s2000Junky

Hey guys, I am hoping for some other opinions on what this could be. Right now I have a rotational noise/ticking sort of noise coming from the trans area which moves in speed with engine rpm, when I push in the clutch is goes away entirely however. The only thing I can think of is either the throw out bearing is making the noise or it’s the trans. I did a clutch about 10k ago and replaced the bearing at this time so that would seem unlikely. The trans has about 150k on it. 50k has been boosted. I 'm hoping for some other suggestions on what it could be or confirmation. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks guys

dammitjim

Does this happens when the car is stopped?

s2000Junky

Yes, sitting there at idle I hear it, also when the car is moving I would suspect, though too hard to hear then, its not real loud. But definitely audible when in the car or standing next to it by the door when away from the engine noise. If I put my ear to the shifter I can hear/feel it pulse slightly also. The sound goes away when I push in the clutch, as soon as I release the clutch it makes the sound again.

zeroptzero

it sounds like a throwout bearing, it would be odd for a new one to be bad, but you never know. Did you guys lubricate it properly upon installation ?, that is an important detail. Honda Hi Temp Urea grease is the best product for that purpose.

s2000Junky

I agree it definitely could be the TO bearing, I am pretty sure I lubed it up with that special green Honda grease though. Wouldn't the main trans bearing or something related on the shaft cause this sound as well. Seems like I had a similar sound/situation- though louder) happen to my old 280z when finally pop! none of the gears would engage without grinding teeth sensation. Could not move the car anymore, just like a blown diff. I'm hoping this is not what’s happing with my s2000, but it seems likely? Could it be anything else other then the trans or TO bearing? It’s not an engine rod nock thankfully which was a concern at first until I pushed in the clutch and it went away.

SlowTeg

Well, the two obvious/main culprits are input shaft/main bearing and throwout bearing..

A good test to determine where the noise is coming from is rev the car with the clutch engaged (to speed up the input shaft and give it some "momentum"), and then press the clutch pedal. If you hear the noise "wind down" rather than quickly silenced, I would put my money on the input shaft bearing or something else in the tranny. If you hear the noise quickly silenced, I would have to say it's the TO bearing. Best of luck.

Edit: Oh yeah.. The sound a bad TO bearing generally makes (at least the ones I've heard) are a sort of "whirring" noise vs. ticking, fwiw.

s2000Junky

Thanks for the test suggestion there, I hadn’t thought of that. So the trans will carry momentum and the TO bearing wont? So if its the trans I should hear it wined down? Makes sense. Yeah its a bad bearing rotational sound with intermittent surging/pulsing sounds with it. From the noise of the motor and SC at idle you almost cant hear it, until you notice and tune in.

Wonder how long I can drive it like this before it gets worse and something lets go? I've got some plans for allot of miles this summer. Either way I’m going to have to remove the trans and deal with what ever it is it sounds like. I'm just broke right now after some medical bills. I just am hoping I can get through this season before I have to do anything.

SlowTeg

s2kjunky,

Yup, that's right.. The mainshaft spinning will carry momentum, whereas the TO bearing will be silenced immediately.

My suggestion, is if it's the tranny making the noise, you'd be smart to not drive it at all/fix it immediately. Changing the bearing before it gets bad (if it's just a bearing) will keep your transmission in one piece, and it will only get worse. I changed an input shaft bearing on my old honda and it's pretty easy once you crack the tranny open.

If you determine that the noise is coming from the transmission (not the TO bearing), once cracking it open it should be fairly easy to determine where the noise is coming from (mainshaft/countershaft/etc).

s2000Junky

Thanks for the input on this. I think for me, since I have to go to the trouble of pulling the trans regardless, and with how many miles are on it, I'd prefer to just replace it with a low mile ap2 trans instead of fix mine. What I’m hoping is that if it’s the trans- which it probably is) will it maintain its current state for a wile. I would assume it will continue to get louder as it wears, in which case I will have some warning as when it might be time to deal with this. My fear is that I will do a WOT pull and it will let go leaving me on the side of the road somewhere in Canada with my AAA card.

SlowTeg

Replacing it def makes sense I guess, as AP2's can be found for fairly cheap. If you determine the tranny is making the noise, I would still advise against driving it. You could very well end up stranded, but also it could cause damage to other things, like your clutch. I've never seen a mainshaft bearing completely destroyed (and the damage it does), because people usually change it before getting to that point..