Clutch problems

[Ronstar]

Single mass flywheel. Stage 3 clutch, pressure plate, throw out
bearing,and friction ring all new (3000 miles). Drives and shifts
fine. At idle when I push clutch in a hear/feel a grinding sound.
"Feels" like something spinning if that makes any sense. Let clutch
pedal out goes away. Doesn't happen every single time but most
times

[John Boothby]

My experiance with clutches this sounds like the throw-out bearing. Could be wrong, but the same thing happened to me in 1968 with my brand new Camaro.

[QB93Z]

I agree with John, it is probably a failing throwout bearing.

Jim

[sammy]

the one other thing that happened to me was the pilot bushing . it would act just like your car does . i didnt change it when i did my first zr1 clutch and i also put lube on the input shaft another no no .

[scottfab]

I don't think pilot bearing. That would make noise when your foot is off the peddle. Sure sounds like throwout bearing as others have said.
So it ran 3000mi with no noise?
And when you press the peddle in very slowly does it reach a point
where the noise kicks in or does the noise come on slowly?

[sammy]

thats what i thought too till i took it to bill b to fix .when the clutch was out no problem when i pushed it in squeal city . but it could be either . if it is the throwout bearing then look to see the condition of the pivot ball and or the clutch fork itself could be tweaked. rick hipsher kept going threw throwout bearings and found that his clutch fork was tweaked .

[Ronstar]

Push clutch in slowly everything is fine until approx. 3/4 way(sometimes
All the way)in then noise kicks in. Can feel it in pedal and shifter. Let clutch
out goes away. Push back in sometimes no noise, sometimes it does it again.
Doesn't happen every time. Only seems to happen with car in neutral at idle.
Doesn't happen during shifting while driving.

[scottfab]

Push clutch in slowly everything is fine until approx. 3/4 way(sometimes
All the way)in then noise kicks in. Can feel it in pedal and shifter. Let clutch
out goes away. Push back in sometimes no noise, sometimes it does it again.
Doesn't happen every time. Only seems to happen with car in neutral at idle.
Doesn't happen during shifting while driving.

That is fairly conclusive to me. Throw out bearing. Hard to know if it's infant mortality or bent fork related. Sorry, you have a ZF6 removal in your future. If it happened every time and at the same location I'd say some fastener was hitting (loose bolt or clearance issue with new clutch).
For the good of us all take pics and report back.
You can add to the body of knowledge.
Do check the pilot bearing while in there on general principal
but symptoms don't match for pilot bearing.

[Hib Halverson]

Push clutch in slowly everything is fine until approx. 3/4 way(sometimes
All the way)in then noise kicks in. Can feel it in pedal and shifter. Let clutch
out goes away. Push back in sometimes no noise, sometimes it does it again.
Doesn't happen every time. Only seems to happen with car in neutral at idle.
Doesn't happen during shifting while driving.

After reading the OP and this one a couple of times, I'm thinking that, while it could be the clutch release bearing, I'm also feeling it could be a problem other than a failing bearing...such as some kind of metal/metal interference. Actually, I've heard of this type of issue when the wrong clutch or the wrong bearing is installed or the parts are installed incorrectly.

I say this because the noise doesn't occur until at least 3/4 travel and sometimes full travel is reached. Also, the noise is described as a "grinding". Typically, when a clutch release bearing starts to fail it doesn't make a grinding noise, it makes sort of whirring or squealing noise. It's not until the bearing is near disintegration that they "grind"

In any event, if it were me, I'd start getting the trans out of the car to inspect the clutch, the bearing and the clutch release fork.

[Ronstar]

Yeah, guess I already knew it had to come out:mad:
Probably get it to a friends shop with hoist tomorrow.
Any tips on ZF pull...first time. I'll let you know how it
turns out.

[Paul Workman]

Yeah, guess I already knew it had to come out:mad:
Probably get it to a friends shop with hoist tomorrow.
Any tips on ZF pull...first time. I'll let you know how it
turns out.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Bill Boudreau's (sp?) C-Beam plates. Worth every penny if all they do is simplify removing and reinstalling the C-Beam.

Other benefits include improving the stability of the C-beam joint.

Just a thought.

p.

[Blue Flame Restorations]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Bill Boudreau's (sp?) C-Beam plates. Worth every penny if all they do is simplify removing and reinstalling the C-Beam.

Other benefits include improving the stability of the C-beam joint.

Just a thought.

p.

Wish I would have had them when I installed the ZF in EX5023. The Turq car has them. :dancing

[scottfab]

Yeah, guess I already knew it had to come out:mad:
Probably get it to a friends shop with hoist tomorrow.
Any tips on ZF pull...first time. I'll let you know how it
turns out.

Getting it out is the easy part. Putting it in can damage the pilot bearing
if the weight of the trans is allowed to hang at all.
I use long bolts with the heads cut off to guide it into place.