Heinz57

When I start the car and am idling in neutral, I hear a rattling sound comming from the trans.

When I press the clutch, it goes silent. My initial guess was a bad/worn throwout bearing (I installed an Exedy Standard Clutch about two years ago. - cheap clutch)

can anyone second my guess? or can it possibly be something worse?..

my friend said a loose flywheel/flywheel chatter...but not sure how that would be related, since the sound goes away when i engage the clutch.

any insight would be great. thanks, guys.

Rich

Archidictus

How old is the clutch? The clutch could be rattling at the springs or pucks if it's about to let go.

Heinz57

i changed the clutch two years ago..and only put on, maybe 10k miles or less...i think because it wasn't a super great quality clutch (exedy OE standard clutch), the throw out bearing - or maybe what you suggested, the springs on the clutch itself, is bad..i'd just like to know, cuz i dont have time right now (work) to tear the car apart and see..thanks for the quick reply

dxhatch93

i too installed the exedy oe clutch. i hear the same rattling noise, sometimes i hear it while driving too. when you gas it certain rpms, do you hear a whirling noise?

Heinz57

no, no whirling noise...

BUT..i forgot to mention, ever since the rattling came about, now when i'm slowing down, and i want to downshift to second or even first gear (i'm talking about <10-8 mph) i hear the trans whine...maybe that whirling noise you are speaking of...

hmm..at least i'm not the only person..

so bad throwout bearing?...or bad clutch altogether?!..

Tony_EM1

1st are you having shifting problems?? and second did you use locktight on the pressure plate bolts? it might have came loose.. i torqued mine on to specs but didnt use lock tight and had the same rattling noise while the clutch was out.. it also could be the throwout bearing.. my suggestion .. when u have a day off take it apart and find that noise

dxhatch93

yea now that i remember, it makes a rattling when i let off the gas and deaccelerate. i think it maybe the throw out bearing

berettagtz117

Throwout bearing for sure!

Heinz57

i'm not really having shifting problems (only getting into 1st or 2nd in low speeds as described by my post above)

No, i didnt use lock tight on the flywheel bolts..ooppsie...

so i guess it still seems like it can either be the throwout bearing or a loose flywheel...darn..but thanks to everyone for the insight..i just gotta find time to take it apart..

HondaEJ7

yea my tranny has same problem..i put about 5k on my new clutch so that wasnt it...i think its my tranny just dying, and it makes loud noises as i let off the gas and decelerate too

sleeper101

Got exactly the same set up & problem& issue ( less than 10K / 1 year)
Got it fixed

it was the Clutch Disk, Exedy OEM standard clutch set from Ebay = ( thats what i got)

the spindle of that disk is fragile( shaky/loose), and when i took the clutch assembly out, the 4 pieces spring on the disk are loose , like they gonna pop out

pressure plate ( where the 'sun shine' spot that meets the release bearing) are worn out)

Release bearing = ( no problem at all)

i bet u have the same issue

go ahead get the real good clucth set up

BTW: Ebay Seller was = aimcoclutch


Modified by sleeper101 at 5:03 PM 12/28/2005

JDMlyfestyle

Could be a bad resurface of the flywheel too. I know alot cars that have clutch chatter

Heinz57

thanks sleeper101, thats good to know.

hopefully this clutch will hold out well until spring/summer when i decide to get a new clutch, or a new engine altogether.

JDMlyfestyle, you also have a good point, cuz i didnt get my flywheel professionally resurfaced (worked on the car on a sunday) i just cleaned the surface up with some sandpaper...blah..dont make fun of me..hehe..

boostatic

i'm pretty sure it's the input shaft. it'll make noise all day when ur foot is off the clutch, as soon as you push the clutch down it will go away and the tranny will sound normal. it'll make horrible noise when you start off driving but the higher in gears u get the more it'll go away cuz the load on the shaft isnt as much. it's not the shaft itself but the bearing it rides on. drop the tranny down and grab the input shaft with ur hand and see if it has any play up and down or side to side. it shouldnt move at all. if it has play that could definitely be causing the noise. you can also hold it and spin it to see if it make a whinning noise. u'll hear it cuz it wont sound right

civic_in_LA

I completely agree with boostatic. I have the exact symptoms mentioned here. You start the car up and you hear a wierd, sort of light griniding or rubbing noise. Press the clutch and its gone. On first you hear it the most. In second you may hear it just a chad, but in 3rd, 4th, and 5th its quiet. The noise is iritating the hell out of me. Its actually loud enough to be embarrasing.

I just had my clutch and pilot/throwout bearing replaced today. The mechanic said the noise was the throw out bearing. I spent $300, However, with a new clutch and bearing the noise continues. It pisses me off.

I'm really thinking that it is the input shaft bearing.

I never changed a clutch before on my car, but feel like learning to do it know since the tranny needs to come down again.

Can anyone please describe what is required for the input shaft bearing fix? I'm debating on either fixing the tranny or getting another one.... I'll probably do this next friday. What is everyone's opinion?

Heinz57

i'm leaning more towards it being the clutch itself - i dont really think my car makes too terrible of a sound when i'm actually driving..its just when i'm in neutral and the clutch is not pressed in. i could be wrong tho.

changing the clutch is easy. it takes two people to make it easy tho. get a helms manual, and it'll have the step by step to take it off and put it back on.

it took me a whole weekend when i did it with a friend one summer, only cuz i ended up changing the slave cylinder, and other parts of the drivetrain where i had to wait a day for parts to come in.

boostatic

u can either buy a used tranny that u know is good or has a warranty on it or u could pull the tranny out and send it to a tranny shop but im not sure how much the labor and parts would be to get it fixed. the tranny has to be pulled apart for the input shaft bearing to be fixed so it may be lower cost just to buy a used tranny for $200-$250. but if it is the input shaft u should know immediately when u pull the tranny out and shake the input shaft