Golf Clutch Noise
Discussion
Hi All,
I’ve got a very occasional metallic squealing/chirping noise. I think it’s coming from the clutch as I’ve only experienced it making the noise in 1st gear when pulling away, only makes the noise at biting point. (Doesn’t make the noise in neutral and doesn’t make the noise when the pedal is fully depressed)
Just wanted to get some ideas for all the possibilities that would be causing this noise. This noise has been going on for a few months now and doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse or better. What action would you take if it was your car? Thanks in advance
Golf MK7 1.6 TDI 5speed
I’ve got a very occasional metallic squealing/chirping noise. I think it’s coming from the clutch as I’ve only experienced it making the noise in 1st gear when pulling away, only makes the noise at biting point. (Doesn’t make the noise in neutral and doesn’t make the noise when the pedal is fully depressed)
Just wanted to get some ideas for all the possibilities that would be causing this noise. This noise has been going on for a few months now and doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse or better. What action would you take if it was your car? Thanks in advance
Golf MK7 1.6 TDI 5speed
High frequency metallic squeal from the clutch generally indicates release bearing, however I would expect it to do it in neutral and in all gears when the clutch pedal is pressed so it'll probably develop in time..
Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
If left until it goes bang potentially the release bearing and/or the fingers on the drive plate will destroy each other & you'll need a recovery.
Done a couple on other cars, the bearing was in bits, the ends of the clutch fingers had either broken away on the wear area or were nicely twisted & one had damaged the release lever for good measure.
Done a couple on other cars, the bearing was in bits, the ends of the clutch fingers had either broken away on the wear area or were nicely twisted & one had damaged the release lever for good measure.
paintman said:
Age of the vehicle?
Mileage?
Has it had a new clutch at any point in its life?
2014 just over 50k miles, and not that I’m aware of. Mileage?
Has it had a new clutch at any point in its life?
HustleRussell said:
High frequency metallic squeal from the clutch generally indicates release bearing, however I would expect it to do it in neutral and in all gears when the clutch pedal is pressed so it'll probably develop in time..
Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
Thankyou for your detailed responses, very helpful. How long would you expect it to take for the release bearing to go from a slight chirp to failure? Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
That's a 'how long is a piece of string' question. Impossible to predict.
FWIW the clutch on my youngest's 2.0 Pug 307 started to squeal - he told me it had been doing it for a couple of weeks - & I had it done by a mechanic friend as I was too busy to fit it in. When he took the gearbox off the release bearing promptly fell apart. IIRC around 70k.
It can also depend on how the vehicle is driven. Some years I fitted a new clutch to my wife's 205 which was then passed onto my eldest. The clutch went - as in ends of fingers worn through which then trashed the release bearing. Had done around 15k miles. She habitually drives with her foot resting on the clutch pedal & no amount of telling has ever made any difference.
FWIW the clutch on my youngest's 2.0 Pug 307 started to squeal - he told me it had been doing it for a couple of weeks - & I had it done by a mechanic friend as I was too busy to fit it in. When he took the gearbox off the release bearing promptly fell apart. IIRC around 70k.
It can also depend on how the vehicle is driven. Some years I fitted a new clutch to my wife's 205 which was then passed onto my eldest. The clutch went - as in ends of fingers worn through which then trashed the release bearing. Had done around 15k miles. She habitually drives with her foot resting on the clutch pedal & no amount of telling has ever made any difference.
ksprat said:
HustleRussell said:
High frequency metallic squeal from the clutch generally indicates release bearing, however I would expect it to do it in neutral and in all gears when the clutch pedal is pressed so it'll probably develop in time..
Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
Thankyou for your detailed responses, very helpful. How long would you expect it to take for the release bearing to go from a slight chirp to failure? Eventually you're in for a new clutch kit including the slave cylinder which is probably integral with the release bearing and possibly the flywheel depending on what is found when it's inspected.
In the mean time the release bearing will cause increased wear to the fingers of the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate, but that is replaced as part of the clutch kit so no worries there. If it's left to collapse entirely you might find the clutch doesn't clear properly which will start to give the gearbox a hard time. You'll probably notice a crunch on reverse first, but the bearing will be screaming embarrassingly by this point!
Feel for vibration through the clutch pedal when you depress it
Also if the gearbox starts feeling stiff when engaging gears or crunching into reverse it is time to get it fixed before you damage the synchros.
I predict you will replace it out of embarrassment due to the awful noise before it actually strands you.
Also we need second opinions in this thread, because it's odd that it only does it in 1st gear... makes me consider whether it could be a belt noise.
paintman said:
That's a 'how long is a piece of string' question. Impossible to predict.
FWIW the clutch on my youngest's 2.0 Pug 307 started to squeal - he told me it had been doing it for a couple of weeks - & I had it done by a mechanic friend as I was too busy to fit it in. When he took the gearbox off the release bearing promptly fell apart. IIRC around 70k.
