[Pahk the Cah]

I just bought a 2000 G1 with 89,000 miles. Complete service records. A really awesome raw specimen. The IMA started giving the previous owner trouble last summer and he stopped driving it last fall. It's been sitting since then. I'm looking forward to working on getting the IMA back up and running while building up my mechanical ability.

That said, the only thing I wasn't sure about after test driving the car was a sort of buzzing/droning whenever I would release the clutch. Given my admittedly limited experience with car mechanics, I was unable to determine the cause of the noise.

Is it normal? Is it the flywheel? Worn clutch? Is it a symptom of sitting for the better part of a year? Is there a known fix? Am I making a fool of myself for thinking a normal clutch sound is a possible issue? Let me know.

Looking forward to learning from the wealth of knowledge available here and interacting with the gurus that live here.

 

[eq1]

^ Really hard to diagnose noises without hearing the noise. Having said that, I don't think I hear any "buzzing/droning" noises when I "release the clutch" (pedal)? Are you saying you hear the noise when you release the clutch pedal, such as when in neutral? Or any time?

I can hear what must be the flywheel or something 'in there' spinning (release bearing?) when I release the clutch pedal in neutral. And it goes away when I push the pedal in. I would imagine that, if your scenario is 'clutch pedal out in neutral > hear noise', that whatever I'm hearing that's spinning might be what you're hearing - only that your car has sat for ages and that 'whatever' is crusty, maybe rusty, maybe gummed-up, etc...

hmm, I'm thinking release bearing, now, but as I recall that's just this weird nylon bearing, I don't even think it has 'balls'. Maybe the nylon in your release bearing is cracked or warped... I don't know, just throwing out an idea.

Another idea: if the car sat for a long time, then maybe any of the 'clutch mechanisms' could be crusty and you're not getting the appropriate clutch action...

 

[Pahk the Cah]

I can hear what must be the flywheel or something 'in there' spinning (release bearing?) when I release the clutch pedal in neutral. And it goes away when I push the pedal in. I would imagine that, if your scenario is 'clutch pedal out in neutral > hear noise', that whatever I'm hearing that's spinning might be what you're hearing

This is the scenario where the sound cropped up. The sound could also be described as a whirring sound. Based on your description, it seems you were able to replicate what I was hearing to some extent. I’ll catalog the release bearing as a possible trouble spot to check up on. Other than thatt drove fine. No issues changing gear or setting off. Is it safe to assume that any ‘crustiness’ can be remedied by putting more miles on the car?

This ‘clutch buzz’ is just the last thing I wanted to follow up on before finalizing the sale. Most other things on the car I’m comfortable troubleshooting with limited experience but clutches scare me for some reason.

 

[eq1]

...Is it safe to assume that any ‘crustiness’ can be remedied by putting more miles on the car?

Sounds like your noise is at least related to the normal noise/s. If that's the case I'd think it'd quiet down after some use. But hard to say. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it gets worse. Working with the clutch isn't too difficult anyway, so if it turns out you need to replace the release bearing, or the entire clutch, it's completely doable. I doubt you'd need an entire new clutch though with such low miles...

I think I'd start with replacing the clutch fluid, bleeding, if you haven't already.

 

[Bull Dog]

If the noise goes away when you step on the clutch, what you are most likely hearing are the input shaft bearings in the transmission making noise. It depends on how loud/severe the noise is on how much I would be concerned about it.

My personal rule of thumb is that if you can clearly hear the bearing noise inside car with the windows up and over the idle of the engine, it's time for a trans rebuild in the near future.

If the noise isn't terrible, I would change the trans fluid. For best results, use Honda's Manual Transmission Fluid.

 

[eq1]

If the noise goes away when you step on the clutch, what you are most likely hearing are the input shaft bearings...My personal rule of thumb is that if you can clearly hear the bearing noise inside car with windows up and over the idle of the engine, it's time for a trans rebuild in the near future.

Input shaft bearing, huh. That sounds more like it. I can clearly hear 'a' bearing noise when I release my clutch pedal. It goes 'whhhiiiiirrrrr' with the clutch pedal out, and when I press the pedal it goes away...

 

[Willie Williford]

Talking bearings what will they think of next.