Release bearing making noise

Should you be able to hear your release bearing at idle? Dealer said they replaced it three weeks ago. I can hear mine now when the clutch is not depressed.

Should not hear anything. What year is your car?

The year is 2002. I never heard anything before...at least I never noticed it. Took it in for some warrenty work, when I picked it up they said the bearing was making noise so they replaced it and said the clutch was fine. Now I can hear it (paying attention to it) said ya the bearing is going and the clutch will probably have to be replaced in the spring just replace the bearing then. I reminded him that the bearing was just replaced, he looked it up and confirmed it....said he'll get back to me.

I would make them replace the bearing again. Personally look at the clutch disc and see how much wear is on it. How many miles on the car? Don't get talked into buying a cluch kit if you don't need one so they can help make up the costs of their screw up. If you need one, fine, but if you have 50% left on the disc, it would be a waste of money and not necessary. Verify everything the dealer says. DO NOT assume that the bearing was replaced just because it's on the work order. If they replace it again, tell them you want the old bearing. By the way, does the noise get worse when you press the pedal? It may not be the bearing, but improper assembly of the clutch sytem or a missing clip on the actuating arm or pilot bearing.

I just had a whole series of bearings replaced in mine due to the same reason. The dealer first replaced the throwout bearing, but then discovered that other bearings were also making noise. Since the car was covered by warranty, they replaced everything, including the flywheel. My dealer is the best.

The car has 60K Kms. The noise goes away when the clutch is depressed. I don't feel any slippage and the clutch feels good, but how much wear is left I have no idea other than what they tell me....which doesn't appear to be consistant. I do notice that when it's cold 2nd gear feels a little different than the rest.

That was exactly the issue I had. Throwout bearings, pilot bearings and various other parts . . .

The dealer just called and said the noise is within normal limits. That you will always hear the bearing to some degree. My Audi doesn't make a sound. What should I do.

The dealer is wrong. You should not hear the bearing at all. The only way a bearing will make a noise is if it is bad. Noise is generated by friction of the bearings to the housing. However, I still don't believe its the throwout bearing. In most cases, a bad throwout will become noisier when the clutch is disengaged. It might very well be the pilot bearing. Not hearing the sound myself, I am just giving you an educated guess. I wonder if the dealer would put in writing that the bearing should be heard over the sound of the engine? I doubt it. Find out who makes the bearing and request and ask the manufacturer if they are designed to make noise.

BS Find another dealer. Are covered by warranty?

The dealer said he has no idea what a pilot bearing is. His master tech feels the noise is normal and if they open it up and replace the bearing, send it to Porsche and its still fine....they won't cover the expence.

Are you under warranty? Are there other dealers around?

It is still under warrenty till the end of this month. One other dealer close by, but I know the general manager well. They indicated that they replaced the bearing the first time more or less as a favour. Claims it was borderline before.

They have no idea what the pilot bearing is?. Call the parts department and they will easily give you the part number for the pilot bearing. Change dealerships right away

Ditto. Maybe that General Manager isn't as nice to you as you think. A good dealer does whatever they can to get parts covered by warranty, and they don't hold it over your head. Go to the other dealer. You owe it to your car (and yourself). Pathetic that they claim they don't know what a pilot bearing is.

HeyTD? Who owns that ugly car you're following?

Called the other dealer. They said that they can't (oviously) tell what it is over the phone but the fact that ther is a noise and then goes away when the clutch is depressed is NOT normal. That's what I needed to hear. Needless to say I might be seeing the inside of their service bays shortly. Thanks so much for your help. This is a great example where knowledge is a great tool to have on your side.

A friend of mine who is as addicted to the track as I am (or more). He was giving me grief about my old sig, claiming that it was "self-aggrandizing" and causing him problems at work since it made it obvious that he was looking at non-work substance. That's why I switched. I figured he would be a lot less likely to bitch if he were seeing his own car all the time. Also, I like the play on words and images. Either he is a little faster than I am and I can't get around him, or he is an a$$ who refuses to give a point-by. He sometimes posts here as }{arlequin. Here are a few more pictures of his car that were taken by another 996 owner who frequents this forum: Eli K. Eli, if you don't want me using your pictures, just let me know and I will pull them. BTW, the red car is mine. TD

Haha...Dave's got one of the most beautiful and unique cars I've ever come across...

Notice Eli's Avatar . . . that's me right behind him. That was a long time ago. I don't see too much of him anymore because I can't keep up [Hey look at me!]

Like you're in any real position to talk with an avatar like that!

Yeah, that's Todd alright, until we came out the turn and he blew the doors off of me... Back to the topic at hand, try requesting documented proof, specifying the decimals in which the volume of the bearing is acceptable. Basically the dealer is taking you for a ride, either escalate to the regional rep or find a new dealer...

Watch it Pari . . . you're hitting pretty close to home!

Great pics! The saga continues. Called the original dealer back leaving him a message that I"m convinced the noise needs further investigation....I'm not sure what it is...but it needs another look. Calls back saying they took it for a test drive and now that its warmed up he can hear something. I am now certain this guy is on CRACK. The noise is there hot, cold, upside down whatever! I mean am I on crazy pills?

He is just trying to retreat. If I were in your shoes, I would let him retreat without embarassing him. See what happens now that they want to dig back into the problem. . . . Ask whether they should replace the flywheel as well since it is just as easy to replace the whole thing as it is just to remove and replace the bearing.

That's exactly what I thought. I left him a big fat open door that he can retreat into by playing stupid. My thinking was that Porsche may not pony up the cash for the same job in a short period of time (assuming it was done at all the first time). Rather than paying for it themselves they will try to find another reason to go back in there. So yes I'm expecting they will say its something else and probably suggest a clutch job while its open to recoup their costs. Should I change the clutch even if it is premature? Said it will be $1000 Cdn. for the clutch kit and $2200 if I were to change it down the road

You guys think that green car is ugly...you should see the driver!

But in his defense, Dave has got to be the best dressed (read eccentric) Dorkis ever!!! Even my fiancee thinks so .

I agree, let him find whatever graceful way out that makes him feel still in control. You're better off that way. Maybe then he'll take care of it for you. Clutch kit is $550 US$ from dealer. It might be worth throwing him a bone if he will repair everything else on his Canadian dime.

Again, thanks alot for the feedback. I'll see what he says tomorrow.

Let me give him the benefit of the doubt. Is there any audible difference with the clutch depressed vs. when its not? Does the tranny have an inherent audible sound in neutral at idle? Just making sure I'm not making a mountain out of a mole hill.