I think I may have found the cause of my phantom rattle... My old man was having a listen tonight, and we discovered that declutching made the "rattle" stop. :hmm: All I can really think of is the thrust bearing, how wrong am I? Don't know an awful lot about gearboxes. If it is the case, how much would it cost and how long would it take to do? At a mechanic that is. I'll probably put a heavy duty clutch in if the gbox has to come out.

ive had that rattle sound now for about 2 years now depress the clutch and it goes away? clutch has never sliped.
i only realy notice when i drive really hard, i dont hear it as much with every day driving. labour cost depends on the mechanic and expect to pay around $80 an hour. as for the clutch your lookin at $600 - $800 for a heavy duty.

ive had that rattle sound now for about 2 years. depress the clutch and it goes away? clutch has never sliped.
i only realy notice when i drive really hard, i dont hear it as much with every day driving. labour cost depends on the mechanic and expect to pay around $80 an hour. as for the clutch your lookin at $600 - $800 for a heavy duty.

ive had that rattle sound now for about 2 years now depress the clutch and it goes away? clutch has never sliped.
i only realy notice when i drive really hard, i dont hear it as much with every day driving. labour cost depends on the mechanic and expect to pay around $80 an hour. as for the clutch your lookin at $600 - $800 for a heavy duty.
Yeah mine only does it when its pretty warm, and my clutch doesnt slip either. Would a rooted thrust bearing make the clutch slip? I was just guessing to be honest :redface: . I get a better deal on the labour than most other places, so I was wondering how long the job takes generally. Still undecided on the HD clutch as well..

sounds like gear box roll over noise, maybe sagged mounts or gear box bearing dieing, when did you last change the gearbox oil for a good quality one? even that can help.

Cheers Dave.

sounds like gear box roll over noise, maybe sagged mounts or gear box bearing dieing, when did you last change the gearbox oil for a good quality one? even that can help.

Cheers Dave.
Ahh thank you sensei... I'm planning on chaning the GB oil next service, which I'll do next weekend. I'll have a look at the mounts tomorrow sometime, anything in particular to look for?

Also, what oil do you recommend for the gearbox? :eek2: Sorry to be a pain.

I'd be keen to know what a Thrust Bearing is worth as gen spare, if you come to getting parts quotes.

Just a word to the wise, some members in here **who seem to know what they are talking about** have given advice AGAINST runnning heavy-duty clutches in stock/daily-driver cars..... theory being that a heavy duty clutch will more likely bugger a standard gearbox if car is driven harshly (clutch will transmit greater shock to an unmodified gearbox which is unlikely to handle any abuse). Sounds like sensible advice to me, unless you wanna take on serious track days etc and actually need a HD clutch, and are a good driver (not sure I claim to be).

Another tip, Mitsi Clearance in Adelaide did have a few 380 clutches for a mere $20- (I bought one for $20- including the flywheel - there were 2 more with just pressure-plate and clutch-plate (driven plate). None had the thrust bearing with em - AND this was 4-5wks ago, so they may be long-gone. I tried ringing Exedy for advice, and learned that clutch plate is same diameter in Magna/380 but were listed as different part number, so could not be sure of compatibility. I've taken a punt that I'll be able to use it, if not can be sold. If it ever comes to clutch-out for me, I need gearbox done up - very dodgy synchro esp on 2nd gear, and maybe starting to catch a bit going into 3rd too.

Main point of this post: get some good quality of advice (above the level of "fully-sik heavy-duty hektik-clutch, dood") before you go into a HD clutch, or you might crap your gearbox. Also - question from me - would HD clutches have any more durability in the thrust bearing, anyway? Is it just different friction material and stronger clamping-force, and maybe greater surface-area that makes a heavy-duty clutch?

Thanks for the advice matey, might not bother with the clutch then. AFAIK the 380 clutch should be the same as the Magna one, I think the GB is the same bar ratios. Probably wrong though lol.

Thrust bearings are usually reliable and not prone to rattle - not from the bearing itself anyway. I pulled mine out because the clutch was worn, the original thrust bearing could have gone back in as it was still smooth to turn after 217K. A rattle could possibly come from the clutch plate(spring) or straps. Nothing to worry about, unless it gets worse.

A heavy duty clutch will be harder to push down in normal use. Mitsu include a valve in the clutch slave cylinder to slow the fluid flow when you let the clutch up, so they must be concerned about shock loads on the gearbox - but this valve makes you think the clutch hasn't much grip. If you want your clutch to have more bite, just take this valve out! (Your choice, your risk)

Man trans oil - Castrol VMX 80 works well.

Thrust bearings are usually reliable and not prone to rattle - not from the bearing itself anyway. I pulled mine out because the clutch was worn, the original thrust bearing could have gone back in as it was still smooth to turn after 217K. A rattle could possibly come from the clutch plate(spring) or straps. Nothing to worry about, unless it gets worse.

A heavy duty clutch will be harder to push down in normal use. Mitsu include a valve in the clutch slave cylinder to slow the fluid flow when you let the clutch up, so they must be concerned about shock loads on the gearbox - but this valve makes you think the clutch hasn't much grip. If you want your clutch to have more bite, just take this valve out! (Your choice, your risk)

Man trans oil - Castrol VMX 80 works well.
Don't really need more bite, was just thinking ahead, thinking of future labour costs. But I don't reckon I'll bother. VMX 80 it is then. Thanks mate.