It can also depend on how the vehicle is driven. Some years I fitted a new clutch to my wife's 205 which was then passed onto my eldest. The clutch went - as in ends of fingers worn through which then trashed the release bearing. Had done around 15k miles. She habitually drives with her foot resting on the clutch pedal & no amount of telling has ever made any difference.
I had a shed Saxo which I ended up putting a clutch kit in and then a shed Peugeot 206 which I didn't like as much. The Peugeot I just continued to drive as the bite point got lower and lower. It got worse in steps as the fingers of the springs got machined to nothing and pinged off. One day I got in it and the clutch pedal was completely ineffective. I shunted it off the driveway in 1st gear and proceeded directly to the scrap yard. It was a pretty stressful drive but I did pass 'Go' and collect a very generous £165 for my troubles. Fortunately the battery and starter motor in the car were strong. FWIW the clutch on my youngest's 2.0 Pug 307 started to squeal - he told me it had been doing it for a couple of weeks - & I had it done by a mechanic friend as I was too busy to fit it in. When he took the gearbox off the release bearing promptly fell apart. IIRC around 70k.
It can also depend on how the vehicle is driven. Some years I fitted a new clutch to my wife's 205 which was then passed onto my eldest. The clutch went - as in ends of fingers worn through which then trashed the release bearing. Had done around 15k miles. She habitually drives with her foot resting on the clutch pedal & no amount of telling has ever made any difference.
Thanks again for all the detail, definitely welcoming second opinions as I’m hoping for a cheaper fix than a clutch job but I kind of think it’s enevitable at this point!
Talking of the biting point lowering, I can’t remember if it was lower or higher but I have noticed the biting point moving, only for one clutch press and it’s only happened a couple of times and not recently either. Not sure if my car has a self adjusting clutch or not
Talking of the biting point lowering, I can’t remember if it was lower or higher but I have noticed the biting point moving, only for one clutch press and it’s only happened a couple of times and not recently either. Not sure if my car has a self adjusting clutch or not
Hello
Did anyone or the OP find out the issue? I took a test drive yesterday of a 2019 golf 1.6 tdi and it was a lovely drive but then I heard a whining sort of sound when I would go from stationary into first and start lifting the clutch, carry on driving and change gears and it’s fine…I wanted to buy the car but now that sound keeps bothering me. They said they’d diagnose and fix it but what if it’s major work like the clutch or something - I don’t want to start off with a car that’s had such a big issue
What else annoyed me is the mots are decent and the service history is with vw so on paper it looked all great 🥹
Did anyone or the OP find out the issue? I took a test drive yesterday of a 2019 golf 1.6 tdi and it was a lovely drive but then I heard a whining sort of sound when I would go from stationary into first and start lifting the clutch, carry on driving and change gears and it’s fine…I wanted to buy the car but now that sound keeps bothering me. They said they’d diagnose and fix it but what if it’s major work like the clutch or something - I don’t want to start off with a car that’s had such a big issue
What else annoyed me is the mots are decent and the service history is with vw so on paper it looked all great 🥹
Username789 said:
Hello
Did anyone or the OP find out the issue? I took a test drive yesterday of a 2019 golf 1.6 tdi and it was a lovely drive but then I heard a whining sort of sound when I would go from stationary into first and start lifting the clutch, carry on driving and change gears and it s fine I wanted to buy the car but now that sound keeps bothering me. They said they d diagnose and fix it but what if it s major work like the clutch or something - I don t want to start off with a car that s had such a big issue
What else annoyed me is the mots are decent and the service history is with vw so on paper it looked all great ?
At the end of the day, a clutch kit is not really a 'major' repair, it's a consumable. You can expect a car to need a clutch at some point. If you end up with a car which has had a new clutch kit put in it then that's a good result. What you don't want is for the dealer to find a way to temporarily quieten down the noise and flog it to you when it's going to need a clutch down the line- so be sure to enquire about their diagnosis and what they do to fix it. If they say the noise was anything to do with the clutch and then the solution is anything other than changing the clutch, then be prepared to walk. Did anyone or the OP find out the issue? I took a test drive yesterday of a 2019 golf 1.6 tdi and it was a lovely drive but then I heard a whining sort of sound when I would go from stationary into first and start lifting the clutch, carry on driving and change gears and it s fine I wanted to buy the car but now that sound keeps bothering me. They said they d diagnose and fix it but what if it s major work like the clutch or something - I don t want to start off with a car that s had such a big issue
What else annoyed me is the mots are decent and the service history is with vw so on paper it looked all great ?
It's not possible to say for definite that it's the clutch from what you posted, but if it is making the noise when you are lifting the clutch to move off in 1st then it seems likely to be clutch related.
Did the biting point of the clutch seem high to you?
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