The clutch consists of a basket with a pressure plate and a driven plate, as well as a hydraulic drive with a master and slave cylinders.
Clutch components

The clutch basket is bolted to the flywheel, which is connected to the engine crankshaft. Between the pressure plate and the flywheel is a driven disk, which is pressed against the flywheel by the thrust bearing of the slave cylinder. The driven disk is connected to the primary shaft of the manual transmission via a splined connection.
When the clutch pedal is depressed, brake fluid from the common reservoir is transferred under pressure through the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder. The release bearing of the slave cylinder acts on the petals of the diaphragm spring. In this case, the pressure plate is moved away from the slave plate and the power connection between the engine and the manual transmission is interrupted. No adjustment of the clutch drive is required.
Each time the clutch is engaged and disengaged, the friction linings of the driven disk wear out as a result of the force applied. The driven disk is a wearing part, but its average service life is quite long and depends mainly on the engine load and driving style.
[The original version is on the portal «BMWMAN»]
