JasonR107

Ok, so a couple of months ago my car started making this really light noise when it was in a low gear. Sort of a "ch ch ch". It got louder and I took it to my mechanic and he says its the spider gears. I ask a couple other people I know and they all say throwout bearing. Well it got louder and louder and this morning i pushed the clutch in and it stuck. So I'm not sure. I still think it seems more like a throw out bearing. And maybe when my mechanic did the clutch like 4 months ago he forgot to grease it or something. What do you guys think?

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

It stuck to the floor? Can you pull it back up by hand/foot?

Do you have any brake fluid in the reservoir?

JasonR107

Yes I can pull it back up, but as far as functionality goes it doesn't matter if its up or down. And Yes I do have fluid in the break reservoir. Are 4th gens hydraulic clutches?

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

need more description with regards to the sound, but the clutch pedal stuck to the floor is a hydraulic problem. master, slave, and lines need to be checked.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I assume you mean clutch fluid resevoir level is up.


What you're saying is the pedal is now doing nothing at all?
Yes 4th gens are hydraulic clutch.
Check the resevoir closest to the firewall on the drivers side, thats clutch resevoir. If your pedal has no 'feeling' now and just drops to the ground its likely a hydraulic issue (lines, master cylinder, slave cylinder)

but so you know...

The way to check what the sound is:
with the car running,
in neutral,
does it make a sound?
if yes, likely a tranny issue (imput shaft bearing, etc.)

If not,
same conditions^
and depress the clutch s l o w l y,
does the sound start?
If so its VERY likely the Release bearing(throw-out bearing).

If not, depress it all the way down to fully release it,
if it then makes a noise,
its likely your pilot bearing.

Hope that helps but let us know what you come up with.

JasonR107

The noise sounds sort of like a metal on metal grinding sound.
The car makes the noise when the car is in neutral, but when I press the clutch in it stops. Release the clutch and it starts again. Its loudest in 1st and 2nd gear. and gets quieter in 3rd and 4th and cannot be heard in 5th.

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

sounds like the normal input shaft bearing sound to me. it's not the spider gears in your differential, not sure why your mechanic would suggest that, as they don't do anything when the car is not moving, thus they could not make any noise (besides you probably wouldn't hear any noise if they were galling up, which is not a problem I've ever heard of with a maxima anyhow.) Throwout bearing doesn't spin when your foot is off the clutch, so it can't be that. I'm sure it's a bad front input shaft bearing. requires a transmission teardown to fix.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

One thing I have seen with the spider gears is the cross-gear shaft, which is prone to fatigue failure at the roll pin hole.

But like Neal said, it's much more likely to be something mundane like a noisy input shaft bearing. In any case, bearing or spider gear, you gotta take it out and rebuild it to do anything about it. I suggest you do that, or at least drive it gently since worn out trannys are much weaker than good ones.

Dave

JasonR107

Anyone know approximately what it would cost to have a mechanic fix that? Does it require a rebuild or just replacing that bearing?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I may get corrected here but I think you have to pull the tranny to do it, so likely worth an inspection of the countershaft as well. I wouldnt have a clue on labour,.... dave?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Replacing any bearing other than the throwout bearing is what I call a rebuild. And if you're going to do that then you should absolutely get all bearings changed and the axles re-shimmed. It's several hours of labor to remove and reinstall a tranny, and several hours more to do the rebuild. Doing just one bearing only saves an hour or two.

Dave

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

Back years ago before I could do it myself, I paid $600 for replacement of an input shaft bearing, and that's about the lowest price I've ever seen. Most of the posts I see on here for the same procedure are in the $1000 range. You're better off buying a rebuilt transmission from someone like dave, that way you can trust that it's been done correctly by someone who knows this transmission better than just some guy at a trans shop who probably won't put the same amount of effort or care into the rebuild, and almost without question would not reshim the transmission to the proper specs. I rebuild them when time permits as well but haven't had the opportunity to put any together lately.

JtzMax

iTrader: (5)

Neal is right .... Dave can hook ya up mate! I am sure he will stand behind his work as well. If you can't DIY or don't want to, that is probably your best bet (IMHO)

I STILL need to do my IPS bearing, no moeny atm

JasonR107

Oh, one more thing I forgot to add. When driving and I get going, if I clutch in and let the RPM's drop, then slowly release the clutch and let the RPM's raise without hitting the gas, the car will shutter some... sort of shake and I can feel it in the clutch pedal.

Got the car moving again, added more clutch fluid. but its leaking just not sure where from.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

If you are leaking clutch fluid (are you sure its clutch fluid?)
then that may be your problem check the master and slave cylinder and all lines, find that leak, the problem may be as simple as air in the lines or the clutch not fully disengaging/engaging.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Yep get the clutch hydraulics working properly before worrying about the tranny itself. Just about any shop should be able to help with that.

Dave