Hi, I have a 1998 Nissan Fronter XE, regular cab. It has 137K miles on it. My clutch squeals and makes a moaning sound when it is engaged. I had my clutch replaced over a year ago and the guy said that it was worn out and they had to replace the bearings, seal, etc. Now it is making the sound again, but now there is this squealing sound.. almost like a pulley is stuck or needs some silicone grease. I had my wife engage the clutch while it is was parked and I tried to locate the sound. I verified that it is not any pulley from the fan or the front of the engine that is making the sound and it seems to be coming from the clutch. If I engage the clutch ever so slightly or change gears quickly while pressing the clutch, I do not get the sound. It's almost like something is slipping. I do not have a problem shifting.
Sounds like a bad throughout bearing - perhaps they didn't change the pilot bearing last time?! How many miles since your last clutch assembly replacement?
First off, when you say "engage the clutch", that phrase actually means to let out on the pedal so that the clutch is grabbing the flywheel. I'm sure that you are referring to the action of pushing in the clutch pedal. You probably have a bad release or "throwout" bearing. It is only under load when you push on the clutch pedal. Unfortunately, you need to remove the transmission to get to it.
Does the clutch pedal seem much harder to push in than it used to? Do you feel an abnormal vibration through the pedal when you hold it down?
Oh ok, sorry for the confusion on terms. I always thought that when you pressed the clutch, you engaged it. Sorry.
It's not harder to push and I do not feel any abnormal vibrations. I hear a "mmmmm" medium/deep sound when it is pushed and sometimes it will squeal like a fan or engine pulley would if it was stuck.
How do these bearings go bad? It seems too soon to replace; however, I don't do a lot of highway driving.. mostly city.
They just wear out like any other bearing... The more they are used the faster they will fail. Keeping the car in gear with your foot on the clutch at red lights puts a lot of extra wear on this bearing although I wouldn't expect it to fail so soon. My wild guess would be that it wasn't actually replaced when the clutch was done or it was not lubricated properly at that time. As has already been said, the bearing is cheap and easy to replace but you have to take the transmission out to do it and that isn't fun for anybody.
I had identical symptoms on my Nissan. A weird moaning when you push in the clutch pedal. It turned out to be the pilot bushing - the one pressed into the flywheel that the input shaft of the transmission sticks into. Whether you've got a bushing or a bearing there, change it when you go in after the noise.
What's the typical cost for a bushing or bearing? I heard it's inexpensive. I'm going to get a Chilton's manual and a good mechanic friend of mine is going to help me replace the bad parts.
The bearing or bushing by itself is generally pretty cheap - A new one for my ride is under $20 for the pilot bearing, and a little under $35 for a throwout bearing.
Having a shop do either one would mean at least $250, with one shop saying $400+!
The part is cheap. Actually doing the job is even pretty simple - no really special skills or tools needed, other than the 3-10 dollar clutch-disk alignment tool the book will all tell you that you need.
The *LABOR* of having to pull the tranny (Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but I have yet to meet a vehicle with a clutch that doesn't require tranny removal to service the clutch, throwout bearing, pressure plate, or pilot bearing) to GET TO IT so you can replace the bearing is what makes *THE JOB* expensive.
A word of advice...
*BELIEVE THE BOOKS* about the clutch-alignment tool! Even if it is a Chilton's or Haynes manual, and you (wisely) don't believe even one other word in it!
Save yourself a world of frustration: No matter what you hear, or who you hear it from - I don't care if it's God himself with Jesus and Moses standing alongside nodding - *DO NOT* attempt the job without having either that clutch-disk alignment tool, or an exact clone of the precise input shaft that's in your transmission on hand before you start!! Unless you've got *LOTS* of practice, you're all but guaranteed to screw up trying to position the clutch disc properly before bolting down the pressure plate once you've finished replacing the pilot bearing/bushing. Once you've got the pressure plate bolted down properly, you and 5 other strong men aren't going to budge that clutch disk in any direction using anything short of explosives. Why does that matter?
Get it just a *LITTLE* bit off center - a sixteenth of an inch in any direction is more than plenty to cause trouble - "Close" isn't anywhere near "good enough" - You *MUST* get it exactly right - and the input shaft of the tranny will refuse to line up with the splines and the pilot bearing/bushing, then you'll spend what'll seem like eternity getting the tranny "almost there", over and over again, only to find you can't get one or more bolt holes to line up - again. And again. And again. AND AGAIN DAMMIT I HATE THIS CAR SOMEBODY GIMME SOME DYNAMITE SO I CAN BLOW THE MISERABLE PILE OF JUNK TO HELL!
Don't ask me how I know this! Just take it on faith! :)
Supposedly a Porsche 968 (with rear mounted transaxle) is a fairly easy clutch job. Almost makes me want to retrofit a 968 bellhousing and torque tube to my 944 because by all accounts it's probably easier to buy another car than to replace a clutch in a 944. No, I haven't done it, nor do I want to. I hope to have my old Stude up to daily driver standards by the time the 944 needs another clutch. That car is somewhat challenging to do a clutch in the car unless you remove the carpet and an access panel from the floor; however, yanking the engine and trans as a unit takes two people an hour or two. Old cars are pure joy to work on compared to modern iron.
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