Strange squeaking belt noise. stops when pressure on the clutch pedal.
 

Hello all,

I've been lurking your website for 3 years and usually have been able to get a straight answer with out having to ask. I've searched high and low for 2 weeks now with no clear answer.

on to the issue: when the car is in neutral and not moving i can hear what sounds like a belt rubbing on a pulley. as soon as you put ANY pressure at all on the clutch pedal the noise stops completely.

i have no idea what it could be. it's been driving me mad. this is my second rx8 (i lost the first in hurricane sandy) my brother bought the car in arizona and shipped it to me so i had no way to check out the car and now im stuck with this issue due to his inexperience with cars. its been making the noise since i got it 2 weeks ago and presumably since before than.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance :fingersx:

-Dan

Could be a trasnmission issue. If you push the clutch pedal in, the transmission input shaft stops spinning and instead the engine rotation is trasferred to the clutch throwout bearing. At least that's how I think/remember how it works.

if this goes unchecked could it result in serious problems?

do you know if there is anything i (someone with fairly limited knowledge in mechanics) could do to fix it?

or any idea what it would cost to have the stealership handle it?

Ok well according to this thread (read it thoroughly because they go back and forth) - someone says it could be the throwout bearing.

Because they are saying your throwout bearing is loose but as soon as you put any pressure/load on it it tightens up and the sound goes away. Which kinda makes sense I guess..... sorta like when you have a bad wheel bearing - it only howls when it's not under load. So even though it's spinning with the clutch pedal pushed in and your transferring the engine load to it - it doesn't make the noise.

https://www.rx8club.com/trouble-shoo...7/#post1570819

i've read that thread a few times before also, they do go back and fourth a lot and it doesnt make much sense to me.

so i guess the general consensus is that it is the throwout bearing. now the question is, does anyone know if this needs immediate attention or is it not really a problem to concern myself with?

i would really like an answer. this noise haunts me, it rings for hours after i get out of the car after a long drive, i feel like im developing an ulcer from it. :eyetwitch

Yep, if the bearing in question is making the noise, it will do so in cyclical motion while in idle (like a "noisy-unlubed mouse wheel" that you'll definitely hear outside of your car) and it disappears once the clutch is depressed. The noise was present for at least two months before it broke in November of 2010 and I practically drove the car everyday during that period. When my bearing broke, I definitely heard "marbles in a can" and thought my engine and transmission exploded! The casing and the ball bearings were all over the place once it was taken apart and the mechanic said that there were no apparent damages to the fork, pressure plate, and clutch; I wish I had taken a picture because the bearing was in pieces and all collected throughout the bottom of the transmission.

The MAZDA OEM clutch kit is made by EXEDY; as a set it includes the clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot bearing, and the throw out bearing in one box. After the breakdown, I saw my disc and pressure plate in very good condition for something that's been driven for 148,000 miles, which could have easily lasted longer than my OEM factory engine(167,305 miles). I had all three replaced since we couldn't buy just the bearing itself at that time. But I found that it can be bought individually; as well as, the pilot bearing through RotaryFX.com.

Here's a Blackberry Cellphone video I had taken at that time:
Doc Beach's series of quotes which came from the same thread I pulled my response that is posted above:

OP please PM me or post your full VIN number as I may be able to offer more assistance.
What year is your RX-8?

pilot bearing I remember mines was going out than I went ti the track and on the way home I sheared my input shaft as everything failed had to get new input shaft clutch pilot bearing everything LOL. so yea may as well replace it with a clutch kit to save you from having to do it later.

2005 gt
I don't have the vin on hand

OK, so you have a Series 1 RX-8, lets put your thread in the correct Sub Forum..

You might get more comments...

It also really helps other members to comment when you give more car details....like how many miles has your car done..?

I am perhaps thinking throw out bearing....what is the condition of your clutch?

Does the squeak stop when the pedal is depress partially, or does it stop only when the clutch is fully disengaged?

That's a good question, and I clearly remember two years ago when my throwout bearing (or pilote bearing as I thought) broke that pushing the pedal partially half-way stopped the noise; as well as, once it is fully. When pressure is applied, half-way or fully, which bearing is at work? I may have been mistaken and that could have been my pilot bearing broke.

How do we go about doing that?

Just broke 72k miles, minor slippage when attempting to take off in third gear

Any pressure at all on the pedal stops the noise, it makes the sound when in gear as well if I'm like in an alley with large stone walls but its pretty hard to notice unless looking for it.

I bought the exedy stage 1hd clutch kit complete with pilot and throw out bearings, so I'm hoping replacing everything short of the flywheel (clutch disk, throw out and pilot bearings, and pressure plate) will eliminate the noise

Sounds like throwout bearing. Pilot is only turning when clutch is disconnected.

Mine made a squeal for a second or so, then did this..


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...Car+_00606.JPG

New one is at upper right...

Since "any pressure" on the pedal stops the squeak. Might want to try searching up squeaks on "slave cylinder pin on the disengagement fork pivot" first before jumping on anything.

Attachment 227303

I have this problem, I've had the clutch and throw out bearing changed but the annoying squeal is still there so i'm going to try putting grease on this soon.

This is my car and the noise its making, note theres 2 noises. The low hummm of the gears spinning that only goes away once the pedal is pushed to the floor and this is normal, and the high pitch squeal thats not normal and goes away as soon as the pedal is pushed past the freeplay.


Chris.

My clutch does the same thing. I had an ACT clutch kit put in about a 1000 miles ago. The car now chirps after warming up, while in neutral. It's a 2004 6spd GT. If I remain in neutral and start revving up, the chirps will gradually get faster with the RPMs and stop chirping around 4500 RPMs or so. This is also in any gear. When the chirps are present, the slightest bit of pressure on my clutch petal will take the chirps away. Everyone keeps telling me that it is the throw out bearing. I contacted ACT and they had told me that whoever installed the kit either let moisture get onto the bearing or that they did not apply the proper amount of heavy duty lubricants. They told me that I can try changing the transmission fluid or I can try to lubricate the bearing with some sort of lithium lubricant onto the bearing and that I can try this without removing the transmission (don't know how to do that). They said that it is important to do so without getting the lubricant onto the disks.

Also, when I'm in neutral, my transmission makes some sort of whirring sound unless I push the clutch petal all the way down, is this normal? It's never happened in any other standard car that I have driven. I have an appointment with Mazda, tomorrow, to have my car looked at.

Is there a step by step to grease the slave master? (as in the picture)

Thank you very much. Mine making the same squealing noise now. Getting it changed right away.

Glad we could help.

Resist the urge to go with anything other than an OEM style clutch.

Make sure the pilot bearing is changed as well.

Now is a time to consider a light flywheel if you are intested. I recommend the "street" weights, not the "pro" or "track" weights. Something like the ACT Street Lite, Black Halo has them. This will also need to have a rear counter weight. In my opinion, this is one of the best performance mods for the 8. It is best accomplished with the transmission out for some other reason.

i believe oem throw outs are still junk, I had mine fail with no number of miles to my knowledge. Same signs though squeaking only in the warm weather at idle. Did this for a few months then boom and had to replace. I installed exedy kit and that throw out seemed different all metal no plastic ends. This one worked properly no noise. I just did an engine install last spring decided to put a new throw out in from Mazda and here I am a few months later with the noise back, not using oem for this part ever again.