Mike S

Got my car back together finally (stupid fire). I'm doing some tuning now and I have a slight scraping noise(that's my best description) at idle that you can barely hear over the motor. If I engage the clutch it gets a bit louder. If I engage the clutch about 1" then it goes away or is too quiet to hear over the motor. When I pulled the motor I inspected the clutch and it had great thickness (almost new), I regreased the pilot bearing (it was also new) and the throwout bearings (i'm not sure if they were new...i'm betting not). All pressure plate bolts were replaced (I had four missing when I pulled it...LOL!). Flywheel was lightened and resurfaced. I also don't have any problems engaging into gears.

I've taken a peak through the pilot hole and saw nothing unusual....I also looked through the archives to no avail. Does this sound like a throwout bearing? Is the clutch just bedding into the flywheel?

I swear this car has been the biggest money pit ever.

pk951

I would say throw-out bearing, what else is in there that makes that noise?

PorscheDoc

Did you replace the rear main while you were in there? If so, maybe you didnt get it installed deep enough. Have you taken it out and driven it yet?

Danno

"If I engage the clutch it gets a bit louder. If I engage the clutch about 1" then it goes away or is too quiet to hear over the motor."

Pilot bearing....

alengyel

did you grease the pilot shaft that the TOB rides on?

oh, Mike I have the pictures of the swain coated pistons, just havent had time to resize and post them. If you want a good sized pic PM me your email and ill shoot you a copy.

PorscheDoc

Excuse my ignorance. I just did a clutch job, and what the hell is a TOB?

Crap nevermind....throw out bearing ...duh

Mike S

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've been unable to check this post due to a family emergency. Here's the update.

1) I have been driving the car a bit....doing some tuning so no extended trips (nothing more than 15 minutes at a time). Noise hasn't gotten worse or better.

2) Didn't replace the rear main so that's not the problem(it was new so i wasn't touching it).

3) I was afraid that a couple of people were going to say pilot bearing. I'm wondering if I didn't damage it during the install of the motor. I had a ton of problems getting everything lined up so maybe I damaged it.

At this point, what will happen to that bearing eventually? Should I just keep driving it until it gets worse? I'm assuming I will start to get some clutch vibration eventually?

Danno

" At this point, what will happen to that bearing eventually? Should I just keep driving it until it gets worse? I'm assuming I will start to get some clutch vibration eventually?"

The pilot-bearing only comes into play when you press on the clutch-pedal. Otherwise, it spins at the same rate as the clutch and drive-shaft. It will start squealing louder and louder as it wears out more. And the difference in sound with the clutch in and released will be much greater as well. I don't think you'll ever feel anything in the clutch pedal though, because the fork is separated from the pilot-bearing

If you feel something through the pedal, then it's most likely the TOB-throwout bearing.

Did you grease the outside of the sleeve on the bellhousing that fits into the throwout bearing?

Mike S

Thanks danno. Yep greased the outside of the sleeve before installation. I really to think its the pilot bearing. I think I may have mushroomed it a bit when installing the motor onto the torque tube. I think I'll just live with it for now until it gets a bit louder. If it does I'll replace it. I'm just not looking forward to another 15 hours of labor for a $5 part.