My wife drives the 03 corolla s... I have been lurking on the site for a while, but now I need help. I drive a slightly modified 92 honda prelude.
She was in an accident almost 2 years ago (a WEEK after I bought her the car)... at about 60,000 miles. After that we had a slight grind between gears and the dealership (who we will NEVER go to again... long story) replaced the master and slave cylinders (which were fine) before deciding it was the clutch. They replaced the clutch (after shifting without using the clutch... grrr....)
Anyway, we took a long trip to Ohio (I drove most the way, and drive the car regularly), and on the way back it started making a "chatter" that we thought might be an engine noise... it only happens when you are giving it gas, and it is currently intermittent (but getting worse). You could maybe call it a "tick" or almost a "gargle" sound... it does not make the noise in neutral if you rev the car up...
So, I took it to our trusted mechanic and he says that he believes it could once again be the clutch (after only 24,000 miles! and my wife and I have beat on the prelude for years... no problems... we know how to drive it). He says maybe the dealership made the flywheel too thin when they turned in last time, or that there was a faulty part (spring?) that is causing the clutch to wear quickly and maybe unevenly... He said it could be the bearing in the front of the tranny (and could require a rebuild), but he is leaning toward the clutch...
When we bought the car, there was a hole in the driver side mat; like some idiot drove it with stiletto heels on... and they must have ridden the heck out of it to kill it so quickly.
Anyway (sorry about the book)... The mechanic is taking the clutch out tomorrow so he can say for sure what the issue is, and if I need a clutch I plan on using ebay... I am careful there... I am leaning toward a rhino pac clutch that inlcudes the PILOT BEARING... over a sachs that does not... I trust both these brands... Also, has anyone used "gripforce" clutches? They claim they are made by high quality OEM clutches (Exedy, Sachs, Valeo, etc....). I think I will avoid them for now as the rhino pac with pilot bearing is a better deal...
So, does anyone have experience with a similar problem, and can anyone offer advice on which clutch is preferable?
My mechanic took the clutch out and discovered that the release bearing had gone bad... I hope that is the entire problem; I guess we will see... I decided to replace the entire clutch assembly but leave the flywheel for now... datsa gave me a good site to check out, but it scares me a bit because the following line it the most like what we were experiencing...
"If you hear growling or grinding noises when the clutch is engaged, the cause is the transmission input shaft bearing."
I'm hoping for the best as I really don't want to have to take it all out again to have a much more major repair...
SO, from you guys experience, could the release bearing cause that "growl" or "chatter" I heard when the clutch was engaged? AND with 84,000 miles on the car, is it a good idea to leave the flywheel since it is still good?
and finally after I found this thread...:
Quote:
Now for the update...
I haven't picked the car up yet, but after replacing the clutch it seems there is still a problem (the release bearing was bad... I looked at it; when you turned it, it would grind a little and was not smooth as silk like the new one)... however, the mechanic said there is still some noise... INPUT SHAFT BEARING IN THE TRANNY if other peoples experiences serve me correct!!!! REBUILD, SALVAGED TRANNY, OR SELL THE AMERICAN MADE P.O.S.? Any opinions... I guess I didn't get a lemon, looks like toyota won't back their own products anymore....
I bought the car because I had 2 POS chyslers... Now I have one POS toyota instead...
I love my prelude........................................... ..
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK I SHOULD DO?
If I put the car in neutral and rev the engine I do not hear the noise... can it still be the input shaft bearing, or could there be another problem?????????? I thought you should hear the noise in neutral if you revved the engine if it was the input shaft bearing.
You can do it either way, just depends on when you hear the noise. If you don't hear the noise with the pedal up, that means your input shaft bearing is fine, since it is spinning at the same speed as the crank shaft. If you hear the noise with the pedal down, it is either the throwout bearing or the clutch fork pivot. Depending on whether the throwout bearing was replaced or not, and if it is a Toyota part, it doesn't go bad that often, I would lean towards the clutch fork pivot lacking lubricant causing the noise. What you can do for verification is by pulling the clutch fork boot loose from the bellhousing and with a little brush put some grease where the pivots comes in contact with the clutch fork. If the noise changes after that, you have located you problem.
