Noise when car is idling, disappears when clutch pedal is down (and other clues)

[Hawthorn654]

Hi all

 

This has been happening for a while now...  When the car is ticking over there's a noise which disappears when I press the clutch pedal down.  A fair few months ago we had the RAC out (for something else).  I asked him about it and he said there is a piece that is part of the clutch which becomes worn, doesn't engage properly and makes noise.  He said it will gradually get worse, and the noise will get louder and louder (but sounds worse than it is), and that we need not be in a rush to get it sorted seeing as it's an old car (03 plate, 135k miles).  

 

Fast forward to now.  We've just had the MOT and asked the garage about it.  He had a listen, but not while we were there.   He said he thinks it is the clutch thrust bearings, and that when you accelerate the bearings spin round and that's what you hear.   Didn't comment on the noise while idle.  He added that it can stop working with no notice or can gradually deteriorate.  The cost to replace/fix would be around £380 - £400.  

 

So a bit different to the RAC's view.  

 

Up until now there has been no noise other than what I described above while idle and with foot off clutch.  But this last week or two a few times I've been hearing some strange sounds while driving.  Not consistently - it's either there or it's not, and most often it's not.  It's hard to describe the sound, I'm useless at doing that.  But I'll go for a drive tomorrow with my partner and see how she describes it.      

 

In the meantime, I wondered if anyone could take a stab at any guesses based on the above?  Happy to do any testing that may help, so please feel free to ask.  And sorry to be vague, I can appreciate there's not much to go on...

 

Many thanks

[Whit3Knight]

As advised sounds very much like bearing on way out but remember without hearing first hand and obviously no error codes its difficult to fully conclude, choice is yours and relatable to how you value the car. Best practice is to renew full clutch kit (Depending on model and engine) this usually consists of clutch, plate, Flywheel and release bearing. Just had my Skoda fabia vrs done and i purchased the clutch kit myself (sachs) for £390.00 and paid for fitting, this example will be the top end of the scale, if yours is the 1.2 comfort it will be a lot less, seen as the box has to be removed its a good idea to replace the lot, but you dont have too. i replaced mine as dmf was starting to make noise and i had the same issue as you did with the release bearing. im no expert just sharing my woes......

[Breezy_Pete]

Bear in mind that the clutch release bearing is not rotating at any time except when the clutch pedal is fully depressed and the drive to the gearbox disengaged.

In other words, if it was that, I'd expect you to only hear the noise when the clutch pedal was down, or on the way down/up.

If I'm understanding your post correctly, your scenario is the opposite.

 

More likely the bearing cassette at the far end of the gearbox I think, have a look at this and see if you recognise anything noise-wise: 

 

[KenONeill]

I'd tend to agree that is not the thrust bearing, because that usually squeals when the pedal is pressed.

[nige8021]

A common cause of noise is the trumpet over the input shaft that the release bearing slides on 

[sepulchrave]

I fancy it's the gearbox input shaft bearing, you should check the gearbox oil level because the chances are you're losing gearbox oil into the bellhousing if that's the case.

[Hawthorn654]

Hi folks

 

Please excuse the embarrassingly long wait for my reply!  Between work, renovating our house, and being away for a couple of weeks, there's been zero free time.  And with a second car to use at the moment, this slipped down in the list of priorities.  Shameful I know!

 

The Skoda has been out on a fair few short runs since I posted.  Just as a recap:

 

- It always makes a noise when I take my foot off the clutch pedal, in idle.  It's done this for quite some time. 

- The noise is always silenced when I press the clutch pedal down, in idle.   

- When driving, I would say it makes a noise around 10-20%.  The rest of the time it's fine.  I have not been able to work out any pattern or consistencies as to when it makes the noise.  It's hard to describe the noise, but if I had to I'd describe it as somewhere between a rattling and a grinding noise.   

- When I'm driving and it's making the noise, the noise is still there when I press the clutch down / coast. 

 

I watched the video linked to above (thanks for that) and found that he had earlier videos which showed the noise with the car actually running.  Here are the links to those for reference:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFWnBhGnsbA

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSar2KJ86KE  (see 2:10 in this video)

 

The sound in those videos is pretty much the same as what I'm hearing.   

 

I've been through all the comments and there's a mixture of diagnoses.  People are suggesting it could be:

 

1. Gearbox Bearings / Input Shaft Bearings.  @Breezy_Pete - is this the same as the "bearing cassette at the far end of the gearbox" 

2. Clutch Release Bearing / Throw Out Bearing

3. Dual Mass Flywheel.  (Although others respond saying that my petrol 1.2 would have a single flywheel).

4. Thrust Bearing.  (Not sure if this is a different name for one of the above?  If so, please let me know).

5. “Clutch or pressure plate have become loose”.

6. “probably the 5th gear bearing broke off, had the same problem on mine I first thought it was the clutch. It's a weakness in 02T gearboxes”

 

Based on the comments above, and the info I've gathered, it seems #1 is the most likely.  But any further thoughts, or tests I can do, etc. would be a great help to try to determine for sure what the problem is.  

 

The other thing that would be very helpful to know is if the noise I get occasionally while driving is likely to be related or something completely different?  

 

RE checking gearbox oil level - is that something I can do myself or is it quite fiddly and difficult?  

 

 

Sorry for the long post and many thanks for all the help.

 

 

Edited 16 September, 2022 by Hawthorn654