Hey everyone! First time poster here, thought this community might be able to shed some light on a current issue I'm running into with my JK.

I have a manual 2012 2d Rubicon with 100k on the odo, a Teraflex CT3 3in Alpine kit, 35in tires, and a series of other hardened TF steering components installed. I seem to be experiencing a recurring problem with my clutch, and clutch bearings. About 10k miles ago the original throw out bearing failed and I replaced the clutch with an aftermarket one built locally in Southern California by McCloud Clutches. The shop that helped me install the new clutch also used a non-mopar throwout bearing (said to be stronger than the original, can't remember the name). However less than 10k miles later I'm hearing a similar metal on metal scraping/grinding noise in neutral with my pedal uncompressed. This leads me to think that this time it's not the throw out bearing, but rather a pilot or input shaft bearing going bad.

It seems to only make a ton of noise after a long trip. 10k miles ago I had bad bearing/clutch noise was after a 6hour trip back from Northern Cali, similarly I just got back from another 6hour trip and this new noise started. It seems to diminish after it has had time to cool, I didn't hear it when firing it up this morning to avoid the street sweeper.

10k miles seems like such a short amount of time for new bearings to fail. Is there something that could be out of alignment, causing these clutch bearings to fail? Why does this keep recurring after these longer 6+ hour road trips, or is it just coincidence? Why might it be louder when the system is hot versus cold?

Any guidance and insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

I've had the release bearing fail early too. I went with the oem Mopar unit with made in USA on the box -- it's been working great. It's a good idea to replace the arm and it's pivot ball too. The arm wears at the contact point with the back of the bearing, and it won't mate as nicely. Measure and inspect the sleeve that the release bearing slides on, a loose fit will make noise.

Regarding why the release bearing may make (more) noise after a long drive, note that the release bearing is the constant contact type -- meaning that the bearing is always rotating at crankshaft speed and contacting the fingers of the clutch diaphragm spring. Cold grease can minimize noise in a bad release bearing. Riding the clutch would also tend to heat the grease in the bearing (and wear it more) due to the extra pressure on the bearing.

 

Right on! Thank you Mr.T. I ended up finding a video that matches the parts and explanation that you gave here. I see what you're saying about the worn parts, springs, and noise that they can create after time, stress, and heat. Ill get in there, take a look, and replace what's worn & gapped. Thanks for the reply!

 

Great, curious what you find. Stay in touch!

 

When you change a clutch you should do what others refer to here and that is the pivot ball stud, the arm and the TO bearing along with the pilot bearing in the crank. But the noise in N with no cluch pressed is not the pilot bearing making noise as it is spinning with the crankshaft. Good manual gearbox practice for clutch longevity is to idle at lights in N with clutch released then engage gear just before you have to move.

 

Thanks for all of the insight! It seems as though i'm getting the rattle from the worn parts that were talked about above. For now, I'm not going to worry about it too much and act on anything just yet, i'll wait for another bearing to die or the clutch needing replacing before getting back in there. Thanks again.

 

We seem to miss the big picture in cases like yours. Anything internal has worked equally so worn equally so all items that require gearbox removal should be changed at same time. Another good example is do not machine brake discs - throw them and get new ones. After all they did the same amount of brake heat cycles the pads and calipers did.