I am not new to the forum, just had to re-register with new email. Could not remember old email & login info so I am starting all over again. My question is... I have an 85 SE. The tranny has been rebuilt. It is making noise when in neutral, clutch pedal not depressed. The clutch assembly is brand new and flywheel has been ground. you can always hear the transmission whining when in neutral, unless you push in the clutch pedal. After she warms up, you can smell the clutch material burning. I finally got around to dropping the tranny and the clutch has been really eaten. Still has plenty of meat, but you can totally see it has obviously been wearing it down. I am assuming that even when in neutral, this clutch is spinning on the flwheel. It shifts smooth through all gears. Nice and tight. But between the trans noise in neutral and the clutch assembly burning, I am not quite sure what is happening. Slave is also new. Master seem to be just fine. Any thoughts? I am replacing the pilot bearing, as it was not done when the trans was reinstalled. Seemed fine, but its worth a try. I am also going to replace that fron bearing in the transmissions...again, to see if that will correct the transmission whine. any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
BoldGold

 

A whine with the clutch pedal out is generally going to be the main bearing in the transmission. That wouldn't cause the clutch to ride though, so there's something else going on as well. Try adjusting the clutch pedal travel.

 

I already tried adjusting the pedal. I have tried just about everything I could think of. It has a new stage 2 clutch disc & pressure plate, Flywheel is freshly ground, new slave, tranny just rebuilt, hydraulic pressure has been checked and is fine & new release bearing as well as a new hydraulic clutch line. The pilot bearing was not replaced as it seemed fine at the time. I have pulled the tranny and am going to replace both the main tranny & flywheel pilot bearing to see if that helps. I can tell you, with the slave removed, if you push the pushrod completely into the slave, it will push back out on its own. Seems like there is pressure in the lines causing this to happen. If installed, would that be enough to put significant pressure on the forks, in turn putting pressure on the clutch itself causing the burning problem? If so, what could be causing that? Master Cylinder or air leak somewhere??? Is it normal for the pushrod to come back out by itself? I agree with you on the main bearing, but that still leaves me with this current clutch issue. Anyone else have any thoughts? Thanks so much for your help. Wish more people would jump in!

 

I would guess that the noise is being produced by the pilot bearing, and the wear is being caused by bad pedal adjustment now allowing full release of the clutch. Is the point of disengagement near the top of the pedal stroke?





.

 

the noise is caused by a faulty throwout bearing. i've had new t/o bearings whine on aftermarket clutch kits. only use a mazda t/o bearing. the pilot bearing will usually make no noise when its failed. it will either lose all of the bearings and you will not notice a difference or it will lock around the e-shaft and when the engine is running you will not be able to put it into gear.

 

I think my 1991 convertible might have a similar thing happening but I'm not sure if it's the same noise. I bought the car a month ago and had the tranny professionally rebuilt but it's still making these noises: When I first start the car I hear the transmission whirring away rather than making a whine, and when I start to drive it makes all kinds of weird whirring or soft grinding kind of noises. Things quiet down a bit after 15 minutes of driving or so but I'm thinking "this can't be normal for a transmission to do!"

I'm thinking it sounds like a bearing after reading here but I don't know why my transmission guy didn't catch it. I'll talk with him later about it unless someone tells me that this noise is normal. Did the cars come from the factory like this or is my rebuilt transmission need something more done to it?

 

sounds like when the f/w was resurfaced, they didn't bother to take the same amount off the pressure plate mounting surface too. the distance between the two surfaces needs to be kept the same as it was before the resurface was done. this may also be causing the noise. otherwise i'd say there's a bearing in the tranny making the noise. a bad release bearing makes noise if u just rest ur foot on the pedal. pilot bearing makes a noise with the clutch depressed.

 

"sounds like when the f/w was resurfaced, they didn't bother to take the same amount off the pressure plate mounting surface too. the distance between the two surfaces needs to be kept the same as it was before the resurface was done. this may also be causing the noise. otherwise i'd say there's a bearing in the tranny making the noise. a bad release bearing makes noise if u just rest ur foot on the pedal. pilot bearing makes a noise with the clutch depressed."

Wow! Now that makes perfect sense! I am pretty sure they did not grind the mounting points down... as a matter of fact, I know they didn't. Thank you so much for this answer! I can't believe I didn't think of that! Now... The question at this point is... What is that distance supposed to be? Anyone know the answer or have an easy solution?
Thanks Again,
Michael G