Clutch/tranny noise???

[FrOsTyShO]

I seem to have a vibrating/metal scraping sound from the front of the car. I have checked the brakes, halfshafts exhaust and front suspension and cannot find anything wrong. It doesn't make a difference if im turning or not. The noise only starts after driving for some time. It starts right after i hit the contact point on the clutch and then it stops right after i accelerate. Could there be something wrong with my throwout bearing? Or my clutch? The the pedal feels normal and the trans shifts great. The car has 80000 miles and i think its the original clutch. I did a full 60k myself, do you think i could do the clutch myself because i called a shop and the quoted me $700 without parts. Thanks in advance.

 

[revhardSHO]

most likley just a noisy TOB

 

[sdpatt]

There should be constant contact between the throwout bearing and the pressure plate fingers. Try adjusting the tension in your clutch cable by pulling upward on the clutch pedal with about 10 pounds of force. Hear any clicks from under the dash? Did the noise change?

 

[Blue-By-U]

Does this clicking/grinding noise disappear when you disengage the clutch? Try sitting in neutral with your door open and the car in gear. If the noise is gone when you take disengage the clutch then it's most likely a noisy TOB.

If the noise doesn't go away there's another test you can perform to make sure it's not the input shaft bearing of the tranny. With your car on, roll down the street at about 10 mph. Turn your car off and put it in neutral. If you still hear the noise...it's not a good thing. Good luck!

 

[sdpatt]

Blue-By-U:
If the noise doesn't go away there's another test you can perform to make sure it's not the input shaft bearing of the tranny. With your car on, roll down the street at about 10 mph. Turn your car off and put it in neutral. If you still hear the noise...it's not a good thing. Good luck!

That would be a test for the main shaft bearings. To spin the input shaft bearings, you would roll with the engine off (to hear better), the gear shifter in a forward gear and the clutch pedal depressed to uncouple the engine from the transaxle. If you selected a different gear while doing this and the noise changed, that would point to something in the transaxle or the throwout bearing/pressure plate interface. The problem is that the throwout bearing is still spinning so you couldn't isolate it from the input shaft bearings as a source.

To spin the input shaft, just let the car idle and put the gear selector in neutral with the clutch pedal out. Too much noise to really get specific on the sources of the sounds though.

 

[FrOsTyShO]

I just tried lifting the clutch pedal and there was no clicking sounds as if it adjusted itself. I don't really understand how i could do the rolling test and then turn the car off because the noise is only there for about 10 sec at the longest and then its gone, plus it only does it after i start to accelerate after stopping and the clutch is just about out and when it is out. but under a constant speed the noise is not there. I also checked the wheels for play to check the wheel bearings and there is no play at all.

 

[FrOsTyShO]

I also noticed now a knocking sound from the front right when i go over bumps and the noise seems to radiate from the same side. Could these be related?

 

[shobikes]

My '89 makes a different noise than the one you described, but under the same conditions...my noise sounds like an old roller skate or skateboard wheel spinning down to a stop.

I can only hear it in first or second (wind noise going faster), and it's only under partial clutch engagement, not when disengaged or for very long after full engagement. Wierd, but has been doing this with no ill effects since I got the car, so I accept it as an idiosyncrasy of my SHO. I guess it would be unloaded TOB bearing noise.

 

[FrOsTyShO]

Also now when i drive my car there is a thumping or a shaking sound from the front right as if something is loose. Also it feels like the wheel is not running smooth, or it feels like i am always hitting a bump in the road but there aren't any there.

 

[FrOsTyShO]

Anybody???

 

[Adi Agaj]

hi man,

you know the same problem as you i excperinced on my 1992 5 speed MTX SHO. but something else was weird though because when i also went to start the car always and press on the clutch pedal all the way, after the car starts without realising the clutch pedal i always heard like a grinding noise on my drivers side of the engine where the tranny is located.
after then i took the car to tony tresca a special technicina about SHO's and he told me that the throuout bearing was going pretty fast so after then i ended up doing a new clutch job which cost me around $ 520 everything but all those noise and grinding and vibrating stuff was gone .. well i might not tell you that might be your clutch but i am giving you an info because before i excperienced the same problem as you having now .

i hope this would help ..

thanks

adi

<small>[ September 16, 2003, 01:49 AM: Message edited by: Adi Agaj ]</small>