EXTREMELY wierd clutch problem: HELP!!!

[gordonliu]

The car is an s13 with an sr20det blacktop (manual) with a fidanza flywheel and an exedy stage 3 clutch with TO bearing

no other transmission/clutch parts have been changed or upgraded

this problem happened out of nowhere.

everything has been running for a while (several months). I parked the car to answer a call on my phone, then started the car (depressed the clutch all the way), then released it into neutral, then depressed the clutch again to switch into first gear.

as soon as I had depressed the clutch all the way I heard a nasty sccraping sound which stopped as soon as I let go of the clutch (which I did immediately)

it sounds SIMILAR to turning the ignition while the car is already running but definitely a bit different.

it ONLY happens when I depress the clutch ALL THE WAY. I can actually change gears if I press the clutch as little as possible.

but as soon as I push it in all the way, I get the gnarly scraping noise.

I also note that the car seems to try to stall when this happens (although I have not held the clutch down long enough to test it).

basically, when it happens, the lights dim a bit...

I have absolutely no idea what this could be. there really isnt much going on that is possible.

the flywheel

the clutch

throw out bearing

pivot, clips, master cylinder, starter.

NOTE THAT IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE CLUTCH IS FULLY DEPRESSED.

It sucks because I can easily INSTALL parts, but I cannot diagnose problems (i am not a mechanic).

I hate to have to pay someone several hundred dollars just to tell me that the bolts on my starter motor are loose, or that the pivot is loose or something

then again, I dont want to have to risk damaging my engine if the problem is more severe or complicated

this is seriously the wierdest behavior I have experienced with a manual car.

[SlidinSideWayzSR]

sounds like a throw out bearing or imput shaft could be bent is ur clutch slippin at all if not its most likley ur throw out bearing but dont take my word on it im not a mechanic but if i was u while the transmission is out replace it all clutch resurf. fly wheel new throw out bearing and all that and if it still does it then its somethin else

[s14driver2.4]

well im a mechanic and it sounds to me like your clutch slave cylinder is pushing the clutch too far and the fork or throwout bearing is hitting the clutch disc or just pushing it too far in general,and thats not to say that it is the slave cyl but it sounds like something is rubbing the clutch case. i had a camaro ss that (granite this is a clutch that had the throwout bearing built into the pressure plate) but what happened is after the slave cyl bled itself completely( took a week) it started pushing the fork so far that it hit the side of the clutch case and it sounded just like that.i would swap for a more stock clutch and flywheel cause the flywheel could also be too thick and holding the clutch too close to the transmission.

im not saying im right i just thought i would try to help give you some thoughts of what it could be,hope i could help bud, good luck

[gordonliu]

digging my own thread up, mostly for the sake of future searchers.

update:

the behavior I mentioned continued in the same manner for about 1 week.

driving the car presented no problems whatsoever, I just had to avoid fully depressing the clutch pedal.

eventually however, the problem completely disappeared, no odd sounds, no problems switching gears, no changes in pedal feel.

I was probably stupid to ignore the problem after it disappeared, considering the nature/sound that was created.....

but I did.

everything is fine now!