Grinding noise with clutch to the floor?!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Well, the title pretty well says it all, my 70 T makes a loud, strange noise when I push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor, the noise goes away as I lift the pedal. It's sounds like gears clashing, and it varies with the engine RPM. The car had the clutch replaced by PO around 5K ago, my first guess is the clutch cable needs adjusted, but I'll listen to the advice of those wiser than myself before I go to work. Thanks, Matt

[anh911]

You mean it makes the noise without selecting gears or driving?

[beepbeep]

TO bearing worn and something is hitting pressure-plate?

[Jim Smolka]

It could be that there is too much throw and the fork arm is hitting the pressure plate. I assume the noise occurs with the car stationary and the shifter in Neutral. Clutch might just need to be adj to spec.

[Jim Richards]

I think Goran's right on the money.

[john walker's workshop]

typical of 70 and 71 901 boxes. look at the pivot ball for the release fork and see if it has worked itself out a thread or two. it can be seen with a good flashlight thru the fork slot in the bellhousing. if the previous clutch job included a flywheel resurface, and they didn't compensate by putting a flat washer under the pivot ball/bolt, then it's hard to get a decent clutch release without the fork hitting the edge of the pressure plate.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It makes noise at all times with the pedal all the way to the floor. There's nothing on the PO's ticket for the transmission rebuild and clutch regarding a flywheel resurface, but it's not really all that detailed. So what should I try first, adjust the clutch?

[john walker's workshop]

loosen up the clutch adjustment to the point where it doesn't make that noise, and hope there's still enough release so you can drive and shift properly. the two jamb nuts on the threaded part of the sheath are loosened from each other and moved away from the plastic sleeve that locks into the release fork. there's a nice aluminum sleeve that you should get if the old white plastic one is still there. the tits break off the plastic one. or you can use a 911/914 trunnion, and just cut the tit end off the plastic sleeve and use the remains as a spacer behind the trunnion.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks John, I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Ok, from bad to worse. I loosened the clutch adjustment until the noise stopped, but so the transmission would still engage into reverse without grinding. BTW, the problem was the fork hitting the pressure plate. Anyway, I go for a test drive, make it about twenty feet when I hear a pop sort of noise, clutch goes to the floor, then my problem noise comes back and the car stalls. Everything is still intact underneath where I adjusted it underneath, so I'm guessing my cable broke where it connects to the clutch pedal. That's what I'll tear into next. So, is it possible that my problem noise was caused by a stretched clutch cable, and not the clutch adjustment itself?

[john walker's workshop]

if the cable was stretched, the fork wouldn't have gotten closer to the pressure plate. is the pivot bolt/ball still holding the fork to the back of the bellhousing? they tend to break, or unscrew.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Just so I'm looking at the right thing, yes it's still there. The cable isn't broken, just really loose, no doubt due to my loosening it earlier. I tried pushing on the clutch pedal, and it was really loose a few times, then got tight, as if it was binding on something, then it became loose again?! I'm going to try re-adjusting the clutch, to see if it works, unless John tells me otherwise.

[VaSteve]

I think it's the throw out bearing. Experienced this myself on the first P car I test drove. I thought it was engine revving until I saw the tach didn't move. The Used 911 Story gave a great description.
Good luck!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Don't talk like that Steve, I don't live in NOVA, land of prolific engine drops, I'm not looking for an excuse. The fork is tight against the pressure plate, regardless of my adjustment of the clutch cable. I can make it tighter or looser, but it won't come off of the pressure plate. What holds tension against the clutch pedal and cable, is it the spring in the cluster. Isn't that what holds the fork off of the pressure plate? I need some guidance here, this is a little beyond the realm of 101 projects.

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Don't talk like that Steve, I don't live in NOVA, land of prolific engine drops, I'm not looking for an excuse. The fork is tight against the pressure plate, regardless of my adjustment of the clutch cable. I can make it tighter or looser, but it won't come off of the pressure plate. What holds tension against the clutch pedal and cable, is it the spring in the cluster. Isn't that what holds the fork off of the pressure plate? I need some guidance here, this is a little beyond the realm of 101 projects.

I'm just quoting what I read. I don't actually know how to fix it!! Hopefully someone else here can lend a hand.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm about to call it for the night, and hope some folks wiser than myself will chime in. Looks like the wife and I will be sharing a car tomorrow. If I try to work any more, I'll have to drink more beer, and that's just a viscious cycle.