Possible Clutch problem - "squeeling"

[Oni]

Hi all,

Ive recently noticed that when my clutch pedal is completly out there is a sound that seems liek its comming from under the driver seat maybe a little forward of it. i can make the sound go away by pressing in the clutch pedal enough to take away the slack ( by no means engadging the clutch or even having any pressure on the pedal) but its very annoying when in a car park and quite loud. Just hoping its not damaging anything. I dont know how the clutch really works, so im off to try and fine out so i might be able to self diagnose . Any ideas?

[bigdog]

You have a worn out clutch release or 'throwout' bearing Oni. To replace it you need to remove the gearbox, so you might as well replace the clutch while you're at it. THey can damage the pressure plate, but generally they just make a lot of noise until they finally collapse and cease to operate. I have known cars to go for years with noisy release bearings, so if you don't want to spend any money just turn up the stereo and ignore the noise

[JBT]

You may just need a dab of grease where the clutch release lever contacts the slave cylinder piston rod.

[Oni]

Thanks for the replies .

JBT thanks for the option, ill look uip where that is and have a go at that. If it is the throwout bearing im pretty fine to just keep driving untill it stops working all together? and any damage thats done to the pressure plate wont matter if i replace the clutch? ( not sure if thats part of the clutch "kit" install) Thanks again. Im poor atm have a wedding and honeymoon to save for!

[bigdog]

Try JBT's grease trick, but if it doesn't work you can keep driving till it fails - you will be replacing the pressure plate with the clutch kit, so any damage done won't matter. How many K's has the clutch done?

[feel_ixx]

Hmm.. if its anything like the sound of my old clutch, itll last as long as you can put up with the sound It's embarrasing though so I just bought a new clutch. Besides, they last for years so whats the point of leaving for another few months with that annoying sound ?

[Oni]

It's embarrasing though

Its so true, come to think of it there has always been a noise at idle that woudl go away when i pressed the clutch slightly, its possible that i brought it this way and its just getting worse over time.As for how many k's the clutch has done, well theres nothing in the service history that says its ever been replaced, that said AFAIK everything is still factory apart from the softtop that was replaced as part of a call back. Is there anything i can do/not do to lengthen its life if JBT's trick doesnt work? I dont ride the clutch or dump it becuase i never wanted to break anything haha.

[Brett_MX5]

You may just need a dab of grease where the clutch release lever contacts the slave cylinder piston rod.

Had the same problem on my car, but the grease only worked for a little while

I have an aftermarket slave cylinder and it doesn't have the little tip that goes through the hole in the domed section of the clutch fork - so all the grease I put in just came out the hole

I ended up having to jam a piece of plastic in between the slave rod and the fork