Wierd ticking

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

So when ive been driving for a while and Im sitting at a light or something in neutral my car starts an ungodly ticking. It only happens when in neutral. When i press in the clutch all the way, it completely stops. Whats going on? Clutch dying?

 

[cyoung0412]

Your throwout bearing is probably done.

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

expensive? easy to fix?

 

[96gstdsm]

If it's your throw out bearing you gotta take the tranny off and replace it. Does it sound like a bunch of marbles bouncing around? Do you know for sure where the sound is coming from? Does it sound like it is coming from the engine or somewhere else? Maybe you are hearing lifter tick? Try to describe the sound with a little more detail. Does it get louder and or faster when you step on the gas?

 

[Eclipse98_RS]

Does the sound go away after the car is warmed up? Lifter tick is a common problem in these cars. Just trying to rule that out if that isnt the problem.

 

[Artago]

Yeah I was thinking Lifter Tick too. Just cause my car has it too. Start the car up and pop the hood. Try to find the location of the noise. If you hear a regular interval "tick" "tick" "tick" from the TOP of the engine then it's probably lifter tick and you don't need to worry about it. Cheers, Tom.

 

[adidalax]

If you aren't doing the work yourself, the labor is going to be the same as a clutch job. So....depending how much shops charge down there, anywhere between $400 and $800 in labor (eeugh...).

The part itself is only like $20...heh...

I would replace the clutch while you're at it. They shouldnt charge you any more in labor to do the clutch at the same time...

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

I did some reading and it doesnt sound like lifter tick. It gets worse the more you drive. After about an hour of driving, i stopped in my parking lot and just sat there idling. The tick was very steady while the clutch was released. No marble or rattling sounds, and it goes away when i fully press the clutch. Is that a little more precise? I dont know how else to explain it.

 

[96gstdsm]

I did some reading and it doesnt sound like lifter tick. It gets worse the more you drive. After about an hour of driving, i stopped in my parking lot and just sat there idling. The tick was very steady while the clutch was released. No marble or rattling sounds, and it goes away when i fully press the clutch. Is that a little more precise? I dont know how else to explain it.

What happens when you step on the gas in neutral? Does the sound go away or get louder or stay the same? When my tob went it would also go away when I would push the clutch in but it sounded like loud marbles banging around in my tranny. I'm sure it can make different sounds depending on how loose or cracked it could be. Try to pin point the sound and where it is coming from. It doesn't make any noise when you are driving in gear? If it was tob then it would still make noise in gear I would think. Mine definitely did.

 

[adidalax]

Yes it really depends on how they are breaking....

A lot of the time, if the noise goes away or comes in when you are pushing on the clutch, it means a TOB.....

I saw your other post about a clutch. If you are thinking about getting a new one, just get it done so you can at least know if this is your issue or not. Any good clutch kit will come with a new TOB. You should always replace it while you're in there.

 

[96gstdsm]

If you do go ahead and replace it make sure the tob that is supplied is not a metal sleeved one. Those are the ones that are prone to making all the unwanted noise. I bought an ACT 2100 clutch and that came with the plastic sleeved one which has worked great so far for about 10k miles. I know ACT used to give the metal sleeved one, but have since stopped. Maybe some old boxes around might have it still in it so check before you have someone install it if your not doing it yourself. The oem one can be had for around 25 bucks.
I am not really familiar with the input shaft bearing symptoms but I have heard that the described sound can be coming from that. I don't know if that would make it only happen in neutral though. That is a more expensive possibility.

 

[adidalax]

Yeah I had the metal-sleeved one....it made wierd noises too....

I'm going down to NC at the end of the week. Maybe you and I can meet up and I'll take a little listen?

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

that would be awesome. Are you going down 85s or 95 or what? Ill meet ya. Anyone in the hampton roads area i can meet with to if you would be cool with that.

 

[pooker]

Sounds exactly what happened to my car when my tob was going bad, lifters would not just stop ticking if you just pressed in the clutch.

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

So how hard is it to chance this myself? Im not too versed in the ways of transmission items

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

Perfect time to learn For your first time, it could take anywhere from 6-1000000 hours. Just go as slow as you need and ask lots of questions. Better to do it right and not have to do it a second time at all...

 

[adidalax]

Heh......not that bad, but it's definitely a little bit of a PITA...

Basically, it goes a little like this:

1. Remove Intake
2. Remove Battery and Charcoal can
3. Put car on lift / jackstands
4. Remove crossmember
5. Seperate lower ball joints and tie-rod ends
6. Drain gear oil
7. Pull axles from trans
8. Support engine & unbolt Left trans mount
9. Remove rear trans mount bracket bolts
10. Disconnect speedo and reverse sensor cables
11. Unbolt 2 bolts holding starter and move it out of the way
12. Unbolt trans from engine block
13. Remove trans by sliding away from engine and dropping out

Once that's all done, you just unbolt the pressure plate from the flywheel, take the flywheel off and go have it resurfaced. Remove, lube, and replace TOB & then put everything back together.

This is definitely a 2 man job, especially for your first time. You need someone to help guide it back in and some one else to pump the jack. I've done it 5 times now and the last one took me about 5 hours or so even with a lift and tranny jack. The worst part is getting it all lined up and pushed flush on. Also, make sure if you do it not to tighten all the bolts at once on the bellhousing. You need to make sure to do them staggered starting with the 2 lower-most bolts. Helps to grease up the dowel pins and the input shaft (the splines that go into the clutch) also...

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

Any takers? I provide the beer and pizza

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

How about a plane ticket? Hahaha.

 

[Baton]

Hell the plane ticket is probably cheaper than the cost of paying a shop to change it all out.

 

[adidalax]

Any takers? I provide the beer and pizza

I'd be down but I'm leaving for a 2-week vacation on Friday....

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

So i called the guy that had the clutch installed and he was told that the clutch is so new that its going to have a small ticking sound until its broken in. Something about a really strong spring that needs to wear in. Does this sound right?

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

What kind of clutch? A puck clutch will chatter some.

 

[NoMoreWRXorSRT]

Hyperdrive C2 Street/Strip Full Clutch Kit
Hyperdrive racing flywheel