Ok, I have a problem on my FD, and I need to know what it might be. When I release the clutch on my FD when in neutral, I can hear a grinding sound, like a poorly greased or failing bearing. when i depress the clutch pedal it goes away. What bearing could be causing it? and is it actually a piece of the clutch? also, get a chattering sound from near the driver's side a-pilliar. I doubt that is related though.


I know it has to be some kind of bearing failure, but I just need to know what one would be affected by this when the car is not in gear. and I do hope it is prt of the clutch assembly. thanks!!!

 

i have the same problem and i think its the throw out bearing. good luck in fixing it, im still working on mines

 

throw out bearing...... I think that's what it's called. I know it's something bearing. Had the same thing on mine but after I got a new clutch installed it went away

 

A little clarification here...

Clutch at the top/released, you hear the noise, probably the pilot bearing located in the end of the crankshaft (aka e-shaft on rotaries).

Cluch pushed in/on the floor, throwout bearing.

Jeff

 

If i had a clutch replaced, these parts should have been to then right? on my receipt it shows:
clutch CVR
clutch DIS
clutch REL

it was like $500 for all the parts. so if it is part of the clutch it should have been replaced then, right? maybe my new pieces are just bad. in that case maybe warranty will cover.

 

It is your front main bearing in the transmission. With the clutch pedal released (clutch is engaged) it spins the front part of the input main shaft. The noise is from this bearing. When you push the clutch pedal in and disengage the clutch, the noise disappears.

If you press the clutch in and hear the noise, this would be the throwout bearing mounted on the clutch fork. It will make the same noise.

If you hear the noise with the clutch pedal depressed (disengaged clutch) with the car in gear, then it would possibly be the pilot bearing, but the noise might disappear when you put the tranny in neutral and still have the clutch in. If the sound changes drastically, it is the pilot bearing, if not, it is the throwout bearing.

From your description, your clutch pedal is released (which means the clutch itself is engaged) and the car in neutral (which means power transfer from engine is only to the front main shaft), you have bad bearings in the transmission. Remember, the pilot bearing is now spinning the same as the front main input shaft, so it will make no noise. This does require a transmission rebuild.

If the noise occurs only when the clutch pedal is pressed in (disengaging the clutch by pushing the throwout bearing against the pressure plate fingers releasing the clutch), then you need a new throw-out bearing. This requires removal of the transmission, but not rebuilding.

Tim

 

If you drain the oil and check for metal flaking, that will also be an indication of bad bearings. If the metal is brass colored and non-metallic, that is your synchro rings wear.

Tim

 

Where do I drain the Tranny fluid at? yeah, it happens when the clutch is engaged in nuetral. so I must have to rebuild then. when the clutch pedal is pressed, disengaged, the sound stops. so looks like I need a rebuild...dammit there goes my ECU money.... thanks guys. I live in MN, so I have no RX-7 specialty places. should I just take it to a transmission shop? thanks

 

There should be a plug on the side or bottom that you can drain it with. Mine is an A/T, so I don't know exactly. There are used trannys running around at a reasonable price. Keep looking for one that way. I have rebuilt a 1st generation tranny and it was not that hard if you are mechanically inclined. (same problem).

Tim