My mechanic who took a ride in my car told me that my realease bearing is done, which makes a little clicking noise from the tranny. He said its ok to drive it until i replace the clutch. While I trust him, I am just wondering that can my clutch feel dead because of the release bearing? Or is my clutch really dead and new release bearing won't help anything. I noticed that my clutch is gone is as soon as the release bearing noise started. Well its not dead, it just doesn't grab as before.

P.S. Are aftermarket release bearing worth investing into? Anyone used them before? I know spoon makes release bearings.

 

You step on the clutch peddle. That sends hydraulic fluid to the slave cylinder which in turn, pushes on an arm that pushes on the pressure plate such that it releases the clutch. The bearing is just an interface between the arm and the pressure plate because one is turning and the other is not.

If the throw out bearing is going bad, you'll probably be hearing some odd noises when you push down on the clutch peddle. You probably won't hear anything unusual when the clutch in engaged because the throw out bearing isn't being used in that mode. You may also feel vibrations through the clutch system if the bearing is bad enough which "might" account for what you describe as a "dead" feeling in the clutch but I'm not 100% sure of that. Whether or not it'll last the rest of the life of the clutch is hard to say. I've not personally seen your car so I'm not willing to contradict your mechanic on that but I'd think that if the bearing is going, the clutch may not be far behind, but if it's not, then I wouldn't trust the bearing to last that much longer.

Either way, I don't think I'd wait too long to take care of this. When it does go, it's going to immobilize the car. As for aftermarket throw out bearings, I'd think they're probably all pretty even in terms of quality. Clutch friction disks can be made of different materials that effect how they engage. Pressure plates can be made to differing pressure specs which also effects how the clutch will engage. These things can make a big difference in how the car feels and drives, but a throw out bearing is just a throw out bearing. I'd think you'll be just fine with anything a reputable dealer would sell you.

JMO!

Good luck & Drive Safe,
Steve R.