stdyhand

I've recently began hearing a chirping noise that sounds really fast. At first I thought it was a pulley but when I got to listening closer it doesn't sound like it's coming from the front of the engine. It sounds like it's coming from the rear, maybe around the transmission area. The noise stops when I push in on the clutch.

Question is, could this be something to do with the clutch or what else might it be? Like I said the noise is really fast like listening to a cricket out in the forest at night.

If I set and idle with the car in neutral you can hear the noise but as soon as I press in the clutch even a little the noise stops.

When moving on the highway it's a little different. When moving with the car in gear the noise is slower but louder and when I press in the clutch the noise actually speeds up but doesn't seem as loud.

I've also noticed the tranny is starting to grind a little when shifting into reverse. It doesn't do it all the time. This may or may not even be related. I figured this could be a synchro going bad but did not know if it would cause a noise or even stop just because the clutch was pressed in.

I know this description may be a bit vague but if you have any ideas please share them.

mjr46

replace the throw out bearing for the clutch = bad

stdyhand

I know how to drop the transmission, but how difficult is it to replace this bearing? Is the throw out bearing the same thing as the "clutch release bearing"? If so then the part is fairly cheap, fortunately.

Oh and do I pull just the tranny or the bell housing as well? Can it be done by leaving the bell housing on?

mjr46

yes....and you need to pull the tranny, the release bearing slides on the input retainer and is attached to the clutch fork, to replace it after tranny is out you can just reach in through the hole and slide a new one on the clutch fork......hopefully your clutch is fairly new or i'd replace that too as your half way to it

sn95_331_GT_ yellow

if you know what youre doing, about an hour give or take

jwells5.0

Its kinda a pain..i have that in my 95 and it really only gets worse..if ur gunna change it i recommend doing the clutch as well if u need it, since ur already in there and same goes for if u take it to a shop..its the same amount of labor as a clutch job.

tohoopty

just changed one in my car yesterday.took about 45 mins to get the tranny out.

stdyhand

Well I went out to drop the transmission this morning and when I got to looking into the bell housing I saw the clutch looks quite rusty and old from the outside. It has what looks like a stock stamping on it that looks to read as HE7080E17FA. This doesn't mean anything, but the idea of doing all the work of dropping the transmission and replacing the throwout bearing just to have the clutch fail later bothers me. So I think I'll just replace the clutch as well.

My question is, how long does a clutch typically last in a daily driver? I live in a small town with a lot of hills and although I don't really drive it every day I do drive it more than on weekends.

I was looking at the RAM HDX clutch set which is rated up to 450hp, but it could be a year down the road before I'll be making even 350+ so I don't want to wear out a good clutch in the meantime.

If they last several years though I'll likely go with the better clutch. Autozone has a cheap $90 set with a lifetime warranty but I know it wont hold up, especially once I start throwing some HP at it.

Any thoughts?

strattonc

The clutch wear depends on your driving, my dad has one in his truck that he replaced at 60,000 and has not been replaced yet and the truck has 250,000 on it now..... but I've also heard of clutches not lasting 20,000 just depends on how you drive.

You can put a cheap one in there but if you dont like replacing parts, especially if you plan on doing power adders, do it right the first time and dont look back.

stdyhand

Well I got the throw out bearing replaced but it is still making this chirping noise.

It is better than it was. It doesn't chirp when sitting still at an idle with the clutch out anymore. It used to do it all the time like a fast cricket noise, but not now. Instead it is only chirping when I accellerate/decelerate with no noise at an idle.

I can't help but wonder if there was two different things causing a chirping noise at the same time so tomorrow I am going to recheck all the pullies again. Now the noise changes with the speed of the engine. I swear it sounds like a belt or pulley but I checked it before and didn't see anything wrong. I'll check it again as it wouldn't be the first time I overlooked something.

Right now it's 96 degrees outside with high humidity and I'm feeling like a wimp today so its going to wait a little longer