Accursed throwout bearing.. possibly?
 

Hey guys 1993 rx7 touring edition, i think my throw out bearing in starting to go, whines when car gets closer to operating temp, have a twin plate clutch in the car that still grabs wonderfully, wondering if there is anything i can do to make sure the bearing is actually going out or ways i can kinda fix it, i dont have the money nor time to get the tranny pulled right now and can someone show me with pictures where the slave cylinder is?
thanks,
dan:nod:

welcome to the board. :)

when you press the clutch does the whining go away?

i can't think of any way to fix a throw-out bearing other than replacement, but i also do NOT own an FD and the wondrous things that come along with one. so maybe someone else might have different information.

i do not have a photo to post, but the FSM might have one. you can download a copy for free from Foxed.ca. however, if Mazda carried on the tradition of the trannies past, you'll be looking for it on the driver's side of the transmission, just where it meets the engine. however, i do know it's a pull-type clutch, so i'm not sure how that changes the hydraulics. you can always follow/trace the line coming off the master.

FD slave cyl on left side of trans above starter, see pic.

If your TO bearing is bad it should make noise when the clutch pedal is pressed but would not likely make noise with the clutch pedal out since there is no real load on the TO then.

^Agree. The TO bearing is sealed and isn't serviced. It's replaced. IIRC the last one I bought 6 or 8 years ago was ~ $65. Guessing ~ $85 or so now. I know you said funds are tight, but a new clutch fork is prudent while you're in there if you don't know when or if it's ever been changed. They've been known to fatigue and break with high miles, especially with a stiffer pressure plate. And pulling the transmission a second time would mean still more labor charge.
The TO bearing makes noise with the clutch depressed. If it makes noise while clutch pedal is NOT depressed in neutral, changes with engine speed and gets louder in first gear and progressively subsides in the higher gears, it's an input shaft bearing. Go ahead, ask me how I know. :)

Downloadable Factory Service Manual is available from the 3rd Gen. FAQ stickys. Clutch is section 'H'. They call the throw-out bearing a "clutch release collar"...page H23, and the slave is the "Clutch Release Cylinder"....page H14.

Yeah, somebody here has spent some time diagnosing some trans issues. Good info.

Dan, if you're new to this Mazdatrix has a brief tutorial on their site describing what different trans noises mean with clutch in, out, etc.

Trans / Diff Troubleshooting

Mine just! just started whining and yes when i leave the clutch alone it whines, as soon as i press it in the noise goes away, i heard that if you slightly tighten the slave cylinder to let more fluid in the noise might go away?
it just pisses me off because the labor to drop the tranny is so expensive and im already trying to finish up this car and sell it, sadly..:icon_tdow

Does sound more like an input shaft bearing. If it is would take complete transmission disassembly to replace it because the main shaft has to come out of the case to get the input shaft out. Regardless, I don't see how the slave cylinder thing would help.

Have an idea of how long this whole process would take?
i have a group of friends who do some hard core drifting that might be able to help me out with it and where would i find these parts?
in your opinion what should i all buy parts wise?

Does to me too. But I'm not sure it requires full disassembly. Here's a link that might help the OP get an idea: David Geesaman's Web Site Home I would also recommend the OP go to the FAQ sticky in the 3rd Gen section and view the video linked there on how to disengage the pull-clutch. It's really pretty easy but always throws the first-timer.

For mine, a local shop quoted about $200 plus the cost of the input shaft bearing to replace. That was with me removing and replacing the transmission myself, which isn't a big deal.
FWIW I almost waited too long. Mine had started to gall the shaft. Fortunately they were able to clean it up satisfactorily. Because a new replacement main shaft would have been almost $600.

Attachment 636081

Also FWIW and posterity for future readers, here's a picture I ran across of that "clutch release fork" and "release collar" mentioned earlier:

Attachment 636082

"Full disassembly" wasn't a good description on my part.

But IIRC, you can't pull the input shaft out the front of the case just by removing the bellhousing, so the tail section would have to come off and the main shaft would have to be freed to be pulled backwards to put that bearing into the recess in the input shaft. Some disassembly and bearing pulling are required but the main shaft should not have to be disassembled.

But your quote of $200 makes me question what I am thinking. That would have been a good price to do all that work even with removing the unit yourself.