I recently noticed my transmission making a weird grinding/rubbing noise when coming off of the clutch, mostly in first and reverse gear in the morning.

I did the clutch test when you put on the parking break, place the car in a high gear (I tried both 2nd and 4th), to see if the car stalls and it did. I also checked the clutch/break reservoir and it's full.

I'm thinking it migh be the transmission fluid and was wondering if there is anyway to check it. I also wanted to see if anybody has had any experience with this kind of problem.

FYI my car is a 2009 MCS hatch, currently with 99,719 miles on it.

 

I would suggest changing out the trans fluid, and seeing what happens. It's a pretty simple process, but you will need to know where the fill and drain plugs are. I am sure there are youtube videos, but better yet, get yourself a Bentley Service Manual. Pics are very clear. Be sure to break loose the fill plug before you drain the trans. Nothing worse than draining all the fluid, then finding that the fill plug is stuck. On my 2011 MCS, I was able to use a regular auto trans funnel with a bit of hose attached in order to refill the trans from above, eliminating the need for a pump. Do your research on which fluids are compatible with your gearbox. I used Redline MTL, and all is working better than before. I never had an issue with noise, just doing trans fluid changes at 30k miles, for peace of mind. Yes, on a manual trans! I use my car hard, so a bit more maintenance is cheap insurance. You may want to look into a drain plug with a magnet, just to suck out any nasty metal from the oil, and also give you a clue as to how much your hard parts in your trans are wearing.

 

Wow thanks for the reply. I think changing the fluid will do it. I was a little worried about using the pump and stuff but I think I'll just try and fill it from above. And thanks for the magnetic drain plug tip, I'll look into it.

 

Was the noise like a metal whine? I notice I have a sound like metal is rubbing on metal while the clutch is all the way out. If i put slight pressure on it while rolling but not engaging it at all the noise stops. Is this similar to what happened with you?