Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Is It a Clutch, Release Bearing, Trans or......?

I own a 98.5 CSVT. I am having some sort of problem within the transaxle. My local Ford dealer took $80 from me to tell me that it might be the clutch but they don't know. I have purchased a Ford service manual off of eBay but still have not had much luck. Here are the symptoms. With the clutch fully depressed, I will hear a whirring/whinning noise in any gear range. In other words, say I want to shift into 1st gear. I depress the clutch and slide the shifter over towards 1st. The noise will happen without being fully engaged. The car will actually begin to move when doing that as well. I checked for the same noise without using the clutch and the car started to move but no noise. It actually allowed me to fully engage 1st. Also, shifting into every gear now requires more effort but not extreme effort. Any thoughts and/or advice would be extremely appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff
cleanslatewallpaper@yahoo.com

I would start by bleeding the clutch.

Logic would dictate the stearlership would have done that. Then again that would "assume" the had any to begin with.


If bleeding the clutch does nothing then yes it certainly could be the T/O bearing.

Any tranny work is so labor intensive you should replace everything you can get your hands on when doing the job.

A laundry list should be easy to get just by looking at the FAQ's stickied at the top. (i.e. LSD, full clutch kit, rods, bearings, tower, etc)

I would spend as much as you can afford. (provided you want to keep the car)
This is not a job you want to have to do again.
This definitely IS NOT one you want to pay for twice.