Installing BMW Z4M Mason Engineering Clutch Pedal,

UUC Clutch Stop, and Adjusting Clutch Safety Switch

 

 

The OE plastic pedal is know to have bushing issues over time due to its plastic construction and has a significant amount of free play, positioning it above the brake pedal. The Mason Engineering (ME) pedal is all metal construction and is reputed to solve all of these problems. I also installed the UUC clutch stop with this since the pedal, while drastically reducing free play, did not eliminate all of it. Of course this created another issue with the clutch safety interlock switch so some customization was required- all detailed below.

 

Standard Disclaimer: ANY USE OF THIS INFORMATION BY YOU IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. This guide is meant to be a supplement to the Mason Engineering Installation Instructions HERE and not a replacement.

 

You WILL learn new Yoga positions to access the footwell area during the R&R process :lol:

 

 

 

 

Mason Clutch Pedal Installation:

 

The Mason Engineering instructions are geared towards the E36/E46 cars so I decided to assemble this guide for us E85/E86 owners.

First, remove the plastic panel under the dash so that you can access the clutch pedal components. There are three Phillips head screws visible on top and three more tucked underneath that will need to be removed. After the six screws are removed the panel just pulls down in front and slides out and off. The light wiring plug also needs to be removed, pull firmly out-there is no release, so the panel can be removed from the car:

 

 

 

 

Needle nose pliers can be used to disconnect the spring from the top of the clutch pedal:

 

 

 

The clutch pedal piston rod retainer is removed by using needle nose pliers to compress the tabs while pushing out the locking pin (pictured after removal from car):

 

  

 

 

The retainer clip at the pivot rod can be removed using a flat screwdriver to pry upwards and pushing off (pictured after removal from car):

 

 

 

 

The clutch pedal is then removed by lifting up so that the pedal is free of the clutch pedal piston rod and then slid off of the pivot rod. The differences in geometry are apparent when comparing the OE piece to the ME piece:

 

 

The spring grommet is removed from the OE piece for reinstallation on the Mason piece. Looking at the pieces initially, I thought using the side mount on the Mason piece for the grommet made sense. But after installing the pedal, I decided the spring would be better utilized in the top mounting position:


 

 

 


There is a piece that will need to be bent out of the way so that the pedal/piston rod bolt clears. I just used regular pliers to bend it out of the way:

 

 

 


The pedal cover is transferred from the OE pedal to the ME pedal, the rubber covers are just press fit on. I have ultimate pedals so I had to re-drill holes for these and do a little ME pedal touchup with the grinder so the nuts on back would clear:

 

 

 

Prior to installation, I lightly greased all of the contact areas at the pivot points with Mobil1 Synthetic multi-purpose grease:

 

 

 

After lining the pedal up with the pivot rod (don’t slide it all the way on yet) I installed the bolt that retains the clutch pedal piston rod- you will not have enough room to do this if you install the pedal on the pivot rod first. You will need a 6mm HEX wrench and 17mm wrench to tighten the bolt/nut- the HEX wrench can be placed through the piece of metal bent earlier to get to the bolt. The pedal can then be slid on to the piston rod and the spring clip pushed on to the pivot rod and into place. The spring is then reconnected, and is kind of a pain.

 

 

 

Here are some before and after pics, may be hard to see the difference but the Mason pedal sits about 1” to 1.5” lower:

 

 

 

 

 

The pedal is a huge improvement in driving position and clutch action with much less free play and clutch engagement NOW.

 

 

UCC Clutch Stop Installation:

 

UUC does not have the Z4 listed as one of the applications for its clutch stop for good reason- after removing the OE piece by unscrewing it and installing the UUC at its lowest setting (nut/washer removed and ½” cut off the bolt) the car will not start due to the clutch safety interlock switch. Because the stop made the Mason Clutch Pedal even better, and prevented the now lower pedal from going behind the floor mat to start the car, I decided to do some research. OE stop and UUC stop can be seen in above before/after pics as well.

 

 

 

 

I found two forum threads concerning the magnetic clutch safety switch:

 

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=976298 - iranmeba’s experience and recommendation (No pics)

 

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1007078 - BenPRunkle had some pics that helped me understand a bit better

 

 

[WARNING: The following has safety implications and is to be done at your own risk. Inability to start your car in an emergency situation is only one of the possible outcomes that you assume responsibility for.]

 

I decided to do some trial and error testing with mine to see if I could get it to work: main goals are to have car start and cruise control function with clutch stop installed. The magnet can be removed from the holder on the clutch pedal cylinder by cutting the felt tape that holds it in place and using a screwdriver to carefully pull out at the top- no retainers after tape is cut, it is press fit into holder.

 

 

 

 

The magnet can be positioned and zip tied in place- loosely at first to find a position where the car will start with the clutch stop and then tightened after driving to make sure that cruise control still functions. I moved the magnet three times and went on three drives before I found a position that allowed for both. Small movements are key- 2mm between adjustments made the difference for me. It is also a good idea once the magnet has been zip-tied securely to take another test drive and retest before reassembling everything. Be careful not to zip-tie the plug or wires: