Festiva transmission screeching. Shot?

[gimmeth]

Hi all. A while back my 92 Festiva starting making a whining/screeching sound when I had it in fourth gear. At first, I could avoid the sound by adjusting the angle of the shifter or avoiding fourth altogether. Fairly quickly, however, the noise continued while in other gears and eventually in neutral as well. It also got INCREDIBLY loud. I showed it to a friend who knows far more about cars than I do, and he said it could be the throwout bearing (which he actually helped me replace pretty soon before the noise started). While he was replacing that, he also checked the clutch out and it was fine, he said there were probably a good 60k miles left on it.

Does the throwout bearing sound like a likely candidate? Or does it sound like the transmission is toast? Or could it be something else? I'd really appreciate some help diagnosing it before I pull the engine out. Thanks!

[gauge_half_inch]

The throw out bearing typically only makes noise when pressing on the clutch pedal. Check the trans fluid level.

[nitrofarm]

^ He's correct the Throw out bearing only spins when the clutch pedal is depressed.Sounds like its something else like a bearing in the tranny. Sorry to hear that-

[gimmeth]

That's alright, I was mentally and emotionally prepared for the worst. So I gathered from another thread that it's not really worth it to do a transmission rebuild, so I'm kind of thinking I should just do an engine/tranny swap since I'm already at 185k anyway and I also have an oil leak. Where is a good place to start looking? I might even like something a little punchier if the install isn't too difficult and I don't lose too much of my 40mpg.

Ah I guess this now belongs in a new thread. Sorry.

[georgeb]

Saw a complete set of trans bearings on ebay for cheap. Trans dissassembly discussed on several recent threads.

[kellen302]

B6 would be the closest to stock mpg while still a little punchier

[mckabe]

I was getting 39 mpg with my bp. And that's while beating on it

[koRnhead]

That's your input shaft bearing screaming at you. Replace or rebuild. Mostly that depends on how much you dislike the inside of a tranny.

[gimmeth]

Saw a complete set of trans bearings on ebay for cheap. Trans dissassembly discussed on several recent threads.

Was that the $90 one here? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Festiva...#ht_1420wt_914

B6 would be the closest to stock mpg while still a little punchier

Is ebay the best place to look for these? I'm searching "Mazda b6" on both CL and ebay, not turning up a whole lot. The ones that I do see don't seem to have the transmission either.

That's your input shaft bearing screaming at you. Replace or rebuild. Mostly that depends on how much you dislike the inside of a tranny.

Is it true that I can check for this by seeing if the noise goes away when I put the clutch in?


What do you guys think of this? Good deal? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/pts/2793855812.html

[georgeb]

^^I thought they were cheaper. I don't know of anywhere else to get all the bearings in a set for under $100.

[koRnhead]

Yes, pushing the clutch in should make it stop. Or at least change pitch, depending on how bad it is. I would suspect 4th will soon start popping out of gear as well.
Best of luck with it!