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I have a 1993 Legacy N/A 5 spd. I have a curious noise when in idle. Its a whirring sound that goes away when I push the clutch in. Am leaning towards the release bearing......

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Welcome, and yeah, I'd probably lean towards the throw out bearing as well.

I've got the same noise. Previous owner had a new clutch installed just prior to my purchase. Local Subaru expert mechanic listened to it and thought it's either the throwout bearing (possibly not replaced when the new clutch went in) or maybe something is misaligned. His suggestion was to live with it, keep an eye on it to see if it gets worse or changes.

No change in over 70k miles.

Front gearbox bearings stop turning when you push the clutch in. Relaese bearing keeps turning when you put the clutch in. If the noise changes but doesn't go away then perhaps release bearing. If the noise goes away entirely then probably front bearing. The way to check is to give the clutch a bit more clearance so the release bearing isn't touching at all wen the foot is off, then at idle and with the foot off it should be stoed and hance silent. The front gearbox will still be turning and so it will still be noisy.

Thanks guys.

I'll look at the throwout bearing this weekend. If it looks ok I may have to pull the engine and have a look at those gearbox bearings.

My parents have a 90 L wagon that has a similar problem. When the clutch is out there's a crazy noise like a whiring noise perhaps. It does it in every gear and changes pitch when speed increases in each gear. Even does it in neutral but the moment you push the clutch pedal in the noise disappears.

Is that the throwout bearing or some other bearing?

Both cars sound like they have worn front gearbox bearings to me.

If you give the pedal extra freeplay and then hold the release lever back the throwout bearing wont be turning. If the noise is still there.... it's gearbox.

log1call wrote:Front gearbox bearings stop turning when you push the clutch in. Relaese bearing keeps turning when you put the clutch in. If the noise changes but doesn't go away then perhaps release bearing. If the noise goes away entirely then probably front bearing. The way to check is to give the clutch a bit more clearance so the release bearing isn't touching at all wen the foot is off, then at idle and with the foot off it should be stoed and hance silent. The front gearbox will still be turning and so it will still be noisy.

My impreza has a similar issue. I think the front gearbox bearings are going out, and I probably also have some issues with the throw out bearing as it screaches every now and then.

My 98 has a similar sound, and at 180k I expect such things. We'll see if it changes when I end up having to get a new clutch, but until then I'll just deal with it.

Ok people, this is back from the dead. The noise got so bad that I had to pull the whole engine off. So this is what I found out:
1. Clutch release (throwout) bearing was perfect.
2. Pressure plate had several hot-spots.
3. Clutch plate shows signs of slippage.

But the clincher.......

4. Pilot bearing quite badly worn. In fact it had almost seized.

Replaced the whole lot and for the first time in months I can hear my injectors cycling. Beautiful car!

Thanks people.

Good to know, thanks for the update.

When the clutch is out there's a crazy noise like a whiring noise perhaps. It does it in every gear and changes pitch when speed increases in each gear. Even does it in neutral but the moment you push the clutch pedal in the noise disappears.

I am experiencing this same issue , difference is that it s on engine braking when the "shrilll" gets increasing louder , i get on the throttle a bit and the noise fades until i get off the gas

That description N1446, sounds more like a diff crown-wheel/pinion gear noise. If it only does it in certain gears then it will be those gears, if it does it in all gears then diff.

ok , all this began since the motor went in , the shifter shudders and the sound feels like it is definately rotational - any idea what might cause this to happen all of a sudden ? the transmission was fine berfore taking the motor out - i m stumped by the sound since putting in a different motor and driving

N1446 - The speed changes pitch presumably because the offending part is going faster with increasing vehicle speed?

If that's the case, it would indicate that the T.O. bearing or flywheel bearing are not likely the issue (although, I hope you replaced them both when you put the motor in). This is because the main shaft of the transmission is fixed to a given engine speed. If it's noisy in all gears and increases with speed, and is especially noisy on deceleration, then I would suspect differential issues (probably lash). However, this would not make noise in neutral. Noise in neutral could be any of the bearings that are active on the mainshaft when the clutch is engaged in neutral... I doubt any of that could be caused by motor installation.

the bell pitch is constant though it gets louder and quieter and sometimes away , depending on decel , accel or clutch-in-neutral- it is present in neutral and in gear - the ringing is above the engine noise with no exhaust at times , revving the engine will silence the ringing temporarally , the ringing is like a bell , as if some lucky charms leprecheun is sitting under the car ringing a dinner triangle as hard as possible

I have the bell thing going on too. I found that the point where the cable attaches (cable clutch, 90 N/A) has a tiny bit of play, apparently by design. This allows it to rattle around at very high speed and makes that high pitched ring. If you go under the hood at idle, put a little bit of side pressure on the arm and the sound should go away. So far I haven't decided on a permanent fix yet, though I'm leaning towards just adding a tiny spring to keep tension on the arm when the clutch is out.

yah this car has a pull type clutch
i m siding on the bearings as # 1
or gearing
or somthing is warped
i ve no clue at this rate
it s been said the diff is the cause
i ve got a bit of work ahead of me for sure