Just yanked my cdv out. Def a very noticeable change / improvement. It gives a tighter more precise feel and I noticed less peddle pressure presumable due to the less resistance in the line. I can notice a tighter engagement in all shifts but I notice that it goes into the gate from 2 into 3 more easily and, as said, most noticeable is 1 to 2. I thought it was the gearing or that I just wasnt used to the vehicle enough but getting a smooth shift from 1 to 2 was all but impossible with the cdv on now it is way way easier and makes 1st gear actually useable. As far as my little diy on this:

Tools - 7mm, 11mm, 13mm, and 14mm wrenches, vise grip, one man brake bleeder

-First I topped of the clutch / brake reservoir.
-Then I picnched the hose with the vise grip (It should go without saying not to apply to much force and damage the hose - less is more)
-Next I opened the bleeder using the 7mm wrench (at this point this is mostly just to ensure that it will open)
-Next up I unscrewd the brake line from the cdv using the 11mm wrench.
-Then I unscrewed the CDV from the slave cylinder using the 14mm wrench.
-Now I removed the lower 13mm nut that holds the slave cylinder on (this was to make it easier to align the brake lines threads into the slave.)
-The brake line is spooled up so it is very easy to bend some to make up the distance of the cdv. So after bending a little I then threaded and tightened it in place and then re-tightened the 13mm nut.
-next I hooked the 1 man bleeder up to the bleeder and pulled the vice grip off. The fluid flowed freely into the line and contained no bubbles so I just tightened the bleeder back up and reinstalled the rubber cap. Finally checked the reservoir again and that was it!

All in all in all it was about 20-30 min with maybe 10 min under the vehicle. I probably wouldn't have put this off so long if I didn't hate brake fluid and melting snow on cars so much but whatever. It was a good opportunity to get a look at what the SSK will take. That shift linkage is really nestled away up there!!

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2004 e53 m54 with 6spd manual