I noticed that my car has got a whine coming from the trans ('86 GXL) that is only audible when the clutch is released. When the clutch is depressed, it does nothing.

Thowout bearing? If so, is there any adverse mechanical effect from this or is it just the noise (that I can live with)?

 

Mine started to whine like that on my S5 GXL. I thought, "Hell I can live with it". Then as time marched on, it got louder. One day it started to shake badly on me and the whole damn thing seized. Transmission was scrapped. So, i'd check out all your fluid levels and if possible, replace the bearing.

 

yeah mine has been doing the same thing and cant really figure out what it is.

 

its the throwout bearing..

it will need to be replaced, or live with the sound

 

According to 90Whitevert, trans could seize if not replaced.

Crap. I really didn't want to bother with pulling the trans. Thank goodness, I learned how to do it from my 1st Gen.

 

I noticed that noise back in 1998 and I still drive my old GXL with the same throwout bearing and no transmission failure. I just turn up the stereo

 

I have the same problem with the throwout bearing. How much work is it to take the tranny off, and get into the clutch? Then what do you have to do to remove and replace the throwout? And how much would one cost?

 

If it is only heard when the clutch is engagged ( Foot not on clutch pedal ) it is NOT your throw out/release bearing.
It's most lickly your input or pilot bearing...

If it was your release bearing it would only be heard anytime your foot was on clutch pedal...

 

yeah mine makes the whine noise when I let the clutch out, but when its pressed in its quit. How hard is it to replace the pilot or input bearing?

 

I'm just in the middle of doing that to mine..
Pilot bearing isn't that hard. As for the input bearing you have to rip apart the tranny..
I'm replacing all my bearings as well since it's apart.

So options are.. pull and rip apart transmission and replace the bearing.
Or buy a used transmission and throw that in there..

 

I hope its just my pilot bearing then bc I really dont feel like ripping apart the tranny. The guy I bought it from said the tranny was rebuilt and still might have warranty. Ill have to look into that. How hard is it though if I had to rip apart the tranny myself?

 

The pilot bearing is pressed into the rear of the eccentric shaft. For it to make noise, the input shaft must be held still. Put the transmission in gear, depress the clutch pedal, and start the engine. The input shaft will be held still while the eccentric shaft and pilot bearing rotate. (making the noise)

The throwout bearing,(release bearing) will move when the clutch is engaged, (pedal up). That is when you hear the release bearing, and I believe that is the problem that everyone here is talking about.

 

Actually, it's not hard at all. It just requires a little willingness to be adventuresome.

Jack up the car (as high as you can go) and support it with stands.

Support the engine with a 2x4 or similar board held across the engine bay and strap the lifting hole to it.

Take off the drive shaft by unscrewing the bolts at the diff.

Support the trans with a jack. Next, take off the starter from the bottom and take off the 5 or six bolts that mount the motor to the trans. Unscrew the transmission support.

Slide the trans backwards and away from the engine. This is definitely a two person part of the job.

Once it is off, look inside the bell housing and the throwout bearing can be pulled with your bare hand. Takes 2 seconds to replace. Put the new one in.

While you're at it, check the friction material on the clutch before you put everything back together. If you are going to do this part, be sure to have a clutch alignment tool handy.

As I recall, last one I bought was about $20 or $30, maybe less.

If you have someone helping you and the necessary sockets/tools, this shouldn't take more than about 3 hrs. And aside from the clutch alignment tool, you don't need anything fancy.

 

so this stopped the trans whine when you let the clutch out in neutral?

 

No it will not!! The release/throw out bearing is only moving when you have your foot on the clutch pedal past your free pedal length (~1").
Please stop posting mis-guiding information!

Thank-you!

You most lickly cause is worn input bearing..

When you depress the clutch your input shaft stops moving. Since your shaft isn't moving neither is your bearing so you have no noise.
Once you release the clutch pedal and it is engage yes even in neutral or any gear for that matter you will hear the whine/bearing noise.

 

What I had posted earlier was from my Automotive Service Book, that we have for class. I trust that book over what anyone says. But, in the rare case of this book being wrong, I can also check the Haynes, because it applies specifically to the RX-7's in question.

Now even the Haynes manual tells me that if you press the clutch pedal in and hear a noise, it's the release bearing. But after your last post, I had to question myself even further since you seem so sure that you are correct. So I looked and found another source.

Taken from http://www.drivetrain.com/clutcharticle.html

"If the problem is noise coming from the clutch system, a simple test can identify the source of the noise before you tear into the system. There are two potential bearing-noise makers in the clutch system-the release bearing and the pilot bearing. To determine which one, if either, is making the noise follow these steps:

Step 1 With the engine running and the transmission in neutral, if the noise occurs it is in the transmission, most likely the front bearing supporting the input shaft.

Step 2 If that is not the problem, place your foot on the clutch pedal and begin to depress the pedal. If you begin to hear the noise at this point, the problem is the clutch release bearing. If not, proceed to the next step.

Step 3 Push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. If you hear the noise at this point it is the pilot bearing or bushing. If you do not hear any noise during this test, the problem is not in the clutch system. Identifying these conditions early before removing and replacing the components goes a long way toward preventing a recurrence of the problem."


