gday, when my cars idling in neutral, with the clutch out i get this weird noise coming from the gearbox...the noise is hard to describe...its like a whirring noise with a slight bit of grinding. anyway i got under the car and it was definitely coming from the gearbox. and when i put the clutch in all the way the noise stops....the clutch seems fine in everyday driving its just this noise that is driving me nuts anyway got any ideas? :?

..sounds like the thrust bearing, have the same thing in my 4wd at the moment. :?

does it make the same noise when your doing about 100ks in 5th?

yep id say its the throwout fork (thrust) bearing. Go to an auto parts shop and the bearing should set you back about $15-$20. Holden charge about $40. Its a pretty straight forward job but the bearing has to be pressed onto (and off) its spigot. The gearbox can be a real prick to get in and out sometimes too, it sit pretty tight in the tranny tunnel.

stageIII-nah, i dont get the noise doing 100 in 5th thanks guys, ill get it checked out !

to get it checked out, you would have to drop the tailshaft, and take out the gearbox, which can be a bitch while the engine is still connected. IF you do have a wornout throwout bearing, depending on how long it has been 'worn out' it could have rooted your pressure plate 'fingers' where the throwout bearing comes into contact. so maybe a new pressureplate/clutch might be in order. while your at it, change your gearbox first, to see if you can get some metal chunks commnig out. the gearbox has a magnetic drain plug, so any metal bits in the oil should be there. if you have heaps of metal bits and peices, then it could mean tha the gearbox is wearing out as well. that noise could also be the gearbox bearings as well. If your pressure plate is wornout, youll find it hard to change gears, especially fast, and hard to select gears from a stop start.

SLIPPERY VL!! mate... i have the exact same problem.. i have brought a clutch kit.... it consists of a throw out bearing, pressure plate and clutch plate... but yeah its gettin fitted on wednesday... hopefully it fixes that noise ey.. i'll let u know how it goes... but im goin to change the gearbox oil etc.. as well and check for any metal filings... i got told the fly wheel may need machining if it was really bad? i'll let u know anyhow... unless u've fixed ur prob.... cheers -Mike

cool let us know how it goes and how much did ya pay for the kit??

the clutch kit i brought is a dbr? one Or somethin like that for the brand.... its the n/a heavy duty clutch kit... i got it for $230 from jack beedhams in redcliffe in brisbane... so yer somethin to go by... another place wanted $370... same kit... goes to show if u shop around u can save some big $$ the car is gettin it fitted now by my uncle.. should have it back tomorrow nite... i'll let u know anyhow .... cheers

hmmm its gonna be double that for a vlt im guessing...oh well, tell me if it stops the noise Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

hey guys, yeah it would cost a bit more for ur vlt clutch kit.... but heres the go... replaced the clutch and all that .... throw out bearing was fine! , clutch plate was a little worn, as it would be after so many thousand k on it.... but yer., got the flywheel machined as it has a lil high spot... but put the **** back in and u know what IT DIDNT FIX THE ****... i was pissed ey., but ive gone to the local transmission place... and showed the guy , let him drive the car.... also before that we changed the gearbox oil... at the sump plug was like a little metal clip and a few filings, the oil was like a metallica grey colour... but yeah anyway the transmission fella showed me where that clip came from in one of the bearings in the box... he said to replace it would cost $500 if i brought him the box, though for me my mates dad can help me do that... so im yet to price how much all the bearings are... but yeah if u do change ur clutch etc... go the bearings as well to be safe .... they say the throw out bearing is only heard when u put ur foot on the clutch, if u have a noise when its off its the gearbox bearings..... ok hope this helps ya.... and i'll tell ya when mines all fixed.... wasnt a happy boy mate :P but u get that ... catch yas -Mike

hahah ***in hell, this seems to be getting worse and worse Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

haha yeah man it sux dik alright.... ur symptons sound the same as mine ... but who knows. could be somethin else... ur best bet would be to get her up and check the sump plug and change the oil... give u a fair indication if ****s going on in there :P if only someone was selling a rb30et and manual gearbox... i'd convert and throw this **** away :P hahah... i hate when things arent working right.. thats just me but..... i'll tell u how it all pans out anyway man... cheers

just put one of those PBR H/D clutches in and reco'd my gearbox (on an NA). As everyone has said its a bitch to get the box back in....damn tight fit in the tunnel...lots of f words used that day. New clutch kit cost me $195. Gearbox bearing kit just under 300 (about 298ish). Syncros were 92 bucks each..damn expensive when there are 5 of them. (ohh and if anyone wants to know VK 5sp syncros are 30 bucks each, go figure why VL's are triple. But a VK bearing kit is 30 bucks more then a VL). I dropped some crazy addictive in with my sythetic gbox oil and it shifts so easily, even underload...its sweet now.

Slippery: Any new news on this? I have recently bought a VL and am having pretty much the same problem, the previous owner told me he had it checked out as it was doing if after he had it rebuilt and was told it's normal and not to worry, lots of 5 speed Vl's do it. I get the noise in neutral with the clutch out, and it's also there when driving, but any time I push the clutch pedal in it stops. I've also noticed when slowing down and changing through the gears it's got a tinny sounding sort of ping, or rattle, hard to describe, quite loud though. Gear changes are a little rough when it's cold but it improves when it warms up, and the car drives great. I'll get it checked out soon, but if there's any problems and it's gonna cost me I'll be pissed, I was told the car was in great order, but I've also found it's got a few water leaks in the boot and cabin. I'm almost in tears here.

Sounds like the same problemi have, worn hard casing on the main input gear where it meshes the front gear on the cluster shaft, sfa you can do about it unless you change shafts, good luck.. As for the clutch i have the perfect combo for a VLT, ask a few ahppy ppl on here that have brought them off me!

I'm with JET-6 here. I've just had this happen. Originally thought is was the bearings. Opened the box up, and the main gear and cluster looked a little black from the heat and wear . There isnt much you can do either. No matter which way you look at it, its gunna cost a bit. My cheapest solution was to get another box for about $2700 Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

It's going to get checked out Friday arvo, see what a so called "real expert" has to say. One quote for a rebuild heer was $8-900, the local wrecker will sell me one for $595 with 6 months warranty. He also tried to tell me they are a throw away item once they have had it.

I've had a noise like that for ages.. ever since I put the box in, I've got new clutch kit and thrust bearing. had the gearbox pulled down and inspected and nothing could be found... I just ignore it coz its a pretty quiet noise and doesn't affect the performance at all. Will be interesting to see what is found with your problem

My wife was out the front when I came home tonight and she reckons it sounds like there's a bunch of aluminium cans under the car getting rattled around, she said it's pretty noisy. Inside the car with the stereo on you can't hear anything. Hopefully it's just those two bearings and the rest of the box is good to leave, I know where I can get the bearings for next to nothing, just need the time, place and tools to do the job.