Noise from bellhousing when clutch engaged.

[slipnfall]

Hi Folks, Quick post here; I removed my clutch damper from my '92 240sx and am getting an odd sound when the clutch is engaged. FYI I never drove the car before removing it, so I don't really have a point of reference. When I depress the clutch, the noise goes away. It's hard to hear when driving, since I'm in dire need of a valve adjustment(it's noisy). If I'm sitting in Neutral, warming up, I hear this 'kkhssshhkk', it's definately a rotational noise, and coming from my transmission/bellhousing.

Resurfaced flywheel, ClutchMaster clutch/pp, throwout bearing, transmission refilled w/Redline. I didn't replace the pilot bearing. Any ideas? I though it was the pilot bear, but it goes away when I press the clutch in!

Any ideas?Thanks!-Jamie

[smokin240]

Did you grease your throw-out bearing before installing it? It should already be greased but its always a good idea to grease it more. It's not too uncommon to hear the squeel noise just after installing a new clutch. It should go away after the first couple weeks. If not, then you've got problems, but the throw bearing is probably whats making the noise. Did you check the pilot bushing to make sure its ok? Those things will be pretty warped by the time you have to replace your clutch, its just one less thing you have to worry about going out in the near future. Good luck!

[slipnfall]

Well, I semi-packed the throwout 'retainer', greased the fork contact points, and the spline, but I don't think I greased the outside of the throwout. Argghh... If this is the case, will it cause any premature wear? It won't warp/sieze on me or anything like that will it?

It just seems like a tone of hassle to pull back the transmission just to lube it up. I hate to admit, but my brother was kinda in a hurry to go(my helping hands), so we didn't pay much attention to the pilot bearing, just left it in. I do hear a squeel sometimes at cold takeoff, so I think that's my problem there.

My shifter shakes pretty badly from side-to-side in 1st, so I think I might need some transmission/motor mounts also.

I can tell this transmission is really worn: it won't go into reverse on the first shot(cold takoff), I have to engage the clutch slightly, then it will pop down. That and when downshifting it'll sometimes grind untill I slow way down(ie I'll be in 4th, slowing to 35mph, and it won't let me put it into 3rd untill I'm at like 27mph).

Sheesh, the list goes on...Thanks for the response!-Jamie

[slipnfall]

Well I called around to get some quotes today, just to humor myself. The guy I talked to at AAMCO told me that in all the time he's worked on transmissions, a whirring in neutral with the clutch out has never been a pilot bearing. He said it sounded like the input shaft bearing. I had read some posts about this, and I mistakingly thought that the input shaft bearing and the pilot bearing were the same thing. Doh.

Bummer for me. I have a spare M/T, maybe a rebuild is in order.

Thanks for the help.-Jamie

[SMoKeM240]

i had the same noise and when i decelerated, id get this loud grinding noise... i was told it was my inputshaft bearing too, but when i took my transmission off to replace the transmission, i noticed the pivit ball for the fork was busted off and it would make the throw-out go tweaked out, so i didn't know if it was that or the transmission... just an idea

[slipnfall]

Naa, I don't think it's my fork; I just installed the transmission a week and a half ago. I brought it to a local transmission shop and had them test drive it. They said that it was fine, that the noise was nothing to be concerned about. Also my center console was out, so he said I'm hearing more than I normally would be.

Sorry for the post clutter, I over-react sometimes.

-Jamie

[Meantime]

I have the same noise from my transmission and I took the clutch damper out also. It hasn't affected anything so far. Did kind of freak me out first time I heard it...

[s13EastTN]

I have heard that is the pilot bearing. Mine does that as well, kinda sounds like really bad brakes almost, just not as loud? Does it go away after a short amount of driving? If so then my bet is toward pilot bearing.

[Meantime]

Yeah, it does mostly go away after the car warms up. So probably pilot bearing.

I had a bad one on my '85 Brat that would squeal like crazy when it was cold. Press the clutch pedal to shift = *dying cat sound*