AlphaGeek Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hi guys, new here and hoping someone might have some thoughts before I take this into the shop. Just got this recently and love Pathy's but first time owning one. Bought this so I could go fishin in more interesting places :-) My pathy has about 172K miles on it. Don't know much about it's service history unfortunately. Sometimes when I engage the clutch in neutral there's a fairly loud brrrrrrrrrrrr noise (kinda grinding sounding). If I pump the clutch it usually goes away after one or two pumps (while not moving). If I don't pump the clutch the noise continues. This also happens when clutching to shift but I've only noticed it when shifting into first or to second. It seems much more frequent when the pathy is cold (i.e. just started it). Very inconsistent noise in any event. I'm wondering if this suggests clutch-plate separation or something worse? I'm not equipped to do a clutch rebuild so have to go the shop route. Does anyone have any rough ideas on what that typically costs? I'm in Vancouver so it's probably a little more expensive here than in most of the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Uhm, my first thought is throwout bearing. it is engaged when the clutch pedal is pressed down (to shift..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 My guess would be the pilot bearing. The throw out bearing turns all the time but only has load on it when you push the clutch but pumping it would not make the noise go away. The pilot bearing will usually make a brrrrrrrrrrrr noise as soon as you start to let up on the clutch. Then when it gets worse it will make the noise the whole time you hold the clutch in. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 It sounds like throwout bearing to me as well. They can last a LONG time doing that. It may not be a big deal, until it starts doing that with every gear change. I had mine going out for a year before I did the clutch. I had the clutch replaced once, in an emergency, as one of the friction plate screws popped out, and jammed against the pressure plate. Essentially, I couldn't take the truck OUT of gear. I limped it to the dealer and they replaced the clutch for me. $1100 all told. This was 5 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I agree that it sounds like a throw out bearing as well...my 95 did it for 2 years in the winter time until I had to change the clutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I had the clutch replaced once, in an emergency, as one of the friction plate screws popped out, and jammed against the pressure plate. Essentially, I couldn't take the truck OUT of gear. I limped it to the dealer and they replaced the clutch for me. $1100 all told. This was 5 years ago. WHA?!?! That's crazy!! How did that up end happening? $1100..they had you marked when you walked in the door. Ultimately, it's your call, but these guys are spot on with this. In the grand scheme of things, it is a very minor issue. A throwout or pilot bearing is no big deal...until you have to replace it. Which can be years even after they start to fail. Bearings in general can go a very long time. Just think about how long idler pulleys will continue to work even after they have been "about to fail" for years. The noise just means that the bearing has lost its lubrication. Just drive it until the clutch starts to slip. A failing bearing in the clutch system can be an early warning sign of a clutch replacement. Following the logic of, "it has been X time, and now the throwout bearing is going bad, then clutch will also go bad around the same amount of time" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreus009 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 My opinion is the pilot bearing...which actually is a brass bushing. I had this happen on my 95 also. It usually was noiser in the winter/cooler months. Either way the tranny has to get pulled to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I know mine was throw out...when I took it off the bearing was grinding and hard to turn and had nice buildup of clutch dust inside of it (the oil seals were gone) my pilot bushing didn't show signs of excessive wear... Either way drive it till it gets noticeably worse (vibrations and worse sounds than a grumble...when you change a clutch, you should always change the pilot bushing/bearing and the throw out bearing, along with the rear main seal and i always change my flywheel instead of getting it machined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreus009 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 ^x2. Once you are in there do everything. I ended up having to re-use my old throw-out bearing because the one i got from the auto-parts store was rolling rougher than the old one. I had no way to get to the store to get a replacement. Needless to say.....about a year later I was pulling the tranny again.....to fix the throw out bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaGeek Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Wow, thanks for all the super-fast responses to my post! This forum is definetly the place to be. I certainly agree that if you're opening the tranny to do a clutch job it would be pretty foolish not to replace such an inexpensive part as the TB. Probably the pilot bushing/bearing as well. But, I thought that if you have a bad TB, the noise will start when you push the clutch pedal not when the clutch pedal is out...? I didn't think of the pilot bearing as I've never had that issue but my reading seems to suggest that pilot bearing noise happens when you release the clutch pedal - not sure though. Also, there seems to be some disagreement from the posters about this here. So.... if it's the pilot bearing (or the TB for that matter), am I doing damage if I ignore it until I need a clutch job? And do I run the risk of being on some moutainside 100 miles from nowhere and er, getting stuck? That is, will it fail totally very quickly or with lots of notice? You guys are awesome, thanks in advance. -Arne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 WHA?!?! That's crazy!! How did that up end happening? $1100..they had you marked when you walked in the door. It was a cheap aftermarket friction plate that failed. The $1100 bill was from a dealership. All Nissan parts, and labour. That was CAD as well, when it was worth far less than the USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Either way it is either your throw out bearing or your pilot bushing. Either way you have to drop the transmission to fix them. Either way they are both very very cheap. Just wait until your clutch starts to get weak and then drop the trans and replace the clutch/throw out/pilot. they usually come with your clutch kit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 The problem with ignoring the pilot bushing is 1 when it's buzzing it is turning the input shaft slowly and makes it harder to shift. 2 If left long enough it will scare up the input shaft. I just changed mine and it wasn't really worn out but dry. That's why I always pull a vacuum on the new bushing before putting them in. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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