What will happen when the throwout bearing fails?
 

I took my Jeep into the dealership last year and has it and the other bearings replaced, and it started making noise again a month later :-( so I've just been driving on it. What are the risks of doing so? I'm hesitant to spend another 1000 on getting them replaced again, and I don't have the expertise to feel comfortable conquering that replacement yet. Is it a "on the side of the road" type failure, or would I be able to drive home and get the parts replaced at that point?

I feel like a bad owner not doing maintenance and letting something fail, but I just can't afford a thousand dollars a year to drop the tranny and get bearings replaced :-/

I had one fail on a sporty little car in my younger days. Essentially, in my case, the clutch would not fully disengage. When I pressed the clutch in, it was like it was still partially in gear. Because if this, I had to shut off the engine to shift into first or reverse, and had to essentially powershift between 2nd and 5th. I think :thinking: if worse comes to worst, you're looking at a second gear drive home. I'm no expert, however.

oh, and you should shop around. how long ago was your first one replaced? it should not cost a thousand bucks but it does need to be addressed.

It was last summer, and it literally wasn't even a full month before it started making noise again. The dealership was kind of shady though, I hadn't dealt with them before, but from my experience there they might have just greased it and not replaced it for all I know. :mad:

I may call around and get quotes from other places though, if it can be found cheaper I'd love to drive in silence and not hear bearing noise constantly.

Thanks for the info though! I was just paranoid driving on any trip over an hour, I didn't want my clutch to self-destruct on the road and have to be towed for a long distance.

If it didn't last a year, chances are the installer didn't align it correctly. That's the hardest part about the install is using the aligning tool to seat the bearing correctly. If this step is rushed, you end up with premature failure like in your case. I would really be on the previous installer to warranty the part and labor. I don't like being a hardass but if it only lasted a year then it's pretty much their bad. You should only have to replace these when you replace a clutch, it should last the life of the clutch.

Could be crap parts too...If the shop is reputable they should warranty a failure after only one month!!

I had the same problem with my throw out bearing when my Jeep was new (2007). I had it replaced at 1000 miles, then again at 10,000 miles. Mine was covered under warranty both times though.

I had my TOB fail in the middle of a trail run. I knew it was going and only a matter of time. Would make noise all the time like rattling when hitting the clutch. Anyways, while on the trail it started squeeling like a slaughtered pig. You could feel that it definetely went out. Made a B line to the gravel road and made my long trip back home of around 100 miles. I was able to shift fine but it made terrible noise each time I did, especially at stop lights . Very imbaressing!!! When I got home I looked underneth and it was so bad there were ball bearings vissible in the small vent slots on the bellhousing. :doh:, Was able to drive it to a friends house who changed my clutch and TOB for a small fee. Luckily there was no damage to the shaft or fork. As long as you drive on it for too long you should be fine.

That's good to know that you were actually able to drive on it, thanks for all the replies everyone. I can't remember what the replacement period was at the shop, but it was around two weeks or so I think, but I wouldn't call them reputable based on the runaround they gave me. Mine makes a grinding noise, but it's not ridiculously loud, so hopefully it's not that bad yet.