Input Shaft Bearings

[CASPIDER]

Hello Everyone,

I've currently taken on the daunting task of removing my transmission. Wasn't as hard as I thought it would be Just FYI for any one else. Remove the top main bolts (of the four) first and have swivel 13 + 19MM sockets and an assortment of extensions. Believe it or not, the only reason I pulled it was because of a noisy bearing (I think this is the problem) The symptom was that if the car is idling, I hear a whirring noise coming from underneath the car in the tranny area. Once I depress the clutch pedal, it slowly fades away. I believe it is the input shaft bearing, but I was hoping to get some insight from you guys. I also was wondering if it were possible to change the input shaft bearing without a complete teardown. I have the transmission out with the bellhousing removed thus far. If I remove the (snap ring?) clip will this allow me to change this bearing? There are no other noticeable problems with the tranny (shifts strong, no popping out of gears, etc.) She has about 68,000 original miles. Any would be HOT!


Thanks in advance,

C.J.

[So Cal Mark]

you may find the input bearing is okay. It's turning all of the time so any noise should be there all of the time. The likely culprit is the bearing inbetween the input and output shafts. It's a small needle bearing and it turns fastest in neutral since the output shaft isn't turning at all

[CASPIDER]

Awww maaan. I was hoping I was dead on with the input shaft bearing. Sounds like I'm going to have to dig into this thing. I'm really not that saavy with transmissions...well, working on the internals that is. I will more than likely take it to a mechanic and have the input shaft bearing (since I've already purchased) needle bearing, Gasket Set and pilot bearing ( I think AKA throwout bearing?) How much do you think labor would cost seeing how I already have the tranny removed?

[So Cal Mark]

maybe in the 300-450 range

[baltobernie]

I betcha its the throwout (release) bearing. At least I hope so! I had the same symptom, and expect to replace it this weekend. 35°F with rain this morning, which is not a great motivator.

Your gonna replace the disk and pressure plate while doing all this work, right?

[CASPIDER]

Might as well. The trouble I went through to get this thing off, I would be terribly P.O.'D if something like the clutch went out on me. Hey, is it just me or is everything on this car a "might as well" or "since your there". "I'm gonna change my exhaust clip this weekend" you struggle so hard to get the dag on thing off you say "might as well replace the whole exhaust." I guess the flywheel will need to be spun with the replacement clutch? Well I've got my list, and I'll keep you guys posted on my progress. I appreciate all your input. Have a great Weekend! Get ready for the "GREATEST UPSET OF ALL TIME!" this weekend!

Thanks,

C.J.

[baltobernie]

WOW - you got two things right! Any stock market tips?

I'm so far into this "driver" that I've given serious thought to stripping it completely; and probably would if I had more confidence in the drivetrain ... maybe next year. I'm renaming this project "What Lies Beneath". Example: broke three studs removing the exhaust manifold. Tried to EZ-out them. Successful with one only. Took to local garage where "friendly" mechanic only charged me $98 to burn out others. Re-tapped holes, but they're very loose, so I took to "friendly" local machine shop (yes, I know, should have gone there first), where he will Heli-coil and fly cut the two faces for another Benjamin. This is one of those 4-2-1 manifolds, so I'd like to keep it. A tubular header with downpipe to replace the first exhaust section is $400. How much you wanna bet I end up spending more than this repairing the original parts?

[baltobernie]

Looks like SoCal Mark may have been right, after all ... (I guess there's experience, and there's Fiat experience.

Removed the engine block/transmission and separated them. The clutch disc still has some ID numbers silkscreened on the friction material, its that new. Ditto the nice machinings on the flywheel and pressure plate. What I had hoped was a faulty throwout bearing appears to be nice and tight; probably replaced with the other two items, which is customary.

So I've got a different (read; more expensive) problem. The car made a thrashing noise in neutral, and the problem went away as long as the clutch as depressed. That's a trip to the transmission shop, eh?

[So Cal Mark]

sorry , but not surprised. At least with the tranny out you've saved quite abit of labor $

[baltobernie]

At least we have a quality shop nearby. http://www.difatta.com/index.html

I'll let you know how accurate your estimate was!