Chirping noise with clutch engaged
 

I have been having this issue with 95 V6 for a while now and am looking for some advice. Maybe someone has had similar issues.

Whenever the clutch is engaged, there is this loud, high-pitched, chirping noise coming from inside the bellhousing. I can heard really well while in neutral, but with the radio off and listening closely, it can be heard while driving as well, in all gears. If I press the clutch pedal down, the noise goes away. I have even gone as far as to disconnect the clutch cable from the fork to pull the TOB away from the pressure plate and the noise remains.

When researching this issue in the past, I found some info that discussed a very similar noise related to pilot bearing failure. About a year ago, I had an issue with not being able to shift the gears, even with the clutch disengaged. After tearing it down, I found the pilot bearing shattered, and apparently the rollers had jammed up the input shaft making the tranny not disengage. Keep in mind that this chirping noise was present prior to all of this.

I replaced the pilot bearing then and the problem went away for about a month and then came back. I have a firewall adjuster for the clutch cable and if I tighten the cable up real tight, I can make the noise go away, which is essentially like me pressing the pedal to disengage the clutch. I have had it so tight before that the clutch would slip on hard takeoffs.

My assumption is that the pilot bearing is shot again, but my issue is trying to determine what could make these things go bad so quickly. I don't want to tear it down again just to replace the bearing without trying to fix the source whie I'm at it.

Any ideas??

Scott

I had the same issue! I was 4 hrs away from home when it happend to me, My car made the same noise you a describing, What happend to my car is that the throwout bearing went bad, 30.oo peice 487.oo to get it installed

Well, when I disconnected the cable and pulled the fork away from the pressure plate, I effectively took my TOB out of the equation since it was not in contact with the PP. The noise remained, and since the pilot bearing turned up broken, I assume that to be the problem. I did replace the TOB while I was in there as well, but if it is not contacting the PP (not spinning), it couldn't be making the noise.

Scott

It sounds like a TOB to me too. I had the same problem for two years but when I replaced the motor, the chirp never came back.