Whirring noise when Pressing Clutch

Could it be that you are not fully pressing the clutch all the way in?? Maybe you're dragging your clutch thinking you're disengaged. I agree with @gearcruncher, its not going to be the throw out bearing.

 

I'm pressing my clutch all the way to floor. If it was dragging I'm sure there would be grinding or the gears would refuse to mesh if that was the case.

 

Didn't hurt to ask.
Glad to know some people know how to drive a manual and understand how it works.
Good luck resolving your issue OP.

 

Just for the record, that is the exact observation that I made. Mine only makes the sound in that exact scenario.

My truck has never been off road and when I changed the transmission fluid at around 10k miles it was clean with no noticeable metal. Changing the fluid didn't change the sound at all.

 

Very interesting, I was beggining to think the shock and jolts from my little "off-road" adventure may have forced something out of alignment but that would probably result in a more obviously apparent problem.

 

If you have the clutch pushed to the floor and the transmission is in gear , you will be decelerating .
During deceleration with the clutch pushed to the floor , you have removed the powerflow from the engine , however , the rear tires now become the driving force .
The rear tires drive your rear differential which in turn drives your output shaft of your transmission . This is called reverse powerflow .
Lets say for instance you are trying to grab first gear with your clutch all the way to the floor as the truck is slowing down in second gear . You must first match the speed that the output shaft is turning in order to get 1st gear .
If there was a clutch on the rear of the transmission separating the reverse powerflow , you wouldn't hear any noise because both the input shaft and output shaft would be turning at the same speed .
With this said , I believe the noise you are hearing has to do with the input shaft to output shaft thrust bearing .
Have you checked to see if the fluid level is set properly .
Many of these manual transmissions were low on fluid from the factory as well .

 

I haven't check fluid but let's assume the fluid level is correct. What could possible damage those two bearings you mentioned?

 

Zero doubt in my mind this is a throw out bearing issue. Coming from a STI, which whirred like no tomorrow when it was moist outside, every time you press and release half way through the engagement zone pssssssss.

Might be the design of the Tacoma, I know it was a design issue with the Subaru. Anyways mine never failed over 60,000 or so...who knows if it's something to stress about

To those saying throw out bearing will whirrrr with foot off the clutch, mine never did. Only when pressing and releasing (techs said this was very common for subarus)

 

What I want to know is why this is happening. I literally drove over a bumpy patch in the parking lot at work at low speed in 1st gear.

 

Well I never did anything with my STI it just sort of started out of the blue. Upon further digging it seemed to be a design flaw, the throw out bearing tended to let moisture in on the subarus. Not sure if that's the case for Toyota as well? I opted (stupidly) for the auto on my truck.....regret it every day.

 

I'm gonna talk to a transmission expert and ask him what he thinks. I would rather not have the truck torn apart if this isn't a danger to the truck.

 

If you go to the first page and watch the video I posted. The sound that is the issue in that video is very similar to what I hear except much quieter, it is very subtle.

 

In the video you posted , thats the release bearing making noise ( AKA throw out bearing )
I dont know why I didnt watch your video , but that is a classic release bearing problem
Burn the clutch a little and the noise will go away .
As a clutch disc wears down , the pressure plate fingers move towards the release bearing . As soon as you burn the facing on the clutch , your release bearing will be pre-loaded and the noise will go away .
Is this the proper fix ???? absolutely not , but it makes the noise go away .

 

Took it to a reputable transmission shop and let the expert test drive. He is thinking maybe pilot bearing but since it is a very quiet noise he recommends that I wait for the noise to get worse and to take it to Toyota for documentation emphatically noting that they mention the clutch somewhere in the report.

 

No pilot bearing on these critters

 

Right, it's some kind of bearing making a noise. And btw, this is the surface I drove on when I first heard the noise.

 

I'm just checking back in to say that I have listened intensely yesterday and this morning for a noise, mine makes no odd noise, or at least I can't hear any noticeable change in frequency. Tested it while driving around town and while going through a drive thru (windows down too).

I don't think that road you posted would have done anything to your truck. If your truck couldn't handle that, something was already broken before.

 

Made another observation, sometimes my clutch makes a mild creaking/knocking sound and feeling sometimes when moving from a stop in 1st gear.

 

That is probably the Pedal itself making the Creaking sound, very common issue.

 

That "mild" creaking is going to get a wholllleeee lot louder. This is not a 3rd gen only issue. It's an easy fix apparently, I haven't personally done it yet.