Slight grind/rub after clutch install

[Gstclipse69]

Hey guys, I just replaced the clutch in my car and now I have a slight rubbing/grinding sound coming from the front passenger wheel. I have checked the wheel out for play and there is no play up,down, or side to side. The tie rod ends are good, the balljoint is good and since there is no play whatsoever I'm assuming the wheel bearing is good. I also pulled the axle back out from the hub and reinserted it just to be sure it was seated well. And the axle nut is good and tight with the washer. I'm out of ideas.

What happens is when I'm going say 35-40 and above and then let off the gas, there is a very slight grind noise coming from the wheel. Sort of like something is rubbing against the rotor or the like. But the noise is only when I let off the gas and am decelerating. And the brakes make no difference either. It will still make the noise whether I hit the brakes or not.
Then yesterday I was on the interstate and let off the gas going about 65 and all of a sudden the wheel felt like it just started bouncing up and down very violently. I mean very violently, I thought it was just going to fall off. I pull off to the side of the road and inspect everything and everything I can see looks fine. I start going again and its fine. Other than the noise when I let off the gas. Does anyone have a clue what could be causing this?

 

[crash89]

Is the metal "guard plate" thing rubbing on the back side of the rotor? You could have bumped it and bent it enough to where it rubs.

 

[Gstclipse69]

I thought of that as well but I looked at it when I had the suspension apart again and it looks fine. Even if it was that, I dont see how that could have caused the wheel to do that bouncing act that it did.

 

[Gstclipse69]

Still haven't got this figured out yet. I have taken the entire suspension apart on the passenger side twice now. I pulled the axle completely out of the cup and inspected everything I could see. I have no idea what could be causing this noise. I took the brakes apart, took the lower control arm off, the lateral control arm off, pulled the sway bar off and have yet to get a clue as to what is going on.
Anyone got any ideas? It seems to get louder as it warms up or as I drive it more. When its sat for awhile the noise seems faint, but after driving it more it gets louder.

 

[SrKegler]

I'm not familiar with 2Gs but the bolts for the bracket on the short shaft may be loose.

 

[DROPthatCLUTCH]

Edit: My bad, I didnt read the complete post.. Im an idiot
Ignore this..

 

[PieEyedPiper]

From what I've read it's pretty tough to say exactly what the problem is. Do you have any more information?

My opinion is that this is not suspension related and that it is likely to be something going on with your TOB. You did, after all, just do a clutch job. It's possible it's wearing prematurely due to incorrect clutch pedal adjustment or even poor install/lack of grease. It's also possible that the TOB clip has become partially detached.

If you've ruled out all moving parts on that side of the car, then you know what you have to do..

 

[Gstclipse69]

Thanks for the reply. I had not even thought of it being something clutch related but Im definitely going to adjust the clutch some tomorrow and see if that gets me anywhere. The thing is I could almost swear its coming from right where the rotor is or the like.
This is what happens. I start going down the road. Once Im up to 30-40mph and let off the gas and am decelerating I can hear the noise. It is only when I am decelerating, I am positive. The best I can describe it is it sounds like the rotor is rubbing on something metal. The faster I am going the faster the noise goes too. It is faint at first, but after driving 5 minutes or so, it will get a bit louder.
I have thought of a lot of things, but I can not in any way think of something that could make the wheel feel like it was bouncing when this happens like it did when I was on the interstate.
When I was on the interstate, same scenario, I was at about 65-70 and let off the gas and the passenger wheel just started bouncing fiercely. It continued to bouce up and down until I came to a stop, inspected everything, scratced my head, and started going again and it was fine, other than the noise. I will try to adjust the clutch some but even so, how could the tob make the wheel bounce like that? What could make the wheel bounce like that?

 

[SrKegler]

The noise occuring on deceleration is why I think it may be the short shaft mounting bracket. When yhou let off the gas the shaft drops down slightly and hit the frame.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

The noise occuring on deceleration is why I think it may be the short shaft mounting bracket. When yhou let off the gas the shaft drops down slightly and hit the frame.

Not a bad suggestion, at all.

