LeoMarius

2003 RX-8, 5-spd manual, car 140000 km, engine 50000 km. All original other than decat and CAI.

About 6 months ago, it startet making a scratching noise from the gearbox area. Been searching Google and forums with no matches to my specific noise.

Got no better comparison than the sound of fingernails scratching a rough surface. It comes after about 10 minutes of driving, and stays until the car is stopped and completely cool again. Strange thing is, the noise comes and goes. 2 seconds on, 2 off. 1 on, 3 off (random times on and off, but switched every few seconds). And its loud. Can be heard inside the car, and amplified reflected off buildings and such.

Car drives great, shifts great and has a grippy clutch.

-clutch pedal has no impact on noise
-noise disappear when coasting in neutral.
-noise disappear when at low speed (<30 km/h).
-noise seems dampened at highway speeds.
-noise has become slightly more frequent over the last 5000 km.

I'm clueless. Pilot bearing? New clutch? New gearbox? I'm prepared for a gearbox out job, but wondered if anyone can give me a clue, or scare me to stop driving it until the noise is fixed.

Thanks!

nmoffatt

Maybe if you can post an audio clip with the noise someone might be better able to help.

LeoMarius

Seems my phone is more eager to pick up sound from the engine/exhaust/wheels/wind than the sound i am refering to (its slighty louder than engine/exhaust when windows are up). I will try to find someone to take a drive by audio clip and see if that helps.

Thought I'd take a shot in the dark and see if anyone here recognized the problem from my descreption and knew the cause, though.

LeoMarius

Got an idea! By pushing the microphone against the interior, i got results. In "noise 1", the phone is pushed against the shifter leather. In "noise 2" the phone is pushed against the gear ****.

Caution- noise 2 is kinda loud.

3. gear noise 1.
4. gear noise 2.