trans noise FAQ

[racepar1]

I have seen a LOT of people automatically pointing to the throwout bearing for ANY trans noise. No matter what the noise sounds like or when it happens everyone automatically points to the TOB. This thread's purpose is to clarify what makes noise under specific conditions.

Throwout Bearing:
The TOB make the most noise when your foot is on the clutch pedal. If your foot is not on the pedal it does not have enough pressure on it to maintain solid contact with the clutch and therefore will make less noise. As a general rule bearings will make the loudest noise when loaded.

Pilot Bushing/Bearing:
The pilot bushing/bearing will ONLY make noise when you are stopped, in gear, with your foot on the clutch. This is the ONLY time that the input shaft is stopped and the flywheel is not. The input shaft and flywheel will turn at different speeds sometimes while up or downshifting, but if the pilot bushing is bad it will not turn freely enough to allow the flywheel and input shaft to turn at different speeds, so there will be no noise.

Input Shaft Bearing:
The input shaft bearing will make noise anytime the input shaft is turning. To replace the input bearing you have to take the trans most of the way apart so you might as well just replace all the bearings and bushings while you are in there.

Other Bearing noises:
If it only makes noise in certain gears then it is one of the bearings for that particular gear inside the trans. If it makes noise anytime the car is moving then it is either the countershaft bearings or a bearing on the output shaft. A bad center support bearing in the driveshaft can also cause this.

Pressure Plate:
The pressure plate springs/diaphragm will generally only make noise when your foot is on the clutch pedal. However clutch noises are much more erratic and unusual than bearing/bushing noises. It will be more of a solid scraping then a whine or grind or it can be a rattle as well.

Clutch Disc/Springs:
Clutch disc/spring noises are very erratic and can be unusual as well. If the springs go bad they will rattle kind of intermittently. If there is a problem with the friction material on the disc the clutch will generally chatter. It takes experience and a trained ear to accurately diagnose clutch noises.

I hope this helps some of you properly diagnose your trans noises! If you have any questions or have anything to add then please feel free to post.

[240boy90]

Humm ok .....What about on a 14? Ive been getting this spooling sound only as I accelerate through each and every gear. Also, while the RPM's are getting higher the shifter starts to shake like a mother! No sounds from the tranny itself though. Everything feels good and engagement feels pretty solid. The sound is coming from somewhere in the shifter.

[SOCAL240]

i hear a diff type of noise from my transmission and i hear it when its on neutral and i turn on my car it sounds like a wind gust type of sound and it stops after i step on the clutch and put it on first but when i put it back on neutral it has that wind gusty type of noise

idk if its makin any sense at all maybe some of u guys can help
or i can hopefully take a video and u guys can possibly hear the sound

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by 240boy90

Humm ok .....What about on a 14? Ive been getting this spooling sound only as I accelerate through each and every gear. Also, while the RPM's are getting higher the shifter starts to shake like a mother! No sounds from the tranny itself though. Everything feels good and engagement feels pretty solid. The sound is coming from somewhere in the shifter.

I think the "spooling" sound you are hearing is normal. It gets quieter as you shift to a higher gear right? My s-13 has that whining or spooling sound in 1-3rd gears and then it pretty much goes away. I have haerd others complaining of pretty much the same thing. For the shifter shake, what trans mount do you have? Stock? My shifter would bounce up and down when I was on the freeway till I put a urethane trans mount. If it is not that then check the bushings for your shifter pivot ball, they could be going bad. Some shifter vibration is normal however. This FAQ applies to pretty much ANY car with a M/T.

Originally Posted by SOCAL240

i hear a diff type of noise from my transmission and i hear it when its on neutral and i turn on my car it sounds like a wind gust type of sound and it stops after i step on the clutch and put it on first but when i put it back on neutral it has that wind gusty type of noise

idk if its makin any sense at all maybe some of u guys can help
or i can hopefully take a video and u guys can possibly hear the sound

Sounds like your input bearing to me.

[jdFKNmVRT]

so what should i check out if it screams when i try to press the clutch? it won't even go in gear when i do press it down while its screaming...

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by jdFKNmVRT

so what should i check out if it screams when i try to press the clutch? it won't even go in gear when i do press it down while its screaming...

If it "screams" when you press the clutch then it is probably your throwout bearing, but a bad clutch can also make noise when you engage or disengage it as well. Not going into gear is likely a different problem however. That is either a problem in the hydraulic system (master cyl, slave cyl, or air in the system), a mis-adjusted clutch pedal rod (under the dash), or a bad clutch. Try bleeding your clutch, inspect the system for leaks, and make sure your pedal has the proper amount of freeplay (should be about 1/2 in).

[PRADOgy]

soo i have this issue when im off the gas and in gear ut makes a noise like a sick wind and grind combined idk.. its drivable and no issues on throttle.. just when you let off gas and in gear it makes this noise.. and in neutrol too.. its a quiter but i still hear it.. when i push the clutch.. noise is gone.. im stomped..
happens harsh in first. second, quieter in third.. not in fourth and slightly in fifth

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by PRADOgy

soo i have this issue when im off the gas and in gear ut makes a noise like a sick wind and grind combined idk.. its drivable and no issues on throttle.. just when you let off gas and in gear it makes this noise.. and in neutrol too.. its a quiter but i still hear it.. when i push the clutch.. noise is gone.. im stomped..
happens harsh in first. second, quieter in third.. not in fourth and slightly in fifth

Maybe there are two different noises that sound similar? The one in gear on decel i'm not 100% sure what bearing that is but it might be the input bearing. The input bearing may be getting torqued more or in a different direction on accel and decel so it may only make niose on decel. The noise that you hear at idle and it goes away when you press the clutch is almost certainly the input bearing. Remember that a reasonable amount of noise is normal for all manual trannies, so don't worry too much unless the noises are very loud, very nasty sounding, or are getting worse over time. Also you have to take into consideration the amount of sound-deadening left in the car. When my car was stock I barely heard any trans noise, but after I gutted the holy hell out of it I heard all kinds of weird noises from the drivetrain.