OP, you say you hear it right at the location of the rotor. Have you looked to see what is directly behind the rotor?
If you want to rule out the clutch we should be able to do it with a simple yes or no:

When you are hearing this sound, decelerating in gear and you depress the clutch or you put it in neutral and coast - does the sound stop?

Yes, then it's the clutch assembly.
No, then it's yet to be uncovered and is likely suspension/brakes related as you suggest.


Use the following videos to adjust your clutch:
http://www.jackstransmissions.com/pages/tech-articles

 

[Gstclipse69]

Thanks, PieEyedPiper. I went out this evening and checked the short shaft where it bolts to the block and it was good and tight. Then I went out for a drive and yes the noise stops when I press the clutch in. I adjusted the clutch some to where I thought it would help but it didnt seem to. I'm going to play with it a bit more, and see if I can see anything beyond the clutch fork boot, but more than likely I'll be pulling it again to see whats going on. I will update once I have more info. Thanks a lot!

 

[Gstclipse69]

Update: I pulled the tranny now, and I cant indentify what is wrong at the moment. The tob looks to be in good order. The tob clip is in place like usual. I don't see any indication of any excessive rubbing/grinding of any of the clutch components. I've been doing some more research and does this sound like something to do with the input shaft??

On another note, I have had the flywheel resurfaced twice now. I have a new pivot ball and clutch fork as was installed previously. Do I need to shim the pivot ball any seeings how the flywheel has been resurfaced twice?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Post pictures! Pictures of everything!

I want to be able to see all sides of the TOB, clip position, the pressureplate fingers where you lubed, where you didn't. Snap a few good ones of the input shaft, too.

With 2 times around on your flywheel you're almost surely looking at a shim, but you need to mock it all up to see where the fork sits in the inspection window.

 

[Gstclipse69]

Ouch, a couple days late. I already have it back together at the moment. I ended up putting another new oem tob in, and I shimmed the pivot ball about 1/16. Thats pretty much it. The input shaft has no play in it whatsoever and the tob fits very securely over the shaft. The tranny should only have about 40k on it (stock).
But none the less, same thing. Same noise from the same place. Whatever it is. I looked more into the input shaft bearing but upon further research that does not sound like it. I've been looking for other options but have come up empty handed.
By a shim you mean a shim behind the flywheel right? I think I might have one laying around.
Thanks for all your help Piper, will probably be pulling it again.

 

[Gstclipse69]

Ok, I am still having the same problem, but I haven't had time to pull the tranny again, and even if I did I dont have an idea of what direction I should be trying to go in. The last time I pulled the tranny, everything looked fine. The tob clip was in place, the tob looked fine, and I didn't see any excessive wearing on the pressure plate fingers. I did shim the pivot ball about 1/16 and that has made no difference.

Even if I had to shim the flywheel some because of it being resurfaced twice, wouldn't shiming the pivot ball do the same thing?

On another note, like I have said before, the noise only occurs on deceleration. Once I have slowed down enough to make the turn into my driveway I can hear the noise slow down to a clicking. I am just baffled as to what this could be. I have pulled off both the front rotors, and they are fine. And Im having a hard time imagining that the tob or something could be making this noise.
I got on the interstate the other day and something is definitely wrong. Once Im at 65-70 and let off that noise is very prominent. Im just getting aggravated because I cant move forward with other mods until I get this resolved.
Thanks for you guys input.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Do not shim your flywheel.

I wish I could help you further but if the tob/pp/disc are all good and it's not the brakes or a wheel bearing etc. I just don't know. That's crazy that you can hear it at highway speeds.

 

[Gstclipse69]

I have an update to my thread. First off I know this is a few months old but this summer I have been swamped with work and building a garage in my backyard specifically for working on my car. This is why I am a bit late replying.
I searched around a lot and I decided to replace the front axle due to the clicking sound I was hearing when slowing down. I replaced it and it made no change in the sound.
Now, since the beginning of this problem, the car has not done that violent hopping that it did the first time I posted. Now it has done it again. It was the same scenario as before, I was on the interstate and I let off the gas and all of a sudden the car starts bouncing up and down very violently. I let off the gas and I really just cruised for a few second because I was going over a bridge and I couldn't pull over on the bridge. While it is boucing and Im just coasting, what I think happened was the rear end locked up sporatically. The two rear tires started screaching for a split second, then they let up then it happened again before I could get pulled over.
Now Im thinking this noise could be something driveshaft related. My plans as of now are to check the fluid in the rear diff, get the carrier bearing support bushings, and to fill the carrier bearings with silicone and see what happens. If anyone else has any input or ideas it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Transfercase.

