I have an '02 with 11k Miles. I'll try and describe whats going on:

Imagine that there's 10inches of travel (As an example), and at the 10th inch, you at the floor, 0th inch, your all the way out on the clutch.

Well, my clutch FULLY engages at about 1", and fully dis-engages at the 2nd inch.

Thus, the engagement or disengagement is very short, making it tricky to drive (unless your used to it). The clutch doesn't appear to be slipping or anything, I can launch hard/smoke the tires, clutch isn't having a problem engaging or disengaging...

Is this normal? Is there a way to adjust it so the distance between engaged and not engaged is further apart? On steep hills, for example, this can be really tricky because there is little room for 'slippage'...

-- Aaron

 

This is very unusual. Has this been a gradual change? Have you flushed the clutch fluid ever? The clutch should be starting to engage as you lift off the floor when you get to about 3" from the floor, then be fully engaged about 1" - 1.5" from the top.
Check the clutch pedal rod adjustment and try to change it there. You loosen the lock nut and then turn the rod with your fingers. Give it a turn of two in one direction and see if this helps. If it's worse, then you've gone in the wrong direction. Dial back that turn or two and give it a turn or two in the opposite direction. Continue to do this and see if it does anything. If not, something else is going on and you'll need to look further.

 

Where is this rod you speak of? I have no clue..
I'm mechanically 'inclined' but need to know where to look.

and Yes, I had the clutch fluid replaced about 1.5 months ago.

-- Aaron

 

First, check your fluid level in the clutch master reservoir.

 

Just verified, clutch fluid levels are proper.

What next?

-- Aaron

 

Clutch travel rod is behind the clutch pedal.
You must make sure the clutch interlock switch is adjusted too. It will become obvious when you crawl on you back on the floorboard and look up to see it! A little plack switch that is just pressed down by the clutch pedal itself.
I recommend a flashlight and a 12mm and a 14 mm wrench.
You will be adjusting the engagement point of the clutch here, either upwards or downwards with the relationship to the clutch pedal stroke.

 

What about the fact that I get about 1" of not-engaged to fully engaged?? As an example I have about 4" on my other car between fully and non, where I can 'slip' the clutch in this range..
-- Aaron

 

My car is exactly the same way. Adjustment at the clutch has proved less than helpful, although it can make it somewhat better.

Master and slave cylinders are new, so I know my hydraulics are good. The wife's old 328is had the same issue, and I was never able to figure that out either. Then, as now, the clutch doesn't slip at all.

My suspicion is that the clutch is on the way out. However, given that you only have 12k on the car, that seems doubtful in your case.

 

That 1" business somehow does not surprise me all that much. I think that if most of us were to "experiment" with our "normal" clutches, as soon as we got to the engagement point, and didn't bring in beyond about 1", the car would probably "seem" like it is fully engaged. You might find that if you did a high load (WOT), medium/low rpm run, you'll see that it will show signs of slippage.
Do check the pedal plunger. It is remotely possible that the lock nut has vibrated loose and has allowed the plunger to rotate, making the pedal travel badly setup.
ps. This plunger changes the position of the master cylinder piston, NOT the pedal position itself. Adjusting this should not change the clutch pedal switches, thus not making it necessary to mess with those.