After some help please guys. After a good day at Stoneleigh yesterday had a few issues once I got near home. Car drove faultlessly until I stopped about 8 miles from home.
I’m running a pinto with 5 speed type 9.

There is a horrendous metallic clunk/crunching coming from what I think is the gearbox/ bell housing area.

So when stationary and out of gear the noise happens in a constant pattern and does seem to increase with engine revs.



If I then put my foot to the floor on the clutch after about half a second the noise stops completely.



I can can select all gears fine and drive with no slip of the clutch. Gears 1-4 continue to make the noise extremely loudly but the strange thing as soon as I engage 5th it’s all whisper quiet and perfect. The drive to Stoneleigh was 150 miles each way almost all motorway and in 5th the whole way.


Obviously i I realise it’s engine out and maybe box. I’m thinking maybe the release bearing or arm is catching something if it was a bearing in the box surely 5th would do it too???

Thanks mike.

[Edited on 7/5/19 by Magh]

Firstly I thought it sounds like clutch release bearing but if it’s noisy in 1st to 4thand not 5th it Sounds like layshaft bearings in the gearbox

I was hoping it was the clutch release bearing but fearing it may well not be.

If the lay shaft bearings were at fault the noise would more likely to disappear in 4th gear not 5th . 4th gear basically means the input shaft and output shaft , otherwise known as 1st motion and 3rd motion shafts are locked together and rotate at the same speed . Think I would remove the engine and check the clutch, the clutch fork and the spigot bearing

I thought on a type 9 because the 5th gear is an add on on the back of the gearbox that’s why I suggested layshaft bearing

Did you notice if the noise changed in each gear or is it just engine speed related?

The noise remains the same but is certainly worse in some gears most especially 4th which seems even more strange as that is the 1-1 gear ratio.

This noise was heard on the gearbox I commented in the "transmission Collision Damage" thread and would be heard at idle, and very faintly at any other gear...

In my case, I am almost 100% sure it was due to crash damage.


Let´s see what the manufacturer say...

My vote is release bearing. You'll have to take the box out to find out anyway, so hopefully you'l have a relatively easy job.