///// Might be having a clutch problem ?? ////

[Andyinchville1]

Hi All,

It's been going on for a little while but seemingly has gotten worse more recently...

At first when sitting at a stoplight in neutral I occasionally heard what I thought was a squeak.. I checked belts excetera but never could really determine what it was.

Later I heard an occasional rattle when Transmission in neutral sitting at a stoplight...

More recently it has gotten to be more of a continuous minor rattle that seem to go away when pushing the clutch pedal in even just a little bit..

sometimes fully cycling the clutch keeps the noise away for the duration of the stoplight.... other times a second cycling of the clutch would generally speaking stop the rattle noise and keep it away for the remainder of the stop light.

I'm only guessing but could it be a throw out bearing or something going out?

Or is it possible the clutch plate or something else could be rattling around?

There are no funny noises when I'm in gear and driving ... only when I'm in neutral sitting at a stop light.

I'm hoping it's nothing super serious but assuming I need a full clutch job?

I'm guessing that would be the perfect time to put in a limited slip like a wavetrac and maybe a 6-speed mod( 6th gear onto the 5 speed)... anything else to consider?

If the transmission has to come out to do all this is there anybody out there that is recommended to do it that is around the Charlottesville and Richmond area? ... of course I would be willing to drive since I cannot do that work myself and want the work done right the first time around

Thanks in advance for any and all help

Andrew

 

[9755]

I had the same symptoms a couple years ago. Mine ended up being the throw out bearing. Causing the arm that engages and disengages the pressure plate to rub on it. Causing the squeal. If you have the room, it's really not a difficult job. Myself and everyone else will recommend a full clutch job. Idk about the gear change. Did it to mine when I did the clutch. Don't recall what ratio I installed. But it dropped my rpms to around 1500 at 55mph. Made it feel very sluggish. But awesome on the highway.
I would recommend reading up on drilling a hole in the trans behind the 5th gear. To allow fluid to actually reach it. I did and have had zero problems in the 20k miles since I did it.

 

[vandermic07]

Could be your DMF starting to go causing some chattering. Do a whole clutch job.

Your call on the gears. Im not sure where you get the "bolt on" 6th. But once you open it up to do LS Diff. Might as well do everything.