I started my car tonight and heard the intermittent scratching sound, sort of like sand paper rubbing together abruptly coming from under my battery around the bell housing/block. It would do it a couple times then stop for a bit. When I pulled opened the throttle it would do it again and sometimes it wouldn't. Any idea of what else this could be? If it's a spun bearing I think I'll cry. What am I looking at pricewise for repairing a spun bearing if that's the case?

If its right under the battery tray in the tranny. It could be trany fluid. When my mech. did my clutch he screwed up TWICE and put the wrong fluid in. It made that type of noise. I just changed the fluid with the special kind and it finally fixed the prob. Might be dirty fluid?


Nick
97RS

turbo8u> shut your SUCK
ZAO684: NIPPLE warning...maybe>?

I did just have a new clutch put in a couple months ago...

And I'm not too happy with it. There's still a lot of clutch chatter and sometimes it's hard to get into gear and I've put about 1,000 miles on it. I think I need to bleed the lines because the guy said he didn't.

But why would it do it when I rev it if it's the tranny?

I thought a spun bearing was due to oil starvation too and I'm good about keeping fresh oil in there.

it's not a spun bearing... i'd take it back to you're clutch installer, and make him fix it. you really have to bleed the lines when you change the clutch.. he should've done that. what you're describing seems like it's similar to the sound when your clutch has gone. can you get it into gear at all?

Yeah I can get it into gear alright about 90% of the time. It's just that the thing still chatters like a bitch sometimes and other times it's just fine. Sometimes I can't get it into gear and have to mess with it til it goes in. Also the shifter is sort of stiff sometimes. When I pump the clutch it actually makes it a bit worse if I remember correctly. Other than that it grabs really well. This isn't damaging my clutch is it?

Sounds like your input shaft bearings may be on the way out.... check right now what kind of fluid was put in the tranny... I run Synthetic ATF in my 5-Speed.... :thumbsup

When you push the clutch in does the noise stop?

You asked why it would do it in neutral when you rev it? Simple.... unless you have the clutch depressed the input shaft in the tranny is turning ta engine speed....

Lee.

i had a funky noise in my trans when the clutch was out. but when it was in it was dead silent unless i was moving. it was also harder to shift, i'd have to double clutch it to go into second. that was one of the main shaft bearings melted. that was caused by trans fluid starvation... i needed a rebuild (trans) after that, and since then i've been using the Mopar ATF+4 with no problems (except SLIGHT leakage)... but i watch that like a hawk....


sorry if this makes little to no sense to you... i'm tired and i'ts almonst 3:00 a.m.

what kind of noise? if you want i actually have a recording of the noise my trans used to make... it's about 416kb in mp3 format... hit me up on AIM if you want it.. my screen name is redDSM420A

MrSlick - I have no idea what fluid he used. I just assumed he used the correct one. What is that fluid that we HAVE to have? I know it's a really specific kind.

And should I not be driving my car like this? It's Saturday so I can't get a hold of the shop til Monday. And is this something that was my fault at all so that they'll make me pay for it? Like can they say I was abusing the clutch and that's why this happened? And is this destroying my brand new clutch?

Thanks guys.

Originally posted by EclipseRST
MrSlick - I have no idea what fluid he used. I just assumed he used the correct one. What is that fluid that we HAVE to have? I know it's a really specific kind. And should I not be driving my car like this? It's Saturday so I can't get a hold of the shop til Monday. And is this something that was my fault at all so that they'll make me pay for it? Like can they say I was abusing the clutch and that's why this happened? And is this destroying my brand new clutch? Thanks guys.

Bump

Can anybody answer these questions? :shrug

I want to have enough info so that I can get them to repair it and not hold me liable and make me pay. I don't think I should have to pay for it when it should've been done right the first time.x(

the fluid should have nothing to do with making the clutch slip...

the proper fluid shuld be staright from mopar, mopar manual transaxle fluid i forget the weight.

its about 17$ a pint

Bill

You need factory fluid, from the dealer - it's about $12 a quart. (motofool is incorrect)

As far as the grinding noise, i'd be willing to bet it's the throwout bearing. They grind a lot, but don't necessarily cause any damage.

The slipping clutch? Got me. I didn't read far enough to actually see anyting you posted about it it - i just wanted to answer the questions you originally posted.

Clutch fluid or transmission fluid? (sorry if that's a stupid question)

Will I need to bleed my clutch too when I do this?


FYI: I searched around on the site for where the fluid containers are and when I checked them on my car the fluid looked pretty dark. What color is it supposed to be brand new? I compared the fluid color to the wiper fluid next to it and there's a huge difference. Looks like coffee. I was afraid to open them because I didn't want to let air in but I don't know if that matters. I'm such a noob to tranny/clutch stuff.

clutch uses brake fluid, so yeah, it shouldn't be opened to air for very long.

another thing you can use for trans fluid is ATF+4 (mopar), but i'd reccomend that if doing that you totally clean out the trans (ie. take it apart and wipe it down) i don't know how the Mopar MTX fluid and ATF+4 interact with each other. ATF+4 is only like $3 or $4 a quart.