For your daily stock daily driver a HD clutch is a waste of both time and money. The stories of them killing gear boxes is to an extent true when people use NON organic set ups (such as brass puck etc) and so not know how to drive. Then again even a std clutch can have the same effect only it is not the clutch is is the tool driving the car that causes the issue.

In my TF I can generally change gears without even touching the clutch as I know how to match the revs to the gear I am going into and know the car.

The important part of driving a manual is using your revs to match the next gear, and funnily enough most strain is put on the clutch and box when people down shift when slowing down, most people have never really been taught to drive a manual. When I learnt to drive years ago there were very few auto cars out there but these days most are too lazy to drive and want it all done for them lol

ABout the rattle, if the rattle goes when teh clutch is depressed is not the releast bearing as the bearing is pulling out the pressure plate and is now tight. Can be the clutch plate springs themselves, especially if there have been some heavy shifts done over the years

Thrust bearings are usually reliable and not prone to rattle - not from the bearing itself anyway. I pulled mine out because the clutch was worn, the original thrust bearing could have gone back in as it was still smooth to turn after 217K. A rattle could possibly come from the clutch plate(spring) or straps. Nothing to worry about, unless it gets worse.

A heavy duty clutch will be harder to push down in normal use. Mitsu include a valve in the clutch slave cylinder to slow the fluid flow when you let the clutch up, so they must be concerned about shock loads on the gearbox - but this valve makes you think the clutch hasn't much grip. If you want your clutch to have more bite, just take this valve out! (Your choice, your risk)

Man trans oil - Castrol VMX 80 works well.
When I put an Exedy HD clutch in my Ralliart, the pedal felt exactly the same as stock, only the give point was closer to the floor. I was told it's because it's a hydraulic clutch? Given that Black Beard has a fair amount of power and torque in his car with a brass button puck clutch, he hasen't smashed a gearbox yet - smashed a diff I think tho.

I have a knocking from the gearbox and yeah its the thrust bearing. Goes away when the clutch is fully depressed (foot on the clutch flat to the floor). Pushing the clutch half way doesn't stop it.

Mitsi quoted me about $750 to fix it. When you are sitting at the lights etc, just pop it into neutral and leave your foot off the clutch so there is no load on the bearing. The thrust bearing is only under pressure when you have your foot pressed all the way down on the clutch.

It can't really cause any harm, just an annoying noise. Oil change does nothing, Mitsi already tried that with mine.

I have a knocking from the gearbox and yeah its the thrust bearing. Goes away when the clutch is fully depressed (foot on the clutch flat to the floor). Pushing the clutch half way doesn't stop it.


totally disagree with what ppl are saying is thrust bearing noise

if noise is there when clutch is pushed to the floor that = thrust bearing .. it is at this point in time the thrust bearing is spinning hard and under load as one part of the thrust bearing is attached to the release fork (which is in a fixed position) and the other part is attached to the pressure plate (which is spinning) ...

when your off the clutch pedal your thrust bearing is unloaded and generally wont make much noise...

if your getting noise when the your off the clutch pedal (clutch is engaged) it is probably coming from your gearbox... the reason the noise is going away when you push the clutch pedal in is because your releasing the clutch therefore stopping the engine from spinning the gearbox input shaft.....


i had my thrust bearing go in my TH... shocking bearing noise when clutch pushed to the floor.. box out, new thrust bearing, box back in.. noise gone....

Most of the noise in a magna manual gearbox that stops when you put your foot on the clutch is from bearing "rollover". My rebuilt gearbox in my magna makes some rollover noise and its only done approx 4000kms since a full rebuild.

Im running redline MT90 oil in mine now after initially filling it with castrol VMX80 for the first 1000 or so kms. As for clutchs, well im running a Xtreme extra heavy duty cushioned button in my car and it feels pretty nice considering it has a 1600kg clamp force pressure plate, the clutch plate is still a "sprung" centre and that helps make it streetable despite the ceramic material used on the clutch facing "pads"

yeah redline MT90 is a top gearbox oil.. its what i use

Well I am only going by what Mitsi service centre said and 1 independent mechanic so I can't say either way as I am not a mechanic. So I stand to be corrected...

Mitsi tried flushing the oil and it didn't make a difference. But you reckon if I put a better oil in it will go away???

Oh and please explain what bearing "rollover" is????

Well I am only going by what Mitsi service centre said and 1 independent mechanic so I can't say either way as I am not a mechanic. So I stand to be corrected...

Mitsi tried flushing the oil and it didn't make a difference. But you reckon if I put a better oil in it will go away???

Oh and please explain what bearing "rollover" is????

hey mate.. dunno why mitsu and a mechanic are telling ya that..

dont think an oil change will fix your issue.... i personally wouldnt worry about it.. unless the noise is really annoying you
getting a bit beyond my knowledge of this particular gearbox noise though.. jason can prob help more from here

Yeah but i am thinking about selling the car and no one will really want to buy it like that...