 

[Gstclipse69]

Thanks a lot Piper, that does make sense now that you say the transfercase. I will replace it and report back. Thanks a lot!

 

[PieEyedPiper]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/1460-transfer-case-recall-merged.html

 

[Gstclipse69]

Update to the thread: So now I have replaced the transfer case and the input shaft as they both had excessive wear on them. Made sure to top off both the tcase and rear end with fresh redline heavy shockproof. I've been driving the car around town some, but haven't had any tuning time until now. The noise is still there. Same noise, same symptoms, I'm still in the same boat.

I was going out to a spot today to get some pulls in and fine tune the setup. Anyway, I hoped on the interstate and I was cruising for a good 5-10 miles at 65-70 and the same thing happened again. I slightly let off the throttle, the passenger wheel started boucing up and down, the rear end would lock up intermitedly, meaning it would lock up for a 1/2 a second, then be ok, then lock up again for 1/2 a second, and so on. And as such the rear end starts swearving back and forth and I actually felt the front passenger wheel lock up too. I can see the tire where it slid for several feet just like the back. Got it pulled over off the side of the road, and I couldn't see anything visually wrong, just like the last few times.

So, now I'm starting to think something is wrong with the trans. What do you guys think?? Im not a transmission guru as of now, but I could be here shortly. I have read that the weak link in the trans is the center diff. Do you guys think that could be it? Im mearly just speculating now, Im going to be on here researching for hours to see if i can find something, but please keep any ideas or insight coming as i dont have much myself right now. Thanks!

 

[Gstclipse69]

Hey guys, STILL haven't got this figured out. Im starting to feel like an idiot. I was prompted to check out my center differential per another forum. I pulled it out and to me it looks fine. I snapped some shots if anyone has any input.

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0034.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0033.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0027.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0026.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0031.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0030.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0029.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0028.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv71/turbotalon4/DSCI0032.jpg

I dont know what direction I should be going in. I did some research and it doesnt sound like the viscous coupler or the input shaft bearing. I've been thinking about it the last couple days and once the wheel starts developing this nasty wheel hop at higher speeds, could that in itself cause the rear end to start locking up intermittently? I just dont know if I should be looking for something tranny related or something brake/suspension related.
Any input is appreciated. Thanks, Chris

 

[Gstclipse69]

Got a tip on another forum that this could be the viscous coupler. I am searching around a bit for it now. I was told if the viscous coupler goes bad it can leak black fluid/goo in the differential. There was a bit of this fluid/goo in my diff that I thought was just assembly lube or something. Any thoughts?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

We need to get this thread moved to the Drivetrain section so you can get better help.

 

[Gstclipse69]

Ok, I replaced the viscous coupler with another unit. I'm having the same problem except much worse now. As soon as I got to the end of second gear and into third the car started shaking like the wheel was about to start bouncing and whatnot again. I drove around a bit more to see if I could get any other symptoms and I pulled a u-turn and the back wheels chirped a bit.

Is there something else that could be wrong with the center differential other than the spider gears playing hell with one another? As you can see from the pics I posted before, the gears look fine. Is there something else I should be looking into as far as the diff?

Mods, you can move this to the Drivetrain section if you so desire.

Thanks, Chris

Edit: Found this post:

More than likely, your center differential pinion gear shims are shot, causing microwelding and binding of the upper or lower pinion gear. It will also shred the spider gears, gall up the cross-shaft, trash the center diff cover, and potentially the center diff case. If it is this, it will be a pricey fix, as it will also normally cause a damaged output shaft at the splines that engage the transfer case wearing them out prematurely.