Brimms

Howdy, like the title says, I swapped my clutch out and now I've got a horrid noise on startup that persists. I've been took afraid to keep my car on for longer than a minute. It also smokes like hell. I thought maybe it was a vacuum leak after some research but after messing around with the pcv tube and other things I'm pretty sure it's not.

So the things I replaced: rear main seal, pilot bearing, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and last but not least fluids.

Any help is really appreciated.

Btw here is a video of the problem. Sorry about being so jumpy but I was trying to get every angle.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mq8Rb6Wa41c

Brimms

Oh btw, it's the high pitch whine. It sounds like the pilot bearing is thrashed or something.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

Quick thought - noise might be the throwout bearing on the slave cylinder. Does the noise change when you press or release the clutch pedal?

Does the smoke smell like burnt oil, burnt metal, burnt clutch/brake material or anything else? Almost every major job I've done results in alot of smoke from burning off all the WD40 as it heats up. Lasts about 20 minutes.

Brimms

Ah dammit, I forgot to mention I replaced the slave and master cylinder. Maybe I got a bad one? I'm pretty sure the noise comes when the clutch is off the floor and engaged and in neutral. It's on jack stands so I haven't wanted to put it in gear yet to see if it stops whole in gear. I'll do all that stuff when I get home tonight.

I think you're right on the wd40 thing because the sure does smell a hell of a lot like pb blaster lol.

I don't have access to it right now cause of work. But are there any diagnostic checks? Maybe this is a pulley or something?

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

If the noise is only there when the pedal is up, that rules out the throwout bearing and also I think the pilot bearing. Weird thought, but there is a right and wrong direction to insert the bearing, and I've done it wrong. That noise is more of a fast repeating "squeak-squeak-squeak" than a continuous whine.

A vacuum leak from the repair work would whine, and easy enough to check

I can think of alot of other things it COULD be, and none are pleasant. Did you have to be pretty rough on your transmission getting it in and out? Did you run into any clearance issues with the LS7 flywheel or pressure plate? Are you seeing any metal shavings? Does the noise change with throttle?

You might want to try a poor-mans stethescope - length of hose and a ratchet extension - to see if you can really pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from.

Brimms

Thanks for sticking with me, I appreciate the help. So the noise only happens when the clutch pedal is up. Even the lightest touch of the clutch will get rid of the noise completely. Unfortunately I was pretty rough on the transmission putting it up because I didn't have a transmission jack (I have one now). There wasn't any issue with clearances between the clutch to flywheel.

What the hell is this if the slightest clutch disengagement removes the nice completely?

Doing some reading.... might be the input shaft, but im a newbie so I have no idea.

I'm going to try to post a video of it.

Brimms

So, the noise had stopped. Completely. Not sure if it's cause my engine is up to temp or what... but it's gone after I put it in first great and ran it a bit.

Brimms

So, the noise is present in cold start ups still. It seems to go away after the engine gets to a warmer temperature.

Maybe it's the transmission fluid? That's why is whining? I put 4 quarts of valvoline equivalent dex 3.

maroonls1z

If the car is in neutral it's not the transmission, are you sure you shimmed the slave right?

Brimms

youtube.com/watch?v=ceLKmcY7lNw

Here is a video of the noise and me passing the clutch in to stop it.

I did not know you needed to shim the slave. It's all ls7 and ls1 components. So it's not a spec clutch.

Oh my lawd, it seems as though the slave has a problem or is my awful steering pump....pretty sure is the steering pump. this video is me in neutral and revving. You can no longer hear the noise for the above video. Sorry for the vertical video.

youtube.com/watch?v=zYPpG2N94X0

Brimms

After looking around on the forums a bit, I think it's either the slave or the input shaft. is the any way of knowing before I strip down the car again? I might try pouring a little more transmission fluid in and seeing if that stops the whining. The fact that it does go away gives me hope that it might be low fluid level.

Also, if it whines in 4th gear, since that is the 1:1, wouldn't that definitely be the input shaft?

maroonls1z

You should always measure when installing a new clutch. I had to shim my ls7

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

That does sound like it needs a shim. At first, I was starting to think input shaft bearing, which is why I asked about the clutch pedal changing the sound and how rough you were on the trans. When my input shaft went out, it was horrible with the pedal out and got worse with revving the enigne and pedal out.

The first little bit of the clutch pedal is taking up dead space. if that quiets the clutch, it probably just needs a shim, and you're in luck.

if you want to try fluid to quiet it down, might be worth a shot of the Lucas additive. It does pretty good quieting down noise transmissions. It's like pouring molasses. It really does sound like you need a shim in your slave and you'll be OK.

Brimms

That's not the worst thing ever. I'll try the fluid first and then pull it all out and put a shim in there if it doesn't help! My questions would be, why does it go away after a while? Does the expansion of the metal when it's hot let's it touch the fingers? Also, wouldn't my engaging point be really low? The point at where it can shift into gear is really high. I almost feel as though it's higher than when I was using my ls1 setup.

Will post results if I use a shim.

99z28383

iTrader: (1)

The noise is your throwout bearing. Sounds like the you need a shim to allow the slave cylinder to apply constant pressure instead of letting the face of the bearing slide on the fingers of the pressure plate. This can also not allow your clutch to fully disengage.

With the car up on jack stands and running, put it in first gear with the clutch all the way to the floor. If the tires spin, your clutch is not fully disengaging and you need to shim the slave cylinder.

Brimms

Pulled the transmission, I measured the slave and then the pp fingers. It was a difference of 0.152 in. I'm going to grab the tick 0.055" shim and cry myself to sleep tonight.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll let you know if the noise goes away.

dailydriver

Would a bad, or going out, input shaft bearing cause this type of steady state whine as well?

What about a bad pilot bearing??

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

From having had both failures here is what remember:

Pilot bearing. No noise in neutral or in gear with pedal up. Makes noise when you push pedal in and engine spinning but not input shaft

Input shaft. God awful scraping squealing noise that pisses off your neighbors three houses down. Worst when you are trying get the car moving from a dead stop.

dailydriver

OK, THANKS!!

I have that same high pitched whine noise (only in gear, and constant despite speed/revs) coming from the bellhousing area, so I'm guessing either something is out of alignment there, or the ring gear is contacting something (or the throw out bearing is bad)??

Brimms

Does it go away with any pressure to the clutch pedal? I haven't put my shim on yet because ive had long days at work. But I will update this when the transmission is back in my car. Here is to hoping!