QuestionHi Von, Thank you for your help to me when I had questions regarding installing a clutch in my 1986 720, 2-wheel drive, 5-speed pickup. I've installed the clutch, and have been driving the truck.
It drives and shifts fine. However, there is a noise when the clutch is depressed fully. The noise grows louder as the clutch is really pressed into the floor. When I hold the clutch really pressed into the floor and increase the engine speed, the noise increases at the same rate as the engine revolutions. There is no noise when the clutch is engaged, and no noise while driving down the road except when pressing the clutch down to shift gears, and I don't notice it that much. But that might be to road noise. I thought the noise did go away at times while on the road, but that might be my imagination, or maybe I wasn't really pressing the clutch down that hard.
At first I thought the noise was a chattering sound, but when holding the clutch depressed fully and increasing engine speed; it almost sounds like something is pressing against a round rotating ridged object. A loud kind of tapping noise.
I checked under the car and didn't see anything loose. I haven't had a friend check under the car while holding the clutch down, but it does seem to be an internal noise.
Is this a clutch adjustment problem? Could you give me some ideas on what might be wrong, and how I might troubleshoot?
Thank you very much, and have a nice New Year.
Regards, John
AnswerJohn,
The noise is probably the throw out bearing. However, there are other forces in play when the clutch is depressed. When you say the clutch makes even more noise when the pedal is pressed harder is interesting since there is supposedly not much adjustment that can be made. You have a clutch master and slave. The slave, on the transmission is what applies force to the clutch release fork and that presses against the throw out bearing. If your slave has adjustment, and some do, you could try to loosen up the adjustment and see if the clutch still releases when you have the clutch pedal pressed to the floor. Other than that, you will have to pull the transmission and inspect the throw out bearing for signs of abnormal wear. I like to take the old one and compare it to the new one to make sure the surface that touches the clutch is the same and also spin it by hand to make sure the bearings inside the throw out bearing are not spalling and making noise. If it makes noise when you spin it by hand means it is defective and needs replaced. Also, on the clutch shaft it spins on there should be no binding and it should be clean and free of scratches. I like to clean them with a Scotch Brite and rub them with grease and then wipe it off and really clean it where no grease remains. Just a precaution from my past experiences with throw out bearings binding.
