The BMW manual makes no mention of replacing that or the six clutch bolts.
The notion that you need to replace any clutch hardware is wives tale nonsense.
The only hardware I look at as one time use in the clutch area(outside of the main shaft lock nut) would be the star washers. I've reused the bolts with no issues.
+1 I think I replaced the clutch nut once.
Duly noted.
frankenduck's observation about what's not in most manuals he's scanned is accurate; however, BMW's, Clymer's, and Haynes don't caution against reusing head bolts, rod bolts or crank bolts during repair either yet it is often considered best practice during repair on used equipment with unknown histories. I understand why BMW's abridged manual online might leave
that out because the original manual was used by techs in training with supplemental instruction, and by professional mechanics. I'm okay with wrenchers reusing those items because it adds excitement to hum-drum modern life. It's the same reason I travel with only a tire patching kit, an air pump, and the stock tool kit.
As far as
duck's reference to
wives tales and clutch bolts goes, wives really didn't seem to start participating in automotive mechanics to a large extent until the 1990s, but if the US Census has compiled figures declaring how many wives are actually in the trade, I haven't run across them yet. It's fair to say that they aren't
old wives, the marital category commonly considered the
greatest source of questionable information. At least
I wouldn't call them
old to their faces. The accuracy of considering wives tales—from old or young wives—as being inaccurate is also questionable. There just isn't enough quantifiable data being compiled on
that subject because grant money for research these days is being redirected to AI, the ultimate outcome of which is likely to be
bot tales or
old bot tales.
I'm in the enviable position of only having one Brick to ride and maintain so a $13 expenditure once every ±80,000 miles on clutch bolts is small potatoes. The only written source I have that recommends replacing clutch bolts
or the clutch nut is Max BMW, the source of most of my replacement parts and the only source of free M&Ms I know of outside of Halloween, so I'm all in. Happily, I'm not plague by rumination that villainous plots are afoot in business and everywhere else to control me, dominate my health, and my hold my spending hostage because I accepted
those notions long ago and work around them. After all, many of us are engaged in the desire to influence others for advantage, profit, esteem, or just plain fun—every now and then. It just makes sense to me to replace parts that lead a hard life when the occasion seems appropriate and affordable: however in my case, peace of mind doesn't come from replacing parts; it comes from learning to be peaceful.
A used Brick isn't a used Toyota Corolla. It's likely to have lived a life of neglect in maintenance and purpose while its guts have been exposed to ravages from weather and humidity, at least that's how it seems to me and from what I've gathered here and elsewhere online. The Brick was built within a culture where precision is revered but some of us seem to believe it can be maintained like a bicycle with whatever tool is laying around. Free will allows that strategy. Free will is a gift but delusion and ignorance often extract large fees. If you invested in Bitcoin early, you'll probably be okay regardless.
