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.

[sgkent]

do you feel the growl in the shifter on your hand, or do you feel it on your left foot when the pedal is depressed?

[JLT]

do you feel the growl in the shifter on your hand, or do you feel it on your left foot when the pedal is depressed?

Good question. I mostly hear in, not feel it, but when there is a vibration it comes through the shifter and not the clutch.

[sgkent]

if you feel it in the shifter then it is likely transmission related. A bad TO gives a pulsing in the pedal often as it starts to fail. Check all the engine to trans mounts, the carrier mounts to be sure neither are bad, and the transmission nose mount. You may have a situation where something is moving around.

I really can't tell from your description what Kombi Haus did.

I was getting an awful growl and whine occasionally after I rebuilt the 091 - turned out that the reverse gear was not made properly and it was interfering with one of the main gears. That said, if you get the noise just sitting still with the transmission in neutral by stepping on and off the clutch, it is probably the TO or pilot bearing.

[JLT]

if you feel it in the shifter then it is likely transmission related. A bad TO gives a pulsing in the pedal often as it starts to fail. Check all the engine to trans mounts, the carrier mounts to be sure neither are bad, and the transmission nose mount. You may have a situation where something is moving around.

I really can't tell from your description what Kombi Haus did.

I was getting an awful growl and whine occasionally after I rebuilt the 091 - turned out that the reverse gear was not made properly and it was interfering with one of the main gears. That said, if you get the noise just sitting still with the transmission in neutral by stepping on and off the clutch, it is probably the TO or pilot bearing.

Thanks, Merlin. I'll take that into account. Maybe it's new transaxle time... the one that's in there now might be on its last legs. All the other transmissions that have gone bad on me have had failure modes of popping out of gear (usually fourth), but there are probably tons of other symptoms.