Help With Drivetrain Noise
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
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From: And then it was said... "let there be blue Corvettes and yellow Camaros" Ft Worth Texas
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St. Jude Donor '09
Help With Drivetrain Noise
My daughter's 2003 C5 (70,000 miles) has started making very loud grinding type noises when the engine is running and the clutch is depressed. When putting it into gear you can feel a very noticeable grinding through the shifter. On the road the car runs fine and no noise except when depressing the clutch. It also makes the grinding noise with the shifter in neutral and with the clutch depressed, slightly less noticeable than when the shifter is in gear. I mean this noise is loud, sounds like some metal ***** rolling around in a can, seems to be coming from the front of the car versus the rear transmission area. And again, you can actually feel the grinding/vibration through the shifter when it is in gear, clutch depressed. If it stopped when depressing the cluch I would think it was the throw out bearing but this noise is worse with the shifter in gear and the clutch depressed. Anyone have any ideas before we take it to the dealer? I'll also post in the C5 Technical section in case someone there might have an idea.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,025
Likes: 2
From: Valdosta GA
Mine has just recently developed this same issue. In my case it seems that the noise is most noticable when I have the shifter in gear and the clutch depressed. Now it does it more when slipping the clutch out to start from a stop (in either first or reverse).
I've been told this is the throw-out bearing. Problem is that you can't seem to just order the throw-out bearing (it comes as part of the "slave cylinder"). To remove and replace it you have to drop the rear-end assembly and pull out the torque tub so you are essentially doing everything up to the replacement of the clutch.
I've been driving with mine like this for a little while now (shifting between gears and everthing else drives like normal). Should have time to put the car on a lift (hopefully next weekend) and pull everything out to change this (mine is a little more complex because of the long-tube headers I have being in the way).
I've been told this is the throw-out bearing. Problem is that you can't seem to just order the throw-out bearing (it comes as part of the "slave cylinder"). To remove and replace it you have to drop the rear-end assembly and pull out the torque tub so you are essentially doing everything up to the replacement of the clutch.
I've been driving with mine like this for a little while now (shifting between gears and everthing else drives like normal). Should have time to put the car on a lift (hopefully next weekend) and pull everything out to change this (mine is a little more complex because of the long-tube headers I have being in the way).
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 104
Likes: 1
I have the EXACT same issue. The noise is very loud and shakes the whole car. It feels like the drive train is going to fall out the bottom of the car. The sound can be described as somewhere between buzzing and grinding. I also know the clutch is not disengaging properly because the car will roll forward with the clutch disengaged and the shifter in gear. At one point I could not even get the shifter into gear, but this issue seems to be intermittent. PLEASE HELP! I'm trying to gather as much information as I can before I commit to the big job of pulling everything apart. Thank you!
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Drifting
Joined: Mar 2015
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From: CSRA, SC
Yep it's the throw out bearing going. Yes it's integral to the slave cylinder and yes you have to drop the entire drivetrain to get to it so you should probably throw a clutch in it too along with a new pilot bearing. Consider refreshing the torque tube couplers and bearings too. This is a job that you can save a lot of money in labor on if you can do it yourself but if you go to the dealer it's probably 7 billion hours.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 935
From: Orlando Florida
I just had the job done. My throwout bearing was fine, but the slave was leaking like a sieve. $500 for a clutch and flywheel, $135 for a slave cylinder, $125 each for couplers, $140 for torque tube bearings and seals, $145 for a new master cylinder, $50 for a remote bleeder: $1200+ for parts. Parts.
Labor:
Clutch and rear main seal: $1150
Torque tube:$350
Master cylinder: $250
Replace differential seals: $300
Labor total: $2000+
Sum total: $3000+, but with work you may or may not need or want. If you pull it out, or pay someone else to pull it out, do add a remote bleeder. I went with mostly GM parts, since the originals lasted over 20 years and 100K. I also went with new flywheel and pressure plate bolts, GM roller bearing pilot, GM rear main seal and rear plate seal. C&S Corvette torque tube bearing and seal kit. No idea on whom the differential seals came from -- that was an in-process phone call.
Labor:
Clutch and rear main seal: $1150
Torque tube:$350
Master cylinder: $250
Replace differential seals: $300
Labor total: $2000+
Sum total: $3000+, but with work you may or may not need or want. If you pull it out, or pay someone else to pull it out, do add a remote bleeder. I went with mostly GM parts, since the originals lasted over 20 years and 100K. I also went with new flywheel and pressure plate bolts, GM roller bearing pilot, GM rear main seal and rear plate seal. C&S Corvette torque tube bearing and seal kit. No idea on whom the differential seals came from -- that was an in-process phone call.
