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Hey everyone. I'm in the middle of a manual swap on my '88 535is auto. The donor car was a 1985 635csi. That is relevant because I knew going into the project that the pedal box from the 635 would not bolt up to my 535is.

This didn't seem like a big deal....I took the brake and clutch pedals from the 635 and swapped them onto my auto pedal box using the longer bolt/sleeve from the manual donor. Added the clutch switch bracket, even added a pedal box reinforcement bracket purchased right here on the forum. All good, problem solved......I thought

I went to install the pedal box today and the spring behind the clutch pedal has nothing to rest on. On real oem you see a triangular metal tab as part of the pedal box that does not exist on my auto pedal box. Go figure. Was this tab only on manual pedal boxes?? Of all the things BMW chose to make a distinction on, this? My car has holes in the fire wall for manual parts but the damn pedal box is different?? I chose not to buy a manual pedal box because I was unaware of this....so now here I am.

My question is, can anyone tell me how this tab and the spring function together? Is it a very specific design or is this something I can fabricate? If specific then I'm going to need a manual pedal box pronto. Any help would be appreciated everyone! Thanks in advance.

The car will work fine without it. What it does is lessen the pressure needed to hold the clutch down. It actually increases the pressure required to push the pedal down, but it's less once it's down. It's nice, but not a biggie IMO. What is important in clutch pressure is that you don't use an old pressure plate, as they age the pressure required to disengage the clutch, or push down on the pedal increases. Old PP's can be very stiff.

Mike W. wrote: Mar 23, 2024 5:28 PM The car will work fine without it. What it does is lessen the pressure needed to hold the clutch down. It actually increases the pressure required to push the pedal down, but it's less once it's down. It's nice, but not a biggie IMO. What is important in clutch pressure is that you don't use an old pressure plate, as they age the pressure required to disengage the clutch, or push down on the pedal increases. Old PP's can be very stiff.

Always my savior, Mike! Thanks for the help. I'm fabricating something right now just so that the system works as intended, but it's nice to know that the drivability and success of the entire swap doesn't rest in that single tab.