I'm having a wierd rattling sound from the clutch area that goes away slowly when I push the clutch in-In gear. it totally goes away until I put it back in Neutral. I replaced the clutch in August 2K1 b/c of this problem, and the noise didn't go away. Now when I took it in to have the rear brakes looked at, the mechanic said I needed a new clutch setup including the new flexplate, and is convinced that it's the throw-out bearing. Now granted, I didn't replace the flexplate when I replaced the clutch, (I know, dumb move)- but is the flywheel spinning in Neutral to cause this? I'm not certain whether the pilot bearing needs replcing as well, but if I do replace the flywheel, I may consider it. All help is appreciated.

 

well if it goes away after u push in the clutch, im pretty sure that its after the clutch, and yes the flywheel is spinning in neutral it will always be spinning as long as the engine is running. hope this helps

Joe

 

Don't consider it, do it.

JamesC

 

Your car doesn't have a flex plate. If some "mechanic" is proposing to take your money to pay for changing it out, you need to find another "mechanic", NOW.

The throwout bearing will make noise under only certain conditions; and NO OTHERS. It will either make a slight noise with your foot COMPLETELY OFF the clutch pedal, and then shut up when you just barely put pressure on the pedal; or, it will be quiet with your foot off the clutch, and start making noise when you press it. If it's the second case, the noise might be extremely loud screeching and moaning, or it might be the rough bearing type of grinding. Since your noise is NOT one of those 2 types, it isn't the throwout.

The noise you describe is TOTALLY NORMAL. It is caused by the guts of the transmission coasting to a stop when the clutch disconnects them from the engine, and they keep spinning for a little while until they come to a rest.

If the trans doesn't make any unusual noises when it's driving, like no whining, grinding, or clacking kinds of sounds, then there's nothing wrong with it.

Don't go spending money on it trying to "fix" that particular noise, because NO AMOUNT of working on it will make it go away, short of a COMPLETE tear-down and rebuild of the transmission. After which, it will quickly return, as the new bearings and stuff wear in.