - there is no leaking or any fluid around this area either so don't think this could be a prob?
http://www.network49.com/clutch/3rubberhousing.jpg


There is a black panel which sits at the back of the pedals instead of carpeting, this is covering the areaI want to get to. Is it safe to remove this? Any precautions to take first? I don't think I could take it all the way off, but if I removed the bolts I'm sure I could slide it forward slightly to make a bit of room. First though, the accel pedal would need to be detached and I think so would the other pedals. Am I looking in the right areas?

Any help greatly appreciated.
Gary

[GaryE]

Also whilst I had the panels removed, thought I would take a pic of the side next to my clutch pedal. My ventilation has always been very weak and non-existent on the first few settings. Is this where my resistor or sword would be located? Or on the passenger side?
What is that black box?

http://www.network49.com/clutch/4whatisthis.jpg

Cheers
Gary

[callen]

changed clutch master on my 530 recently....the plastic panel wasn't hard to remove. The blue hose attaches to clutch master. I'd take the panel off and gain access to all of clutch master to inspect. Mine had 130k miles when it failed. You will need a metric line wrench to get the hydraulic line off master..don't think about using standard wrench or you will strip it...on there really good.

[GaryE]

I attempted to remove the black metal panel covering the cyclinder base, took off 5 screws (with notches cut out of them??) and still the panel would not even budge!! I couldn't see any more screws to take out, so decided to get some help.

Took it down to my mechanic, see if he could shed any light on the problem. Got the car up on ramps and had a proper look around, turns out it IS the slave cylinder leaking, although to my eye - looks as though it was in good condition.

Got a new slave cylinder today for £40.55 and am going to fit it tomorrow. Will take pics if anyone is interested.

callen, don't know how you got to the master cylinder, but i'm glad I don't have to try it no more, it looks like a lot of removal is necessary on my car. oh andI found the blue hose connecting into the master cylinder, just needed to look from an awkward angle, all was dry though.

Gary