I've been getting a bit of a bark when giving it gas while lifting off the clutch in first, and less of a sound as I went through gears. I don't get the noise if I lift off the gas at the bite point and ease off the clutch. It's getting progressively worse, so now I'm really babying it when rolling out of first to prevent the sound.

This is really the only manual transmission car I've driven, so I'm not sure of where the bite point is supposed to be on it, but it seems to be near the top of the pedal. It doesn't seem to be slipping in any of the higher gears.

This is a 2009 MCS with about 65k miles on it. Two people learned to drive manual on it, so it seems likely that the clutch is going to need to be replaced, along with the flyweel.

This is going to be very expensive I imagine. I have an extended warranty that most likely doesn't include the clutch. I'm open to advice as to how to proceed. I wouldn't mind switching to a single-mass flywheel, and something that performs as well as the OEM clutch but might be more durable. I also don't have the expertise to do any of this work myself...


EDIT: I spoke with Arric at JMTC and ordered a Stage 1 Kevlar clutch kit and steel flywheel. It's a bit more than I was looking to spend, but hopefully it will last me at least another 60k miles.

 

I'm not sure exactly what your question is. If the sound is only when you're engaging the clutch then yes it could be clutch related. If the clutch isn't slipping at 100% throttle in the higher gears I would be less worried about it.

As far as how to proceed... don't do anything till it actually breaks? Or are you thinking about proactively replacing the clutch?

There is lots of info on these forums about clutches in the r56. Do some searching and I'm sure you'll find plenty of info.

 

I guess I'm asking about which clutch replacement options people have gone with, but you're right there are plenty of threads here. Many people say the DMF fails around 60k miles. If the flywheel is coming apart or something would I notice slipping? This strikes me as being like dental work--the longer it's put off the more secondary problems could be taking place.


So far the only real issue is that yelping sound.

 

It's probably the throw out bearing... Either way the trans has to come out when you want it fixed. So you might as well do the clutch then.

 

That's what I'm thinking too. Is this likely to be covered (at least in part) by an extended warranty?

 

The TOB would make sense if the sound was happening when the clutch pedal was being depressed and the TOB was "spinning up". The noise happening when the clutch is being released makes it sound like chatter between the friction materials.

Highly unlikely. Clutches are considered wear and tear items which aren't typically covered. And you'll have a hard time arguing that a failing flywheel caused the problem in the first case as typically when techs are tearing down cars for clutch work they're not going to bother doing a root cause analysis of any sort.

If the flywheel is coming apart I'm guessing you could experience all sorts of weirdness. If you let it go either it will start slipping and you can limp it home/to the shop and get it fixed. The other possibility is that it just fails catastrophically and you're stuck somewhere. Depends on how big of a deal that is I guess. It does sound like you're going to have to pay someone to fix it pretty soon so maybe just bite the bullet and get it done?

 

Without seeing the car, anything is a wild *** guess.

 

I took the car to my mechanic after work and we took a short ride. He told me the clutch is going out. He didn't think the flywheel was the issue and said I should baby it until I can get it replaced, but it should be okay for a while.

Looking into clutch options now. I'm definitely open to suggestions.

 

You'll spend quite a bit more going with OEM parts and the killer hourly rates for labor! A JMTC Stage 3 clutch would have saved me hundreds. I would go with JMTC stage 2-3 clutch with single mass flywheel, last you a long time if you treat it right. I replaced my flywheel and clutch parts with OEM parts, just wish I knew there was another better option, the JMTC Stage 2 or 3 clutch kit with single mass flywheel.

 

I've got about 100 miles on the new clutch, I ended up going with a JMTC stage 1 kit with a steel flywheel. I'm still breaking it in but so far it's pretty nice. There is a bit of chatter though, and it's a bit easier to stall.