Transmission bearing woes: is my mechanic right?

[Yorb]

Here's the problem: strange, loud grinding noise when I depress the clutch. When I first got the car back after I blew up the clutch and had that replaced, it was doing this WHENEVER I put the clutch in. Now, after a week or two of driving, it only occasionally grinds, and generally not at all after the car has warmed up. I've just gotten into the habit of shifting to neutral at stops.

So, my mechanic is pretty much sure that it's a transmission bearing, and he estimated $600-700 to pull apart the transmission and start poking around. He said that if it was his car though, he would just drive it. Not quite the answer I wanted, but at least he wasn't trying to completely rape me.

So my questions are as follows:

1. Is it possible that this grinding noise is a transmission bearing?

2. Is it possible that it's anything ELSE?

3. Is the car going to blow up if I drive it like this for extended periods of time?

4. Has anyone in the NC area pulled a 240 transmission and replaced bearings before? (In case I decide to do it myself).

Thanks. =/

[Hijacker]

only when the clutch is depressed?

sounds like a throw out bearing to me.

[Yorb]

i dont know the first thing about transmission's, pardon my newbishness =) i heard discussion about this throwout bearing before too but like, what is it? is that a transmission bearing?

[smokin240]

Thats a good question, my car is doing the same thing just lately, my mechanic also said just let it do that until you really need to replace it. Im wondering when really need to replace it is :-/ btw i have a 93 240sx

[Yorb]

haha, well its good to have someone else in the same boat ;D i'm thinking when really need to replace it is when the car ceases to become a viable mode of transport.

[Def]

Most likely it's the throw out bearing. The TO bearing is what pushes the springs of the pressure plate when you press in the clutch pedal. By pressing on the springs, this releases the pressure on the clutch disk so there is a fair amount of force here.

I've heard that they usually make a whirring noise rather than a grinding one though.

[smokin240]

hehe thats true yorb, sad but true :-/ But anyway mine is more like a whirring noise, not grinding really. It only does it like once a week so thats why i never mentioned it before on the forums here.

[Yorb]

mine does it once or twice a day. come to thing of it, there is some whirring in it. it sounds like a winch being retracted with a heavy load on it (hence the grinding).

[smokin240]

yea minds kinda like to big sheets of metal being rubbed together real hard. and its only for like a split second it does it, and only when just when I shift and once it did it when i was at a stop light and when i went to shift it in first and gas it, it made that noise and i could feel the clutch slip or something.

[pr240sx]

Rule of thumb on transmission noises:Car stopped, engine running.If the noise is present when the pedal is depressed (pedal in) noise is outside of the transmission(TO bearing, pilot bushing)If the nosie is present with the clutch pedal up, (not depressed) the noise is INSIDE the transmission.(Low oil level, wrong viscosity, worn transmission bearings etc)

In your case, sounds like a worn TO bearing

[Yorb]

could this worn TO bearing be the cause of my more frequent stalls? like, stalls that are my fault, accelerating at traffic lights. i do it once every day or 2 now. like sometimes it takes a half second for the gear to engage after i give it gas.

[QUICKFLOW240]

It's your throw out bearing man mine does the same thing. One question though, if you don't put it in neutral when you get to a light will it do it when the clutch is pressed in? When I replaced my motor I got a new clutch and throw out bearing. The throw out bearing was the wrong one so I put the old one back in. Not a good idea. The part costs about $75+/-. It's just hard to find the time to pull the transmission which is not a very easy job cause the transmission tunnel is kinda tight. I've pulled my transmission before and it can be done in a day no problem. But I wouldn't advise it if you don't have any mechanical experiance.

[180crafter]

And do a clutch change at the same time just to make it worth your money..... Maybe even the rear main seal...... Never know.

[jmauld]

Here's the problem: strange, loud grinding noise when I depress the clutch. When I first got the car back after I blew up the clutch and had that replaced, it was doing this WHENEVER I put the clutch in. Now, after a week or two of driving, it only occasionally grinds, and generally not at all after the car has warmed up. I've just gotten into the habit of shifting to neutral at stops.

Sounds like a TO bearing, which should've been replaced when your mechanic replaced the clutch. That is generally covered in the cost of doing a clutch. If they didn't do it, then make them change it just because they should've done it the first time.

If they did change it and it's making that noise, then make them put a new one in, under warranty.

[Yorb]

man, everyone is saying TO bearing. i guess that means the mechanic is right, but it seems stupid for them to charge me another $600 or whatever to pull the transmission and do it again.

i paid around $500 for the clutch job... $300 labor, $180 or so clutch, and $20 shop parts. or something like that. i doubt that included any kind of bearings.

i feel really stupid going back to him now though and saying hey.... actually, even though you quoted me $600 and i said okay nevermind and left, how about you do it for free instead?

=/ i dunno. this sucks. i'm probably going to be taking a mechanics course in the spring, which would give me access to the garage at school... you think i should wait til then and do it myself (with a friend or whatever)?

[smokin240]

yeah i would, take it easy and dont stress yourself, like both of our mechanics said, its not much of a big deal. So if I were you, just take the course and maybe your and your friend with some supervision from your instructor, can fix it yourselves. Like quickflow240 said, its done in a day easy so should take you and your friend a few days. Just going to have to get rides from someone for the time being. just my opinion of course

[jmauld]

Normally, if the TO bearing is making a noise, I really wouldn't worry too much about it.

BUT, this noise started immediately after having his car worked on? That's a good sign that something probably wasn't installed correctly. Or wasn't replaced when it needed to be.

Just let the owner know that you're giving them a chance to correct their mistake, and are willing to pay for the parts, but not the labor.

[Yorb]

yeah maybe i'll try that. thanks guys =)