I've been using it since January (and changed it once already just because)

This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Go to the dealer and get the SPECIFIC tranny fluid. I even had my mechanic change it out with their special synthetic fluid and it still did it! Replace the TRANSMITION fluid and then bleed the clutch. There is a good writeup on how to change your tranny fluid. But basically right behind the driver side wheel. There is a bolt wway back there. You will need a long funnel. When filling it back up, make sure you lower the front of the car down. This will allow you to fill the tranny up more.
The drain bolt should be under the tranny.
Nick
97RS

turbo8u> shut your SUCK
ZAO684: NIPPLE warning...maybe>?

I'm willing to bet the sound is the input shaft bearing. My car has the same problem, especially when it is cold. When you rev it up in neutral it makes that sound, but whenever you have the clutch pressed in it doesn't make any noise. Me and my dad ripped out the tranny and replaced the throwout bearing just to discover that it wasn't the problem. I'm still mad about that. Oh yeah and I have a question, ever since I got my car it seemed a little hesitant to go into second when it was cold, and sometimes it would grind a little bit(clutch to the floor and everything). About a month ago I noticed my tranny fluid was low, so I filled it up and it worked a little better for a while. Now it's just back to how it was, do you guys think maybe one of my syncros is on the way out or something? ;( I hope not. Thanks.

Shawn D. ;(

Just got out the service manual. Manual transaxle oil is MOPAR MS9417 MTX Fluid P/N 4773167 and quantity is 2.1 quarts. This is all for a 97 and I don't think it was different for other years.

Shawn D.

Dealerships have been using ATF+4 for a while in place of the right stuff, and there haven't been any problems. But the Mopar fluid is recommended. New venture has switched to using the ATF +4 in their transmissions now.

Throw out bearing, input shaft bearing and selector forks on the trans, are the things I would check for your noise.

If you clutch is slipping and the mechanic didn't bleed your clutch hydrolic system check that. also check for leaks that might have gotten on the friction material of the clutch.



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Yeah, mechaincs are really bad about fluids. They will use whatever stock fluid they have in house because they buy it in large quanitys. If it goes away when your hit the clutch pedal its probably your throw out berring.

Okie dokie, well here's an update. Called Mitsu and got a price quote on the fluid, then called up the shop that did my clutch...they claim they used the fluid Mitsubishi uses. They said they had the part number in their computer and that that's the stuff they used. Fuck. So any more suggestions (that don't involve taking out the tranny) before I give it back to the shop and let them troubleshoot and fix it?

Update 2: Took it to the shop that did my clutch. The guy showed me on his computer exactly what they put in and swears it's the same stuff. He says it's a synthetic fluid that has to be a certain weight and that Mitsubishi uses the exact same stuff but just puts it in their own bottles.
He listened to the scratching sound and got under the car and listened and he says it's my heat shield on my exhaust piping (like around the resonator) that's making the noise. He put it on the lift and sure enough it rattled when he messed with it and it looked like it was rusting a bit around the seams. I'm not positive that this is the culprit though. Regardless, he's nice enough to drive down to Mitsu tomorrow and grab a couple quarts to humor me I guess...if the sound doesn't go away after the fluid goes in then I suppose he's right and we'll call it a day.

As far as the clutch goes...
He said with my application (Spec stage 3) I'll have some chatter because of how forceful it is blah blah blah and that to fix the problem I might have to upgrade my slave and master cylinders so I wouldn't have problems getting into gear/grinding etc. He said bleeding the lines won't help because there's no air in there (how does he know that?).

Does this sound right? It made sense to me, but I always have to check with the 2GNT gurus. :bowdown

again like said above...does it go away when you push the clutch in?
doug

The thing is that it comes and goes every once in a while. So if it goes away when I push the clutch in I wouldn't know whether it was because the clutch was in or not. It's too faint to hear from inside the car anyway, you have to have your ear in the space between the motor and battery.

When someone comes home I'll have them listen while I sit in the car and keep the clutch in to see if it comes back.

Originally posted by EclipseRST
Update 2: Took it to the shop that did my clutch. The guy showed me on his computer exactly what they put in and swears it's the same stuff. He says it's a synthetic fluid that has to be a certain weight and that Mitsubishi uses the exact same stuff but just puts it in their own bottles. He listened to the scratching sound and got under the car and listened and he says it's my heat shield on my exhaust piping (like around the resonator) that's making the noise. He put it on the lift and sure enough it rattled when he messed with it and it looked like it was rusting a bit around the seams. I'm not positive that this is the culprit though. Regardless, he's nice enough to drive down to Mitsu tomorrow and grab a couple quarts to humor me I guess...if the sound doesn't go away after the fluid goes in then I suppose he's right and we'll call it a day. As far as the clutch goes... He said with my application (Spec stage 3) I'll have some chatter because of how forceful it is blah blah blah and that to fix the problem I might have to upgrade my slave and master cylinders so I wouldn't have problems getting into gear/grinding etc. He said bleeding the lines won't help because there's no air in there (how does he know that?). Does this sound right? It made sense to me, but I always have to check with the 2GNT gurus. :bowdown

Sounds great that he is going and getting you the fluid. And what he said about your spec 3 clutch is a bunch of bullshit.
I have never heard of having to upgrade your slave/master cylinder:rolleyes because ours is to weak to get the clutch in and out of position.

I would reccomend bleeding the clutch just in case anyway. It only take a few minuets.

Nick
97RS

turbo8u> shut your SUCK
ZAO684: NIPPLE warning...maybe>?