S'tan
Probationary Member
- 17
- 1
- Feb 8, 2021
-
Beaverton,
Oregon
Hello,
I have been having an issue with my 97 GST for a while that have so far been unsuccessful to solve. I will try to explain as best as I can, but I'm not exactly an expert on this so I apologize if I get the terms wrong and for any confusion it may cause, although I will gladly try to correct/explain any miscommunication on my part.
Here's some background info to paint a picture of the situation: on the transmission, around the input shaft, there is supposed to be a sleeve that is part of the bell housing. This "sleeve" is what the clutch throw out bearing slides over whenever you step on the clutch pedal. The bearing then slides along the sleeve and pushes on the pressure plate diaphragm to release the clutch.
Here is the problem: that sleeve broke off on my car long ago. The entire sleeve broke off into pieces but left the transmission bell housing undamaged. The issue I'm having is that since the sleeve is gone, the throw out bearing has nothing to slide on that would keep it in place and allow it to move back and forth in an even, straight motion. Without the sleeve, there is now a pretty big gap between the ID of the bearing and the input shaft, and when I step on the clutch, the bearing doesn't move in a straight line and so it doesn't make full contact with the pressure plate evenly, thus putting uneven pressure on the teeth of the diaphragm, and since the pressure plate is spinning, this bearing then gets pushed along with the teeth that the bearing puts the most pressure on, throwing it off center, bouncing around, and I think you can imagine what happens, but the bearings end up in pieces, and so far i have gone through 4 bearings in the past year. They seem to last less every time.
I have tried a few different things to overcome this issue:
I used a socket that I cut up to fit in place of the sleeve, which so far was the longest time the bearing lasted, about a year and a few months.
I tried to use "better" quality bearings, but those name brand bearings lasted even less than the generic ebay ones I've tried in the past (1-2 months for name brands vs 4-6 months for the cheaper ones)
I tried using a bearing that was not OEM but it seemed to be stronger than the other ones, I just had to modify it a bit.
I have tried using needle bearings to replace the sleeve, which to me seemed like the best solution but haven't been able to find the correct size (ID, OD, Length)
(The pictures with the modified bearing are the latest attempt i made. There is a needle bearing inside the throw out bearing to reduce the clearance between the bearing and the input shaft, and the screws that put on the backside were meant to allow the bearing to slide back and forth without wobbling and to keep the bearing in place, which actually worked pretty well, at first, but now I think the Loctite wore off and something broke off and got stuck inside the pressure plate or something, since i cant push the pedal more than halfway and it's clearly pushing against something that won't budge. The broken bearing is a different bearing but shows the most common failures, besides the ones that were completely torn apart and ended up as pieces)
Sorry for the the lengthy post, I'm just trying to be as descriptive as possible to try and explain the situation. Any suggestions, ideas, or solutions would be appreciated.
Bu the way, I know the best solution would be to simply replace the transmission, and maybe save this for parts, but transmissions are not cheap, and more importantly they are hard to find. I've been looking but haven't had any luck.
I have been having an issue with my 97 GST for a while that have so far been unsuccessful to solve. I will try to explain as best as I can, but I'm not exactly an expert on this so I apologize if I get the terms wrong and for any confusion it may cause, although I will gladly try to correct/explain any miscommunication on my part.
Here's some background info to paint a picture of the situation: on the transmission, around the input shaft, there is supposed to be a sleeve that is part of the bell housing. This "sleeve" is what the clutch throw out bearing slides over whenever you step on the clutch pedal. The bearing then slides along the sleeve and pushes on the pressure plate diaphragm to release the clutch.
Here is the problem: that sleeve broke off on my car long ago. The entire sleeve broke off into pieces but left the transmission bell housing undamaged. The issue I'm having is that since the sleeve is gone, the throw out bearing has nothing to slide on that would keep it in place and allow it to move back and forth in an even, straight motion. Without the sleeve, there is now a pretty big gap between the ID of the bearing and the input shaft, and when I step on the clutch, the bearing doesn't move in a straight line and so it doesn't make full contact with the pressure plate evenly, thus putting uneven pressure on the teeth of the diaphragm, and since the pressure plate is spinning, this bearing then gets pushed along with the teeth that the bearing puts the most pressure on, throwing it off center, bouncing around, and I think you can imagine what happens, but the bearings end up in pieces, and so far i have gone through 4 bearings in the past year. They seem to last less every time.
I have tried a few different things to overcome this issue:
I used a socket that I cut up to fit in place of the sleeve, which so far was the longest time the bearing lasted, about a year and a few months.
I tried to use "better" quality bearings, but those name brand bearings lasted even less than the generic ebay ones I've tried in the past (1-2 months for name brands vs 4-6 months for the cheaper ones)
I tried using a bearing that was not OEM but it seemed to be stronger than the other ones, I just had to modify it a bit.
I have tried using needle bearings to replace the sleeve, which to me seemed like the best solution but haven't been able to find the correct size (ID, OD, Length)
(The pictures with the modified bearing are the latest attempt i made. There is a needle bearing inside the throw out bearing to reduce the clearance between the bearing and the input shaft, and the screws that put on the backside were meant to allow the bearing to slide back and forth without wobbling and to keep the bearing in place, which actually worked pretty well, at first, but now I think the Loctite wore off and something broke off and got stuck inside the pressure plate or something, since i cant push the pedal more than halfway and it's clearly pushing against something that won't budge. The broken bearing is a different bearing but shows the most common failures, besides the ones that were completely torn apart and ended up as pieces)
Sorry for the the lengthy post, I'm just trying to be as descriptive as possible to try and explain the situation. Any suggestions, ideas, or solutions would be appreciated.
Bu the way, I know the best solution would be to simply replace the transmission, and maybe save this for parts, but transmissions are not cheap, and more importantly they are hard to find. I've been looking but haven't had any luck.
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