i went for a drive in a friends manual transmission XT6.

 

makes a loud screech when you start it (pilot bearing?). otherwise starts fine and noise goes away nearly immediately. car will drive fine when you put it in gear. DIFF lock works fine. here's the kicker.. if you let the clutch out in neutral it makes VERY loud noises. sounds terrible. really bad, it makes a racket. can a clutch make that much loud noise in neutral?

 

i told him to drain the trans oil and let me know if or how many pieces come out with the oil.

Sounds like perhaps the input shaft bearing is going.

 

GD

huck is saying it could be the throw out bearing going to $#$!. he says they can be really loud. any signs to look for either way? i'm going to fix it for him, so i want to know whether i need to find a trans or not.

Personally, I've had this happen... it's probably the throwout. Putting the clutch in puts the throwout under load, and if it's going out, it'll make more noise... the tranny isn't connected to the engine at that point, therefore, it couldn't be making that noise. If it drives fine, and makes the noise when the clutch is in aka throwout under load, then it's the throwout.

Yeah - the throw out bearing is a possiblilty, but they usually make noise when the clutch is engaged. I would suspect the pilot bearing or the intput shaft bearing. But everything in the clutch area should be checked. I've had release bearings (throw out) make a ton of noise, but usually only when you engage the clutch.

 

GD

this is confusing me and probably others saying "in" with the clutch....

 

when i have the pedal pressed all the way to the floor there is no noise at all. when i let the pedal out...the noise begins to happen and the clutch catches very high in the pedal stroke, near the top. when i completely let my foot off the pedal, then it's really loud when in neutral. not quiet as loud if it's in gear and driving.

 

another indicator - sometimes if you press the clutch pedal to the floor, you can't get the shifter out of first (probably other gears too, i ddin't try them all). i can yank as hard as i want but it won't come out of gear without moving the car a little first.

 

you said "the engine isn't connected to the trans at that point and it could be making the noise".....but this one doesn't make any noise at all if i have the clutch pedal pushed all the way to the floor. if i let the clutch pedal out, take my foot off the pedal is when the noise happens.

this one doesn't make any noise at all if i have the clutch pedal pushed all the way to the floor. if i let the clutch pedal out, take my foot off the pedal is when the noise happens.

 

Sometimes a throwout bearing will do that. It usually works the opposite way, but it's not really all that unusual for one that's going bad to make noise when released and then become quiet when the bearing is under load.

i'm not well versed in clutch components so thanks for the input. i'm trying to decide whether we need an extra transmission ready just in case. he said we can take our time so maybe i'll yank the motor and do the clutch and if the clutch looks fine i'll start looking at the trans.

 

will it be obvious that the clutch components (TO bearing) were bad when i pull the motor?

I'm agreeing with GD on the pilot/input bearing failure theory.

another indicator - sometimes if you press the clutch pedal to the floor, you can't get the shifter out of first (probably other gears too, i ddin't try them all). i can yank as hard as i want but it won't come out of gear without moving the car a little first.

 

That statement, along with another you made about the clutch releasing high (meaning all the way to the floor is certainly released) is definately pointing to failing input shaft bearing or serious out of whack pilot bearing. The trans input shaft is binding and it's not able to release the shift cog. I would guess you will end up replacing that tranny.

 

GD

will it be obvious that the clutch components (TO bearing) were bad when i pull the motor?

 

Probably. Take it out and turn it with your hands. With the kind of noise you mention, the movement will most likely feel rough. I'll bet that's the problem, although this part of what you said seems inconsistent: "sometimes if you press the clutch pedal to the floor, you can't get the shifter out of first"

 

You should replace it and the pilot bearing, regardless. The condition of the pressure plate and clutch disc will be pretty obvious once you have them apart.

+1 with GD and input shaft bearing or pilot bearing; my guess is input shaft bearing. Also +1 with probably replacing tranny. Bad TO bearings usually don't quiet down with full pedal depression