Manual Trans Clutch Release Bearing/Throwout Bearing Chirp

Alright Ive got 18 MT which at 48k miles I had the whole clutch assembly reaplced due to a loud chirping noise that sounded like crickets that would increase in volume with rpms and then goes away as soon as you put the clutch in. The symptoms lead me to beleive it was the throw out bearing but the shop that did the clutch determined it was actually the clutch fork release bearing not the throw out bearing.

I am now at 88k miles and have started to experience the same exact issue. Is there anyone else who has experienced this issue with their manual transmissions? If so is there any other solution or than dropping the trans to replace the clutch release bearing? Perhaps another underlying issue that is causing the bearing to go out pre-maturely?

 

TOB should make a noise only when the clutch is pressed, silent otherwise. So yeah, if it's the same symptoms, then probably needs the same repair. Also clutch fork release bearing and TOB are the same thing. No way to get around not pulling the trans out for this as it rides on the shaft. IMO OEM is the only way to go for a TOB, the aftermarket ones don't seem to last.

Also FWIW, an input shaft bearing noise is another common issue, but goes away when the clutch is pressed. Opposite behavior of TOB.

 

Sorry for the trouble. Note that there is no fork bearing. Just a pivot pin on one end and the slave pin on the other.

BTDT. I have replaced three TOBs so far. First at 88k, then every 10k afterward. Each time, I lubed up the pivots.

Tore down the first TOB and found it was bad. The second was returned under warranty. I have not taken the third on apart yet, but it didn't feel good even assembled. You can see the Red Death of it in my quote below. Only 15k on that. Got some extra mileage out of it after pulling the slave spring.


If you have this recurring problem, I would suggest trying the slave spring removal. It is an absurdly strong spring:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/no-slave-spring-mod-nssm.839250/


This last time, just a few weeks ago, I swapped the friction disk and pressure plate. I found at least two of the PPs bolts were on the loose side.

Good prices for the kit on Amazon that appeared to genuine Aisin parts.

Just in case, you can see the pivots that the fork rides on:



Fork in with some of my bearings. Haha!

 

Doesn’t sound like TOB.

 

Also as a note, this TOB crap is rare. I asked a couple parts managers just for fun. They say that these parts don't go out the door much at all. But it does seem that for 3rd Gen folks who have issues, it is a persistent problem.

I have seen just a few posted here.