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Very loud squealing/whistling noise when pressing clutch
Hello,
I very recently replaced my clutch master cylinder. Due to unforseen circumstances I had the car sitting outside for ~2 weeks with no air intake or battery attached while waiting for a master cylinder to come in(rockauto gave a faulty one initially). After the replacement the car was driving and shifting fine for about 2ish days. Now, whenever I press in the clutch the car makes an extremely loud squealing/whistling noise and revs drop by 100-200 revs. Before replacement of the master cylinder, there was a very faint "airy" noise around my clutch pedal area that got worse when pressing in the clutch but I simply assumed it was the master cylinder as it was completely shot. At normal idle these 100-200 revs is enough to stall the car. I believe it could be my clutch throw out bearing but I am fairly new to car maintenance and afraid of this possibility. I have seen elsewhere that this could be a vacuum hose issue or an accelerator body issue, but I do not hear this noise at any other point besides pressing in the clutch.I have attached a video that helps see the issue.
To make this issue even more confusing. I should also mention that the clutch pedal is working perfectly fine, as well as shifting being perfectly fine as well. The clutch seems to be engaging and disengaging properly and the pedal feels nice. The car is in fact driveable even, if not for having to fight the car whenever i press in the clutch.
Just went to further diagnose the issue with a friend in the car. After holding the clutch down for about 2 minutes the area around the slave cylinder started to produce smoke. I'm stumped.
yup I know that all to well. mine went out a month after i got my Max back in December of 2012 and 2 more times over the years. usually when they go bad it's from the plastic sleeve getting damaged and the throw out bearing goes out of alignment. I just recently found full metal T.O.B. that fits 85-06 maximas (NSK 62TKM3301). I found it on Rockauto. also make sure to lube the correct points on the T.O.B. plus clean the and lube the collar around the input shaft of the transmission.
NSK 62TKM3301
Last edited by uptownsamcv; Aug 15, 2025 at 06:46 AM.