In this last quoted post of yours, when you say input or pilot bearing, when you say input, are you talking about "input or pilot" bearing, as the same thing? Or are you talking about the front bearing supporting the input shaft for the transmission.

In Step 3 of my last source quote, it specifically says that with the clutch pedal all the way to the floor, it is the pilot bearing or bushing. But you say that when your foot is not on the pedal it is most likely your input or pilot bearing.

If by input, you did indeed mean the front bearing supporting the input shaft. Then it appears that would be a correct diagnosis.

Your diagnosis stating the pilot bearing as the problem I have come to believe is wrong, because with clutch engaged (foot off of pedal), input shaft is spinning and engine is spinning, so you will not hear the pilot bearing moving.

My Conclusion

Since the sound that most of us are hearing is with clutch pedal up,(clutch engaged) engine running. It must be the front bearing supporting the input shaft of the transmission.

If the sound is just when your put pressure on the pedal, (on the way to disengaging the clutch) that would be the release/throwout bearing. Since that bearing will be spinning with pressure on it until the clutch disc comes to a halt (disengaged). Then the noise will end.

At this point, with the clutch fully disengaged (pedal all the way down), the engine running, and input shaft at a complete stop, the pilot bearing will be spinning. If you hear a noise at this point, it must be your pilot bearing.

SAiamNE- thank you for questioning my post.

Final Question
If your release/throwout bearing is indeed very bad, should you still hear it when your input shaft is spinning with no "pressure" on the bearing? By pressure I mean when you are trying to separate the clutch from the flywheel. Or will that release bearing be spinning with the input shaft/clutch? (i.e. you would not hear it)

 

cant a whining noise also come from the diff if its going out

 

Another way to test if it is your throwout bearing, would be to be cruising. And then hold the clutch pedal in, and leave it in gear. Since you have pressure on the release bearing, and are "using" the bearing, while the wheels are still turning the input shaft, turning the clutch, you should hear the release bearing if it is bad.

Does this sound like it would be true?

 

Unless you are pushing down your clutch pedal your release bearing will not be in use. It is just a sealed bearing that is rarly used. Constant use such as holding in clutch for extended periods of time & riding clutch cause it to overheat and fail. It has no oil to cool it or to wash away contaminants.

If your input shaft is spinning and your clutch pedal is released you will not be using it. Yes it will be spinning but it won't have any load on it (splines that connect to pressure plate to compress springs which backs off clutch from flywheel).

Does that make things more clear?

You don't need to be moving to test your release bearing. It will always have the same forces from your pressure plate acting against it no matter if your going 0 or 100km/h.

Just sit in your car with it idleing..
If you hear the noise when you press in your clutch pedal it's your release bearing.. Simply fix is to pull tranny slide off release bearing and replace/regrease with new one.

If your noise goes away with the clutch pedal depressed but comes back again as soon as you let it out in any gear it's most lickly your input bearing or pilot bearing.

Yes but different noise. Noise can also be heard comming from somewhere other than tranny.
Can also hear a whining noise if un-matched ring and pinon gears are put togeather and put into service.

 

It will not be your pilot bearing, as you would only hear a pilot bearing noise with clutch pedal down (clutch disengaged), and input shaft stationary. As per Step 3 from the site I quoted earlier, http://www.drivetrain.com/clutcharticle.html

"Step 3 Push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. If you hear the noise at this point it is the pilot bearing or bushing..."

 

Looks to me that it's the input shaft bearing. Those noise is only when the clutch is up (released). When I push the clutch pedal in, the noise goes away. How easy is it to replace the input shaft bearing?

 

yea mine used to make that noise when i first bought it and it ended up being my throwout bearing and my input shaft bearing were worn out so the input shaft moved all over the place. i ended up buying a 91 tranny for $150 and a stage 3 clutch kit and with the new throwout bearing and tranny the noise stopped im pretty sure its the throwout bearing making that noise in your car

 

so how hard is it to change the input shaft bearing? Because according to those 3 steps its my input bearing.

 

I was playin around with my clutch just a bit ago. I am almost 100% positive that my input shaft bearing is bad. But I was thinking. I had the pedal to the floor, no noise, and I would slowly let it out untill the clutch disc would barely touch the flywheel and I would start to hear the noise. At this point my clutch pedal is ~halfway down. And since the clutch is moving, and the input shaft is moving at this point, would there be 2 seperate, distinct noises if the release and input shaft bearings were bad? It sounds like the same noise as I let the clutch out more and more, but I don't hear a noise stop, (release bearing), but I hear the same noise when it's totally released. If they were both bad, would you hear them both making almost the same noise, until you let the pedal all the way out, then only hear the one noise? Like if 2 people were screaming the same note, then one stopped, you would be able to tell the difference right?

Does this make any sense?

I suppose if i had to get in and replace my input shaft bearing, I might as well put a release bearing in the clutch. Bad or Not.

 

jeez you guys...

if clutch pedal in -> clutch disk released -> noise = throwout bearing

not that it matters. when you do do a clutch job, both of these bearings need to be replaced.

as for the fix, there's no point in dropping the tranny just to replace one bearing. get a used rx-7 tranny and a full clutch kit. replace the tranny, resurface flywheel, install pressure plate, clutch, pilot and release bearings. do it all at once, and do it right; unless you enjoy wasting your time.

then you can tear down your old tranny and rebuild it, if you care to.