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The more I listen to the video, the more bleepster's description of rocks or bolts spinning in a can sounds like it.
Any sounds when downshifting without braking? 4-3-2 while slowing down, leaving the clutch in longer like when you are coming to a stop. Clutch noises at any other time?
It sounds rotational. So if it isn't the wheel rotation, and it isn't the engine pulleys/belts rotation, then what else is rotating while coming to a stop? The clutch assembly.
I would not get distracted looking for a bad cat. That is more of a buzzing/rattling sound when the cat internals clump up.
We only have the video to listen to. Do you agree starfishy that it sounds rotational in person?
The more I listen to the video, the more bleepster's description of rocks or bolts spinning in a can sounds like it.
Any sounds when downshifting without braking? 4-3-2 while slowing down, leaving the clutch in longer like when you are coming to a stop. Clutch noises at any other time?
It sounds rotational. So if it isn't the wheel rotation, and it isn't the engine pulleys/belts rotation, then what else is rotating while coming to a stop? The clutch assembly.
I would not get distracted looking for a bad cat. That is more of a buzzing/rattling sound when the cat internals clump up. And you would probably get a check engine code.
We only have the video to listen to. Do you agree starfishy that it sounds rotational in person?
I'd say it's something in the bellhousing like bolts or rocks. I'd drain the oil just to see if anything comes out of the motor but I don't think it's the motor.
I actually had a similar noise once. When I hit the brakes, it sounded like a rock or something metallic was bouncing around inside a tin can under the car. The harder I hit the brakes and the longer I decelerated, the louder and longer the noise would be. Ended up being a blueberry-sized piece of metal in my bell housing!
I think I found the problem, and the posters, who think it is something internal are correct. Here are pictures of my bellhousing, more precisely the passenger side of it, next to the catalytic converter:
Crack from below, note the shadow at the right top.
From the side, major crack.
Pretty ugly.
Anyway, I am going to order the following from RockAuto: ACDELCO 12453263 Bellhousing, LUK 04173 clutch kit, LUK LSC265B slave cylinder. I take it these are the correct parts. Any advice before I order?
Edit: I am surprised that the clutch is still working.
I actually had a similar noise once. When I hit the brakes, it sounded like a rock or something metallic was bouncing around inside a tin can under the car. The harder I hit the brakes and the longer I decelerated, the louder and longer the noise would be. Ended up being a blueberry-sized piece of metal in my bell housing!
Bingo. See pictures above While it's annoying and not quite cheap I at least know what it is.
And again. Thanks everyone for working so hard with me to solve the mystery.
We have a DIY garage in the vicinity, with lifts and everything. I'll take the car there to do the work. The one special tool I am aware that I need is a puller for the pilot bearing, otherwise the usual suspects plus torque wrench and a bunch of 3/8" extensions should do, but they do have tools for rent if I am missing something.
Thanks for coming back and letting us know that you found the problem, and what it was. At least it was found before the clutch went out with even more destruction.
And hey, when you are done you will have a new clutch and one less thing to worry about.
Wow. I want to see what's inside of there that caused all of that severe damage.
You can rent the pilot bearing puller tool from AutoZone, you may need to remove the little arms from the tool and slip them inside the pilot bearing one arm at a time and then reconnect the arms to the puller piece of the tool
I'll make sure to take pictures of the teardown and the damaged parts. Waiting for RockAuto to deliver my parts right now. When they arrive I'll make an appointment at a local DIY garage to do the swap.
Sorry about the long delay, here is the resolution: I pulled the transmission and the broken bellhousing last weekend. This is what I found:
Well, these were obviously not pieces of bellhousing nor did the clutch seem to be missing anything. Let's take a closer look:
Notice something amiss?
There we are. Definitely broken.
New starter...
... and clutch<br/>
So the fragments were pieces of starter housing. I found also something that looked like a small bushing, but it got lost before I put everything back together.
Everything is put back together and works. No more noise. What happened? My theory is that that bushing got wedged between the teeth of the flywheel and the starter housing and shattered the latter.
Either way, thanks again everyone for helping me with this!
Old flywheel wasn't mssing any teeth. Interestingly the starter still did engage and disengage and start the car, but I am glad I replaced it, as well as everything starting with the pilot bearing.
This morning I had a nasty surprise. Clutch pedal fell to the floor. I first checked for fluid underneath the car, but there was none. Where had it gone? I thought an air bubble from the slave cylinder may have bubbled up, and sure enough, the clutch tank, which we had filled after bleeding the clutch as best we could under time pressure to get the car done before the DIY shop closed, was empty. I added some fluid and lo and behold, the clutch works normally now and has done so with me driving around including stop-and-go and city traffic all day long. I still want to do a bleeding cycle again, though.
07-27-2017, 07:36 AM
While it's annoying and not quite cheap I at least know what it is. 