Thanks, I will have it checked out... but the noise only occurs with the pedal up (clutch engaged) cruising in all gears at all rpms. So far I have not been able to reproduce the sound in neutral. It sounds more like a "growl"... it does seem to let up some when coming off the accelerator... so it is worse under load. It does it in every gear... What about output bearings? How could I tell? As I said before we replaced the pilot and release bearing with the clutch 500 miles ago (the release bearing was not working as smoothly as it should have, but it was obviously not the source of our noise... it didn't change)
I found this at some diagnosis site:
Quote:
"If you hear growling or grinding noises when the clutch is engaged, the cause is the transmission input shaft bearing."
When you said you have not been able to reproduce the noise in neutral, is the car moving? Does the car have to moving before you hear the noise or can you hear the noise when it is stationary?
So far I have only heard the sound when the car is moving... never while stationary.
Should I put it in neutral while moving and see if it makes the noise?? the noise stops every time we step on the clutch pedal to shift gears, and then returns when the clutch is engaged.
If you can only hear the noise when the car is moving, I doubt it is the input shaft bearing, since the input shaft is spinning any time the engine is running and the clutch pedal is up. The output shaft and the differential, however, only turn when the vehicle is in motion. In other words, if the noise can only be heard when the vehicle is moving, you have to determine whether the noise is coming from the transmission or somewhere else. There are a few possibilities beside the transmission, drive axles, axles joints, wheel bearings or brakes.
You can try putting it neutral while moving to see if the noise changes.
We just replaced a wheel bearing, and both my wife and I are very familiar with axle and brake problems... I do not believe those to be the issue...
I took the car out this morning for the first time in a few days and the sound seemed a little less pronounced (it seems it MAY get a little louder as the car warms up). I cannot reproduce the sound while the car is not moving, I've tried with the car in and out of gear, and with clutch both engaged and disengaged.
On the road I put the car in neutral and let the clutch pedal out... the sound was not there. It ONLY makes a sound while moving, in gear, clutch pedal out. I would call it a "chatter," "growl," and/or an almost diesel engine sound...
Still think this could be clutch fork pivot (release bearing just replaced)? You said I should hear that when the clutch pedal is down though... so maybe not? If so, I will run the idea by my mechanic this week. Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.
Do you hear this noise all the time when the transmission is in gear, and clutch engaged? Does the nosie changes between acceleration, deceleration, or cruising?
N.E.O... it seems to become more pronounced under load (i.e. accelerating) and is less pronounced as we come off the gas, but the noise is always there (although the other morning after sitting for a few days it was not as noticeable as usual.). While cruising the growl/chatter/diesel sound is consistent and does not really change unless you press or back off the gas... and it only happens in gear with clutch engaged... I have not heard the sound in neutral while moving or sitting still regardless of what I'm doing with the clutch...
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowtag88
go 6 puck sprung.
okay.... I have a stage 1 comp. clutch in the prelude, and I love it, but I fail to see what the relevance of that is here unless a clutch is supposed to magically heal the tranny....
Got rid of the Corolla. We are really happy with the decision so far... Focus ST is sportier than the Corolla S (engine and handling) and has done well in reviews... We take great car of our cars and look forward to seeing how this one does over the long run...
Gave up on the American-made Japanese cars and decided to try a Mexican-made American car.
We test drove the ST and decided to trade the corolla for it. We have 3years/70,000 miles left on the warranty and these things have been getting good reports... They also gave us a great deal on our trade...
It's Loaded. I think there's as aspect of European styling to it and I'm quickly becoming a fan... We'll be careful to avoid speeding tickets with the bright red!
It seems very nice. Added refinement over the Corolla and better road feel. I'm hoping for 33mpg vs Corolla's 37... but the power is nice.
sport tuned suspension (independent front and rear)
Performs great. Surprisingly little understeer; sportier than the
Corolla S (with it's silly rear suspension)
2.3L Duratec Mazda-based engine
151 bhp @ 5750 rpms
154 ft/lb @ 4250 rpms
Has a satisfying and drivable powerband. Decent low-end,
and no need rev it too high.
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