Growl when shifting

[JLT]

Searched the index, but came up dry on this problem.

On my last trip, I noticed that sometimes, when I'm shifting from one gear to another, there's a growl that sounds like a moving part rubbing against sheet metal... that's the best way I describe it. It doesn't seem to be affecting the shifting process at all. It happens when the clutch is depressed, and goes away once it's engaged. And sometimes when I shift, it doesn't happen at all.

I did have the bus taken into the shop last February, when I couldn't get the bus in any gear but first or second. The boys at Kombi Haus put it on the lift and replaced two of the linkage bearings at the transaxle end, and the bus shifted just fine after that. So I'm not sure if that problem is related to the present one.

I'm thinking that it might be a clutch throw-out bearing singing its death song. Could that be so?

a. You got it
b. Maybe yes, maybe no
c. Something way more expensive

Thoughts, anybody?

[JLT]

Update. On driving it around the block, I found that I can induce the "growl" by putting pressure on the gearshift lever while shifting. So now I'm wondering if it has something to do with the trouble I had last winter, when I couldn't shift out of first, or couldn't shift into first at all. It turned out to be the bearings that connect the shift linkage with the transaxle. New bearings and the problem went away.

If it's the transaxle, it looks like major bux. The current unit probably has 50,000 miles on it, and I remember the previous owner saying that he'd gotten it from Amoco.

[asiab3]

Really hard to say without hearing it… Would it be loud enough for a video recording to pick up the sound? I can walk you through the process if you're unsure how to post a video here.

Robbie

[JLT]

It's not a problem that I can count on happening... it only happens one time in maybe two dozen shifts, and always disappears when the clutch is fully engaged. But I'll see if I can snag it with a smartphone recording.