[240boy90]

Thanks racepar good lookin out....

[Landers]

What about a noise that only happens when i go through a decent size puddle with only one tire???? probably not trans related but its a noise that i am very curious about. The noise is wild shit.

[obsolete]

Old thread, but I have couple other scenarios I would like to ask about.

1. whining noise in neutral/idle, stops when clutch is pressed down

2. whining noise getting louder as you rev it; a)in neutral and b) while going in gear

[Bigsyke]

If its in neut. Then its something with your engine belts or engine lubrication system.

[Om1kron]

I'm sure my pressure plate took a shit.

cant start the car with it in gear and the clutch pressed in car will move forward.

while running the car will not go into any gear

there is a nasty chatter at certain rpms it's most audible in this video here. \

fast forward to 2:10

Simone Video Blog : Timing Chain Rattle? on Vimeo

the rattle has signifigantly gone away after running the engine but when it has a load on it no noise, when i release the gas and the rpms drop the rattle is like that but fast and louder.

i originally thought it was my downpipe hitting the chassis but I will find out tomorrow if i am dropping the transmission.

whats your take?

[xs240]

How about this.

When I press clutch pedal = no noise.

When I let go and I'm in neutral = noise.

[180ways2slide]

Originally Posted by xs240

How about this.

When I press clutch pedal = no noise.

When I let go and I'm in neutral = noise.

throw out bearing

[obsolete]

lol...this is the confusing shit. If you look at racepar's very first post, it says bad TOB only makes noise when clutch is pressed in. i've read countless threads about TOB and they all contradict.

[slider2828]

There is only pressure on the TOB when the clutch is pressed in. Just thinking about it...

[xs240]

so im confused racepar1 answer lol

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by xs240

How about this.

When I press clutch pedal = no noise.

When I let go and I'm in neutral = noise.

Some noise in neutral is normal. My trans is noisy as hell in neutral. It is probably the countershaft bearings or maybe the input shaft bearing.

[flip3d]

is a bad input shaft bearing common problem on SR motorsets?

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by Om1kron

I'm sure my pressure plate took a shit.

cant start the car with it in gear and the clutch pressed in car will move forward.

while running the car will not go into any gear

there is a nasty chatter at certain rpms it's most audible in this video here. \

fast forward to 2:10

Simone Video Blog : Timing Chain Rattle? on Vimeo

the rattle has signifigantly gone away after running the engine but when it has a load on it no noise, when i release the gas and the rpms drop the rattle is like that but fast and louder.

i originally thought it was my downpipe hitting the chassis but I will find out tomorrow if i am dropping the transmission.

whats your take?

flywheel bolts backed out... ouch

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by flip3d

is a bad input shaft bearing common problem on SR motorsets?

DO NOT be all sketchy about a little noise in neutral. Shit happens all the time and the trans still lasts forever. It is common for 240 trannies to be a little noisy and SR trannies are the same basic transmission.

Originally Posted by Om1kron

flywheel bolts backed out... ouch

That's just a little dangerous right there. Good thing nothing happened.

[flip3d]

Originally Posted by racepar1

DO NOT be all sketchy about a little noise in neutral. Shit happens all the time and the trans still lasts forever. It is common for 240 trannies to be a little noisy and SR trannies are the same basic transmission.

I was just wondering if it was common for them to go bad because my trans is noisier than other cars I've had. Runs great even with the noise.

[Bigsyke]

Om1kron have you ever thought about putting loctite purple on the flywheel bolts?

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by Bigsyke

Om1kron have you ever thought about putting loctite purple on the flywheel bolts?

jesus christ they have another color? I put red on them but I believe one of them started to strip (the teeth on the bolt head) when tq'ing it down (socket broke) so that's most likely the one that started it.

I have yet to dismantle the rest of it to see the extent of the damage. I will update my blog monday night with the damage. If everything looks ok i'm just going to throw it all back on. I have already purchased brand new pressure plate bolts and flywheel bolts and will properly tq them down with a heavy duty star socket this time while locking the crank with a breaker bar.

[Bigsyke]

I Never used loctite on the flywheel bolts, the red is the heavy strength. Man you mustve stripped the bolts to get them to backout with "red".

Ive snapped new M6 bolts with "red" by just trying to remove them. I believe you have to heat the loctite up to 510*f to even break the seal on the bolt

Purple is the weakest of the strengths, however it still provides corrosion/shock resistance and gives 100% proper torque lubrication while torqing a bolt. So instead of the threads giving the resistance, the head of the bolt and the surface is the only thing giving the resistance - thus you get a proper torque reading. However thats usually the case with all loctite colors.

[Om1kron]

yeah, i'm thinking the vibrating and the weight of the clutch just caused them to back out but it's all assumption until I complete the teardown. After having the tranny fall on me after getting stuck on the trans tunnel up top I was a little unmotivated to keep trekking on.

[Bigsyke]

^^same situation, Almost died after the bellhousing came crashing down on my neck. after my 5 day trans install I just about gave up, untill about 11pm the night before I had to work the next day. Good luck man, Next time im pulling the engine to check on anything internal on the tranny.

[flip3d]

^ IMO its a lot easier to just pull it but its kinda pricey since you have to buy more fluids when you put everything back in :P

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by flip3d

^ IMO its a lot easier to just pull it but its kinda pricey since you have to buy more fluids when you put everything back in :P

yeah tell me about it, this is the third time i've filled it with fluids.