pipeliner

My buddies car has a slight problem. When the clutch pedal is engaged it makes a clunking noise. This is a constant noise intill you push the clutch pedal back in. At that time it slowly goes away till no noise is heard. Release clutch pedal the sceniero starts over again. The clutch is not slipping not chattering.

I removed the trans today. The throw out bearing has very little play in it. I am having him remove it so we can check for flat bearings. The fly wheel and preesure plate have a slight blue discoloring in spots. WHich is normal. The clutch also has material left on it. How much material is a clutch good for?

If anyone has any thoughts on figuring this problem out let me know.

sc94gt

I just took my clutch out today to replace it.
It has 86,000 miles and it still looks good and it's stock. Same with the flywheel.
This is my third throwout bearing, however. Seem to last about 35k-40k miles before squealing like a little mouse.
I am installing a Spec Stage II because I heard good reviews on it... with a better T/O bearing.

Anyways, what about the cable? Could that be sticking causing your friend's assembly making the clunking sound? What about the springs on the clutch? Maybe they are shot.
Since you have it all apart I'd put in a better, new one anyways. That's some hours of work to get to it.

vfast

I bet you haven't ever replaced the pilot bearing huh?

Trannyman

I think I'm a little confused here. Please clarify. Does it make noise when the pedal is depressed or released. If it makes noise released it's the trans. If it makes noise depressed it's the throw out bearing or pilot. See with the pedal depressed the input shaft is not turning, nor is the clutch. All the load is on the throw out bearing and the pilot bearing is spinning with the flywheel. With the pedal released everything inside the trans is turning (in neutral) except the output shaft. The throw out bearing is not under any load at this time (T-5's don't have a constant run throw out bearing like Explorers or Rangers), nor is the pilot bearing.

pipeliner

Cable is good this is a king cobra clutch. The cable assembly works fine pulling the cluch to disengage it and release it fine. Im gonna tell him to change it regardless. I always do.


It has been changed


Wow that confused the hell out of me. I had to reread it a couple times. Must be late. It makes a noise only when the pedal is released. The trans is newer. It does not have many miles on it. What inside the trans could be making such a noise? Syncros? Input shaft? I pulled his throw out bearing and put my fingers on the inside race. It is very hard to spin. If im correct a throwout bearing should spin 360 degrees with out a problem. But that dosnt explain why it does not make a noise when pedal is depressed and pressusre is put on the bearing. I thought the throw out always spun on a t5 just with less pressure on it when pedal is released. Im hoping its only that throw out bearing but input is appreciated.

Trannyman

Well, another option is that the pressure plate hasn't been tightened down evenly. I just ran into this problem the other day on an 88GT. There was a noise (like a chirp) with the pedal released, but if you put just a little bit of pressure on the pedal, the noise went away. It turns out that there were two problems. First the pressure plate hadn't been evenly tightened and second, the throw out bearing hadn't been installed correctly. The throw out bearing wasn't correctly positioned with the springs on the back of the release fork holding the inside of the bearing. As a result the bearing was actually rocking and rubbing on the side of the spring on the release fork. (Hope that didn't cause further confusion.)

On another note, with the newer trans, if you are missing any engine to bellhousing dowel pins this can cause premature wear to the input bearing due to misalignment between the engine and trans. Are your grounds good? If you have bad grounds this can also eat up bearings in the trans.

pipeliner

I wasnt confused in that sense it was just late and the Bls were hitting me hard You didnt answer my question about the throwout bearing. Is it suppose to be able to spin 360 degrees freely? I believe it is. Is the pressure plate suppose to have a specific amount of pressure all around. I.E 80 pounds? I am leaning more towards the TO bearing as my point of attack at this time due to it not spinning correctly or the fork actually bouncing. I knw its hard to tell a problem when your not there ant the help is appreciated

vfast

also use a new steal retainer