Grinding when clutch is pressed

[spyder97gs]

I noticed my shifting was getting harder, and then finally I started hearing a horrible grind. Whenever I push my clutch pedal in, I get the most awful grinding noise. What could it possibly be? I'm at my wits end with this car...

 

[cool_g_83]

I had a similar problem (although i dont remember if the sound was a grinding sound) and it was my throw-out bearing...might want to look into it

 

[spyder97gs]

When the clutch was pressed it was making noise and it was the TOB? I just went outside and hit the clutch and it went to the floor. Pulled it up and it had pressure again. I noticed some oil around the flywheel, but I don't think thats causing it. Anymore ideas?

 

[TSiWarrior]

Check the TOB, and also check all the bolts holding the tranny to the engine. Chances are it's your TOB.

 

[spyder97gs]

Took the tranny off, and the throwout bearing seems to be okay. The bearing spins freely with no binding at all. The pressure plate is black, and where the TOB contacts it, there is shiny metal showing and a very slight grove in the PP. Is that normal? The clutch is out of alignment also, as I cannot slide the alignment tool in. Most likely the cause will be the Pressure Plate, right?

 

[Gary 420A RS]

thats your problem right there!!!! (((( your throw out bearing is not suppost to spin freely its clipped to your release fork which would have it no other way but engaging and then disengaging the clutch theres no spinning or anything of the sort. ))) on your throw out bearing theres two little black clips that lodge behind the fork. those are in place so that when you let off your clutch the bearing comes back with it. the noise that you are hearing is the clutch pushing against the bearing improperly cause its hitting and spinning while the fork is pushing. so check again and look for the two clips on the bearing.

etit: also if its not the bearing check the clutch itself you can look inside of the clutch visualy and see if its messed up.

 

[spyder97gs]

Woops, better clear that up. It was clipped and didnt spin freely on the shaft. The ring gear inside of the TOB spins like it should with no binding after I took it off. Clutch disc and flywheel are fine, pressure plate has little groves in each finger. I imagine the TOB was riding on it and thats what caused it. One pressure plate bolt was loose.

 

[95-talontsi]

On my old car one time the ignition got stuck on the setting when you turn the key all the way and then it comes back. well it didnt come back one time and when i woud push the clutch it it would make a grinding noise. what was happened was the clutch was hitting the starter cause it was still engaged a little.

just a thought to make sure you key is comming back to the right position when you start it up. hope you understand what i am saying.

 

[eclipsh]

While you have the tranny off make sure that the flywheel bolts are all on tight. I had mine back out after a miss shift into second at 60 mph and they ground really badly not to mention the alignment pin that popped out and was flying around inside my tranny! I'd say pull the clutch and look at your pressure plate and the flywheel bolts. You'll definately know if it's the bolts.

 

[spyder97gs]

All the flywheel bolts were tight. One pressure plate bolt was half backed out. Could that cause it? If it were the input shaft bearings, wouldnt they do it constantly? I dont want to just put in a new pressure plate and TOB and it do it again!

 

[eclipsh]

The input shaft bearing should be easy to check. Just grab the shaft and tug on it. If it will slide in and out at all your bearings are toast. There should be no movement in it at all. While you are at it try the same thing with the flywheel.

That bolt could have caused a lot of noise, but I'd keep looking for more sources.

You might also try turning the input shaft on the tranny and shifting through all of your gears. See if you can hear anything out of there. When you drained the tranny was there any metal coming out?

 

[JLeach50]

Woops, better clear that up. It was clipped and didnt spin freely on the shaft. The ring gear inside of the TOB spins like it should with no binding after I took it off. Clutch disc and flywheel are fine, pressure plate has little groves in each finger. I imagine the TOB was riding on it and thats what caused it. One pressure plate bolt was loose.

I had exactly same thing happen a few months ago. I had to have the TOB replaced twice in a couple months time. It never looked damaged, but if u think about it, it's under extremely different conditions while running than when pulled out (heat, pressure, speed); i wouldn't count on the TOB to work right in operating conditions even when it seems okay when pulled out.
Shop i went to said that the TOB is unpredictable (can last a long time or go out really freakin quick; it just depends on how well the manufacturer did w/ it). Last time it was fixed, I had the same terrible squeal from it a couple of random times, but now I haven't had a problem in about 4 or 5 months.
I would say go ahead and replace the TOB; it's not a really expensive part, and it can cause some real damage to your clutch (i ended up having to replace mine again b/c of it).

 

[JiveMasterT]

sorry to jack the thread...

im having the same exact same problem. my tob has been making noise for some time and the dealer told me it was nothing to worry about since they replaced the tranny, clutch, and tob. They told me it was the exhaust rattling against something and i was like "uhh, it never did that before you replaced the tranny."

so now i get the same grinding feel from the pedal when i press it down, especially after been driving for a while. how big of a deal is it to drop the tranny to check this thing? ive never done it before. should i just take it back to the dealer since i have 500 miles left on my warranty?

also, it seems to do it primarily after the car warms up and it gets worse the warmer the car is.

edit...
so if the TOB was not clipped in properly, could i also feel this? like if it is just sitting there on the shaft rattling around, and i press the clutch pedal the thing has to slide along there but since it's not clipped in, it slides crooked and grinds along the shaft, right?

 

[spyder97gs]

I replaced the TOB with a Mitsu one for $21. Reinstalled everything, torqued the PP bolts to 30 ft lbs and loctited them. Greased everything up nicely and the problem disappeared. Hope that helps.

 

[JiveMasterT]

I replaced the TOB with a Mitsu one for $21. Reinstalled everything, torqued the PP bolts to 30 ft lbs and loctited them. Greased everything up nicely and the problem disappeared. Hope that helps.

was your grinding noise audible from outside the car? i just noticed that mine is not. maybe there is just something wrong with my clutch pedal assembly. ill grease it all up later on and make sure nothing is bent and let you all know.

 

[JLeach50]

It doesn't cost much at all to pull out your tranny yourself and replace the TOB, but it does take a helluva lot of time, especially on your first go-around. Yes, your TOB probably could make that noise or something similar to it if it wasn't sitting properly in place.

As for the problem still being there, mine was too after the first fix (as i mentioned). you could wait a few days or so and see if it goes away, which mine did after the 2nd fix. but, i'd probably go ahead and take it back to the dealership and see what they suggest. that way, if they say you should give it a couple of days, they'll still replace your clutch if it ends up tearing that up, which can happen w/ a caught TOB. good luck, partna'