Bad throw out bearing?

[Austin O.]

Was just driving slowly through the parking lot at my school. All of a sudden, an absolutely terrible screeching/whistling sound started and I couldn’t shift gears. I shut the car off. The sound is insanely loud when clutch is pushed in and faint when it is not. I am stuck in the parking lot now… My father is coming to pick me up in about an hour.

Is this a throw out bearing issue? I havnt had problems with the clutch/transmission at all before, and this just suddenly happened, no warning at all. There was no problem with shifting before, no whining at all, it just happened. What’s wrong, what do I need to do, how much time/money will it cost me? Thanks for the help

 

[macleanflood]

A Luk clutch kit that includes a clutch, pilot bearing and throwout bearing is like $150 on Amazon.

It's not too bad to pull the transmission and transfer case in a weekend.

Only special tool you need is an E Torx socket for the top of the transmission.

Lots of write ups here on swapping the clutch.

-Mac

 

[BlueC]

Is this a throw out bearing issue?

I've never had to diagnose a throw-out bearing before, so I’m interested to see what others say.

Are you able to shift gears without engaging the clutch? (can you shift just sitting there, engine not running)
Does it make a noise if the vehicle is rolled in or out of gear?

 

[Austin O.]

A Luk clutch kit that includes a clutch, pilot bearing and throwout bearing is like $150 on Amazon.

It's not too bad to pull the transmission and transfer case in a weekend.

Only special tool you need is an E Torx socket for the top of the transmission.

Lots of write ups here on swapping the clutch.

-Mac

Thank you, that gives me confidence… I’ll start pulling it tonight and ordering parts. Is it a good idea to get a new flywheel while I’m in there?

 

[Austin O.]

I've never had to diagnose a throw-out bearing before, so I’m interested to see what others say.

Are you able to shift gears without engaging the clutch? (can you shift just sitting there, engine not running)
Does it make a noise if the vehicle is rolled in or out of gear?

Engine not running, clutch out, I am able to shift. I did not try rolling it in or out. Once it happened, I had the engine running for 5 seconds max before shutting it off. Didn’t want to bother people since I was right outside of some buildings where kids are doing summer school classes. I was there just to pick up my parking permit for the year. We got it towed back home behind my dads JK, and it’s sitting in the garage now. Hoping to pull most of it apart tonight after my community college classes and going climbing… I’m mowing 5 lawns tomorrow, getting wisdom teeth taken out on Friday, and in the mountains this weekend. Might be a little while until I can get anything back together.

 

[BlueC]

Is it a good idea to get a new flywheel while I’m in there?

Check the condition of yours before throwing a new one at it. Your OEM will generally be better quality than a new "budget" unit, unless you just want to spend a few hundred $ for a good one. Look at the teeth on the ring and for flatness of the surface. If it looks ok, have a shop turn/surface it and throw it back in service.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Your symptom sounds exactly like a bad throwout bearing, replace the clutch while you're in there too. You can't beat the low cost and high quality of the Luk 05-065 clutch and throwout bearing kit like you can get on Amazon. Luk is also the OEM so its quality is great.

 

[Austin O.]

Your symptom sounds exactly like a bad throwout bearing, replace the clutch while you're in there too. You can't beat the low cost and high quality of the Luk 05-065 clutch and throwout bearing kit like you can get on Amazon. Luk is also the OEM so its quality is great.

That's what i was planning on, thank you.

 

[Blondie70]

Don't think turning the flywheel is a good idea !

 

[Austin O.]

I bought the LUK clutch kit and National TOB. After further reading, I won’t buy a new flywheel and won’t get it resurfaced, just sand it lightly with 120grit sandpaper. Thanks for people’s help. I got almost everything disconnected from the transmission tonight and am hoping to get the transmission itself off tomorrow afternoon. Parts arriving on Monday, will hopefully put them all in Tuesday.

 

[tr21triton]

I bought the LUK clutch kit and National TOB. After further reading, I won’t buy a new flywheel and won’t get it resurfaced, just sand it lightly with 120grit sandpaper. Thanks for people’s help. I got almost everything disconnected from the transmission tonight and am hoping to get the transmission itself off tomorrow afternoon. Parts arriving on Monday, will hopefully put them all in Tuesday.

you can pack bread in it and use a smaller dowel pin and hammer to get the pilot bearing out easily . it sounds crazy but it works !

 

[BlueC]

Don't think turning the flywheel is a good idea !

Why not?

 

[tr21triton]

Why not?

the flywheel shouldn't be turned on a TJ it's in the manual !

 

[TheBoogieman]

you can pack bread in it and use a smaller dowel pin and hammer to get the pilot bearing out easily . it sounds crazy but it works !

Can you still eat the bread afterwards? That stuff is expensive.

 

[elkivory]

I bought the LUK clutch kit and National TOB. After further reading, I won’t buy a new flywheel and won’t get it resurfaced, just sand it lightly with 120grit sandpaper. Thanks for people’s help. I got almost everything disconnected from the transmission tonight and am hoping to get the transmission itself off tomorrow afternoon. Parts arriving on Monday, will hopefully put them all in Tuesday.

Are you going to leave the transfer case attached to trans when you remove it? I'm following for whenever mine needs replacement.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

Why not?

Flywheel is not flat across the surface, it is slightly dished to allow for a smoother engagement of the clutch. Resurfacing will flatten the flywheel face, causing chatter or bucking when trying to engage clutch.

 

[wwolfe]

i put the LUK clutch kit to include new flywheel in my 03 wrangler i had. Did it myself with my son and was not a bad job. 2 biggest challenges we had was getting the skid plate off (our 03 was a NY Jeep and scaly underneath) and getting the pilot out. Otherwise not a bad job and maybe $250 for complete kit with flywheel through RockAuto. So smooth and quiet once job was done. Will be doing same kit fairly soon on our 04 sahara..winter project most likely.

 

[Westtown Willy]

Are you going to leave the transfer case attached to trans when you remove it? I'm following for whenever mine needs replacement.

I've only done this once but I saw no need to remove the transfer case, just detach the driveshafts and remove the trans & case in one piece, helps to have a transmission stand - Harbor Freight, less than a hundred bucks if I recall, attach with the straps and roll the whole mess out of your way...

some photos in this attachment:

 

[Artsifrtsi]

If your Jeep was rattling, that would go away with a clutch press, you may want to think about replacing the throwout bearing guide (long snout that surrounds the input shaft of the transmission) while you are in there...

 

[BlueC]

the flywheel shouldn't be turned on a TJ it's in the manual !

Really? Does it explain why?

Flywheel is not flat across the surface, it is slightly dished to allow for a smoother engagement of the clutch.

Is that specific to these flywheels, or a standard across the industry? I’ve never had one done myself, my manual vehicles still have their original clutches, but I've known a few who have had flywheels turned, and lightened, but that's for a different reason.