1985 745t m46

Lately I've been experiencing some wierd problems with the clutch in my brick and was hoping someone could provide some insight.

I rarely play the clutch (to avoid wearing it out), but do so when I need to build up some power in a particular gear for a very quick but controlled acceleration (changing lanes from a stopped lane to one moving at a rapid clip on the highway comes to mind). Anyway, when I have done this recently I have noticed that after I fully disengage the clutch the car still seems to be slightly out of gear. The clutch releases very slowly, and it sometimes will only fully release if I re-engage and disengage the clutch pedal.

I've encountered a number of clutch issues over the years, from a clutch that won't take the car out of gear to one that won't move an inch. However, I've never had a clutch that only releases very slowly, and am wondering if this is an early sign of clutch death spiral. What might cause the clutch to stick or release like this?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.

-rt

Could the throwout bearing be sticking on the transmission shaft it rides on? Could you have a bad hose that only lets fluid one way easily? That does happen with brake hoses.

To be honest I don't really know what the throwout bearing is... the inner workings and relationships of the clutch/transmission is slighlty beyond my current level of knowledge. Subsequently I don't really know if that could be the source of the trouble... what role does the bearing play? Is it the component that actually disengages the transmission and is controlled by the clutch? Any particular reason it would stick?

And you mention brake hoses... is that just because a "brake hose" would have been used to lead to the tranny? Sounds stupid, I know, but I'm assuming the brakes themselves aren't involved? ;)

Thanks a bunch, I appreciate the help. I had the m46 (used in very good condition) put in a little under a year ago (bout 10 months) to replace a dead one (1, 2, 3 frozen). The guy who put it in is solid and I bought the m46 from him (it was left over from a conversion for someone else), so if there's a problem he should be willing to address it (though I'm sure there'll be some grunts and sighs going in).

-rt