04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

I have an 04 base 6MT with about 150k and at around 135k I started to hear a noise that seamed to come from the tranny or clutch and sounded like a clicking/vibration type of noise. The noise stops when the clutch pedal is pushed in and starts up as soon as the clutch is engaged. The clicking noise increases and decreases as the car accelerates and seams to be loudest at lower rpms. I had the clutch assembly replaced and still have the same noise. The car drives fine bit Im concerned that the tranny is going to give at any moment. I had a mechanic friend listen to it and he said it was either the countershaft or a bearing that went bad and the tranny needed to be rebuilt.

Im curious if anyone else has had this same issue and what was done to fix it... Im thinking of having it rebuilt but not sure if its worth it or just buy a used one to swap it with... any help is appreciated

mY sLOW UA6

Sounds like a bearing to me which would ust mean that the bearing has to be replaced.

SouthernBoy

Was the pilot bearing replaced with the clutch replacement?

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

Not sure if the pilot bearing was...just know the throw out bearing was changed

ez12a

my bet's on the bearing(s)

SouthernBoy

It does sound like the pilot bearing is failing.

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

So i guess i should replace all the bearing while its out? Anything else i should replace?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

The pilot bearing only turns, or is working when the clutch pedal is depressed, so as the sound stops when the pedal is depressed, cannot be the pilot bearing. When clutch pedal depressed, the trans input shaft that goes through the clutch disc and into the pilot bearing stops turning, but the pilot bearing starts its workout as the inner race supporting the input shaft is stopped, but the outer race attached to the flywheel is turning. Same with the throwout bearing, only working when pedal depressed, so must be a bearing in the trans. Needle bearings or ball bearing bad, and with that mileage could be quite costly to rebuild and add syncros into the mix. Got to have somebody that know what they are doing.
Do you hear the noise in all gears?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Just wanted to add, that dependent upon the sound, it could be a chipped gear tooth.

gwiffer

iTrader: (7)

^can synchros be replaced by themselves or do you have to replace the whole gearsets?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Maybe someone that has worked on the M/T will be able to offer more knowledge, I've never had a TL trans apart, but looking at the diagrams:
Syncronizer sleeve set (5-6) $247/$185
Countershaft second gear set $500/$373

If you've not drained the fluid since the sound has become noticeable, drain it through a small screen to see if any debris, e.g. broken pieces come out, then examine the drain hole to see if anything visible within the hole.

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

^^^ also wondering that... I only hear it in 1-3 gears and seams to be loudest when driving slow in gears 1&2. Its hard to describe the noise but theres definitely a click which increases with rpms but there is also a distinct "scraping " or "grinding" type noise along with it... either way sounds like it needs to be opened up... if i get the labor done for free/cheap how much am i looking at roughly in parts

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

That's a difficult call as it is all dependent on the parts that are needed to bring the trans back to normal, but if you can get the labor for free, that usually ends up being the biggest cost. Got to be done, pull it apart and do a close examination and purchase all the parts that are questionable, no sense skimping once it's out.
When I was having some motor work done on our RX7 Turbo, I had the trans rebuilt and it was very inexpensive as it only needed syncro rings and a bearing.
Maybe you'll be lucky.

There are some used units around, but they seem to ask a lot of money for them.

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

Ok thanks for all the help, i did find some used ones but for over a grand and who knows what condition they are in...id rather rebuild it and know its good

SouthernBoy

Thanks Turbonut for jumping in on this one. Good info.

**WhItE-aNgEl**

I have the same noise and only started hearing it after I replaced my clutch. I took it to the Acura dealer under warranty and they replaced the throw out bearing. No more noise.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If it were the T.O. bearing that would only be heard when the clutch is depressed as when the pedal is up and clutch engaged the T.O. bearing isn't turning, unless you ride with the foot on the pedal.

I hate cars

Great info Turbonut.

I would like to add that I've seen a couple freaky cars where the throw out bearing made noise under no load (clutch engaged) and as soon as you put just a tiny bit of load on it by barely pressing the clutch it went away. Very unlikely that's the case here but I thought I would throw it out there. In most setups the throwout bearing will still spin when your foot is off the clutch but there's very little load on it. If the fork backed off far enough so that there was no tension and no spinning of the bearing, it can result in too much clutch pedal travel and noise.

Does it make the same noise in every gear? How about reverse?

Any change from heavy throttle to light throttle to deceleration while in gear?

Keep in mind, if a bearing is going bad and shedding metal, the longer you run it this way, the more likely it is that it's going to hurt other components.

I'm not sure if the 6mt uses a magnetic drain plug but that would be a place to start if it does. Synchros probably won't show up but bearings will.

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

Well i had the noise before the new throw out bearing so doubt thats it...i really k ly hear the noise in the first two gears and seems to be loudest when i down shift into 2 nd... havent noticed a change depending on amount of throttle and i think i recall hearing it in reverse but not sure...ill have to check...

I hate cars

If it doesn't change with load, it's probably not a gear which is weird because many times a clicking is a chipped gear. If it does it in every gear including reverse, chances are it's a bearing on the input shaft but I've never been inside a TL's 6mt to see the power flow.

I thought you mentioned this already but I couldn't find it, is it more engine rpm related or road speed related?

Also, does it get louder or quieter when you let off the throttle and coast with it in gear?

I'm trying to eliminate the final drive. If it's engine rpm related, it's a very good chance it's the input shaft.

04TL4P3

iTrader: (1)

I tried testing that by revving in neutral and it seems to be related to speed not rpms...it def gets louder when i let off the gas while in low gears 1&2 and when i downshift...

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Just thought I'd add for the readers, chances are that the T.O. bearing was hitting the PP and when pressure applied, it started turning, thus the noise stopped. The freeplay at the top of the pedal is so that the T.O bearing comes off the PP, but, if the freeplay is nonexistant as can easily occur in the manual clutch adjustment cars of years ago, the bearing can continually turn, not a good situation, or if the springs on the fork are distorted or broken the bearing can cock and rub the PP fingers. In any event it looks like this problem is within the transaxle assembly .