Car is 1997 with 190k. I was experiencing the classic chirping sound, so I lubed the clutch fork area with WD40 (grease didn't help) and the chirping went away.
However, now there is a sound when you let out the clutch that sounds like a creaky door opening in a horror movie. The sound persists at lower speeds and sounds like it's rotating and is correlated to vehicle speed. It's a very metallic noise, almost like there is something stuck in the brake dust shield, but it lessens the second you push the clutch pedal, although sometimes you can still hear it, just much less so. It shows up as I coast to a stop with the car still in gear, as though loading the front of the car increases whatever is rubbing.
The noise is never at idle, no matter if the car is in gear or not. It's never at higher speeds (engine or rpm), although sometimes it happens for a second between gears.
Is this the throwout bearing? Pilot bearing? Do I need to lube the clutch fork more? Something else all together?
I had the same kind of sound on my Mustang. It turned out to be the fork not clearing the throw out bearing completely and letting it turn enough to squeak. Changing everything didn't stop it. I fixed it by using a spring to pull the fork back. My clutch uses a cable so m y fix probably won't help you.
Leafy
HalfDork
4/7/16 9:52 p.m.
put a blob of grease on the tip of the slaves rod.
In reply to Leafy:
That's what I did, the chirping stopped, but the issues described above continue. Is it possible I didn't get enough grease on it? The slaves rod goes through the end of the fork right?
In reply to pjbgravely:
Hopefully that's not the issue here. Thanks!
Leafy
HalfDork
4/7/16 10:37 p.m.
CyberEric wrote:
In reply to Leafy:
That's what I did, the chirping stopped, but the issues described above continue. Is it possible I didn't get enough grease on it? The slaves rod goes through the end of the fork right?
Yes. Retract the slave rod and get a blob of grease on it. I like the green grease for boat trailer wheel bearings.
It was the pilot bearing in my old Miata. Same symptoms.
In reply to Leafy:
Maybe I'm not retracting the slave rod, I'm just having someone push the clutch. How do you retract it any other way? I'm wondering if I'm not getting the grease between the rod and the fork.
In reply to PMRacing:
That's what I can't help but wonder. The way the sound seems to circulate, it just doesn't seem like a slave rod touching the fork could make that kind of sound since nothing is rotating there, but stranger things have happened.
Leafy
HalfDork
4/8/16 6:02 p.m.
CyberEric wrote:
In reply to PMRacing:
That's what I can't help but wonder. The way the sound seems to circulate, it just doesn't seem like a slave rod touching the fork could make that kind of sound since nothing is rotating there, but stranger things have happened.
Didnt make sense to me either, it worked, I didnt question it further. To retract the rod you just grab it and push it back into the slave, it takes some force.
In reply to Leafy:
Thank you, I'll give it a try. Don't want to dig into the trans before I know I have to.
I got underneath and retracted the rod on the slave cylinder to put grease on the end of it.
Once I got it retracted, the rod was floppy and sagged down. For a second I thought it wasn't going to go back in the fork. It did, but is this normal for the rod to be so "floppy?" Makes me wonder if I need a new slave cylinder.
(The extra grease on the end of the rod didn't really do much to the sound... maybe slightly better)
Leafy
HalfDork
4/19/16 6:00 p.m.
Yeah its normal to have a floppy rod when its relaxed.
Since I was wrong, then your problem is in the bellhousing.
Good to know, thanks!
At this point I'm figuring it must be the clutch, pilot bearing, or throwout bearing. The car probably could use a new clutch anyway, the friction point is near the top of the pedal's travel, and I think it was last changed 80-100k miles ago. It works fine, but that noise is certainly annoying.
We set you up for that one!
Hehehehe
