Hi all,
I just finished replacing my worn out t5 with a much better used one I found, I replaced the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, pivot stud, pilot bearing, and throwout bearing. Now that I have it back together, when my foot is not on the clutch at all the bearing makes a squeak or chirping noise. If I just barely rest my foot on the pedal, the noise goes away. I noticed when I was replacing the clutch fork pivot stud that there was a split washer under the stud where it screws into the bellhousing. As I was not sure if this was factory or not, I installed it in with the new stud as well. My question is does anyone know if that split washer is supposed to be between the clutch fork pivot stud and the bellhousing, if not could this be causing my chirping noise?

Please let me know,
Thank you

 

No that would not cause a noise.

Most likely you got a throwout bearing in your "kit" made of pure unadulterated unvarnished unaltered unalloyed chinesium. Probably best to throw it in the trash and get a better one. Might be possible to pack it with grease while you have it out but I wouldn't bother with trying that only to find that the trans has to come out YET AGAIN to install a bearing of better quality. (or, just, one that doesn't chirp)

 

It came in a clutch kit for LUK so I would not be surprised if that is the case. If I replace this, should I leave that split washer in place, or take it out? Is there any sort of better transmission I could replace the t5 with? From what I have read, the t56 is not applicable to the V6 engine. Trying to find a V8 or V6 t5 is a lot of work (around here at least).

 

Leave the washer in place; it's not hurting anything.

There's not really any other transmission you could use. T-56 won't work because it won't bolt up to the bell housing pattern on the back of the 6-cyl.



Upper is V8, lower is 6-cyl.

Probably best to just swap out the TOB. Make sure you clean up and then lightly grease the surfaces that have moving parts: the clutch gear bearing retainer of the transmission where the TOB slides back and forth over it (check it carefully for wear, and replace if necessary); the 2 surfaces of the fork that operate against the groove in the TOB; and the socket in the fork where the pivot ball goes.



The round thing with the snout that's held on by the 4 bolts is the clutch gear bearing retainer. Your transmission probably looks like the bottom one.

Don't just glob everything up with grease; a nice even film of it is all you need; if you put too much on it, it might eventually get onto the clutch, which will make it slip and chatter.

Make sure when you put it back together, that you assemble the fork to the TOB correctly.

 

New or old slave cylinder? If not new, then the chatter could be coming from where the slave's plunger meets the clutch fork. Get your head near the slave/fork, with the car idling, and the chatter present. If you don't have someone in the car who can apply gentle pressure to the pedal, then try applying pressure on the fork with your hand to see if the chatter goes away.

I had this condition for a long time, and no clutch work had been done. It just began on its own one day. Drove me nuts. No idea where it was coming from, but the gentlest of pressure on the pedal, I mean just barely touching it, not even pushing it, made the chatter go away. Then one night, while behaving badly lol, my original slave blew. The new slave had a complete plastic cap on the ball at the end of the plunger; the old one had the tip of the ball worn through the cap. Didn't think anything of it, until I installed the new slave, and... no more chatter!

When new, the ball on the end of the slave plunger has a plastic cap on it, with straps that keep the plunger retracted until installation, after which you cut those straps, and the plunger extends to the fork, with that plastic cap remaining on the ball as an insulator. But the tip of the ball eventually wears through the cap, leaving partial contact between the metal ball and the metal fork, allowing for a vibrating condition.

So if your old slave had a worn-through cap on the ball, then it probably shifted during the work and is now in a position to created a partial contact situation. Or if you removed that worn-through cap, then now you have a metal-on-metal situation that might be vibrating.

Hoping you haven't taken everything apart yet, again, and it turns out to be that simple for you.

 

If you have what LA is talking about going on, a dollop of grease up in there will fix it, at least temporarily.

 

Maybe not the same thing, but my S10 did that exact same thing. Was a TSB out on those that called out the clutch fork pivot ball grease dries up and squeeks like this. The hydraulic clutch has just enough gravity pressure to make it do this. Fix was a new pivot ball with a hole through it and a grease fitting. But a finger of grease did the trick.

 

The split lock washer is likely shortening the ballstud, moving the pivot of the fork rearwards.
This can have an effect on clearance of the fork to the TOB, causing squeal. So yes, it's possible. The prior owner may have had trouble with the ballstud walking out. Try loc-tite instead of the lock-washer.