SW20, noise in neutral

[Lammi_mr2]

Hey guys, just something i've noticed recently. I can hear a faint...'grinding' sound coming from the gearbox, if i disengage the clutch the sound goes away, if i engage the clutch the noise comes back. The noise is only there in neutral. Would this be the throw out bearing or could it potentially be something worse.
I will note that i first heard the noise around new years, but at that time it sounded like a knock and i thought i'd done something engine wise, but soon realised that it was the box when i depressed the clutch pedal. but yeah its eventuated into just a grind.


Any help is greatly appreciated

[jimmy_a]

sounds like a throw out bearing...

[roadsailing]

i'm tipping gearboox input shaft bearings, my T50 does this all the time. I think the general consensus is dont worry about it.

[broken22]

Is that with clutch in or out?

[TooF]

id point at throwout bearing before any of the internal bearings, if nothing else its eaiser to change

[Lammi_mr2]

The noise is there with the clutch pedal out. If i push the pedal in the noise goes away

[swan86]

Top up the gear box oil.
If this doesn't help then either way it is a gear box out job.Most common cause; Thrust release bearing, Bearing binding on the shaft or worn bearing.
Other causes could be improper pedal adjustment, clutch rivets loose, clutch plate cracked or worn clutch pressure plate springs.
If the thrust bearing is good and the clutch assembly is good then it may be gear box. Noise from gear box could be caused by input shaft bearing worn or a damaged main drive gear bearing.

[RA40Rob]

whats it like when you are not moving?
when you put your foot on the clutch the clutch thrust bearing is doing work(make noise) the gearbox is not moving so will be quiet. While it is in neutral and foot off clutch and makes a noise it will be front bearing(input shaft is engaged).as the rest of the gears and shafts will not be moving.
just rebuilt a 6 speed out of a VU recently with similar noises, was the front bearing. BTW I have the same noises in my RA40 W50 box as well as noises in 5th and crunch into 3rd(synco's) one day i will rebuild it, what do you expect for a $150 car lol.

[allencr]

WOW.
What happens when the clutch is pushed, disengaged, is that the trans . shafts( input & cluster) stop turning, the pilot bearing starts turning on the crank's end, and the throwout/release/carrier/thrust bearing is turning under a greater load, so IF the whirring/grinding noise disappears it is slightly possible that a release bearing would make less noise with more load but to me, I'm sure that it's the transmission bearing/s that are quiet when they're not turning.

Have you just noticed this, or has it just gotten louder recently? Most will get progressively worse but it will take 10's of thousands of miles & sudden failures are very rare. The extra bearing play will cause the front seal to leak some and all gears but 4th will be a bit noisier.
Just check fluid level & drive it.

If you want to be really really sure that it isn't the release bearing, just move the clutch fork so that it isn't in contact with the clutch, by moving it a few millimeters towards the slave cylinder to separate it from the spinning clutch. Wiggle it back & forth and you'll hear a little 'clunk' each time the bearing contacts the clutch, and you may hear a little whirring from it as it scrapes the clutch fingers & gets turned up to speed.

[Lammi_mr2]

Thanks for the help guys