Well, I guess this is my first actual *problem* with the Z.

I've heard curious sounds from my transmission on a few occasions, but none of them have worried me until this one.

I just noticed that with my car parked, in neutral, with the clutch out, there is a constant slight rattling noise from the transmission.

Has anybody else experianced this? The only other tranny problems I see involve problems or noises while shifting.

 

mine too.... sounds like throw out bearing or something..... dealer claims this is normal. don't know if i believe them though

 

Yup, mine has the same noise, especially when cold and like others have stated, its more audible when parked near a wall/in the garage etc.
I also have a similar tranny noise when I've been driving fairly hard then start driving slow. At high gear, low revs (3rd or 4th 1500rpm) If I squeeze the throttle I get a rattling noise.
It's at the dealer today for the 2nd time with the same problem. Last time they said "Unable to duplicate symptoms". A classic line.

 

Jason,

There are many posts about this problem.

People have often said that some cars just do that. I tend to not agree with that in this case. A little noise is ok. But being able to hear this sound as loud as it is in my car when sitting at a stop light, it is not normal.

I have mentioned it to one of the mechanics at the dealership I go to and he gave me the same line as above, but with a twist "My BMW does it too. It's just a sound some cars make." Umm, ok

JD

 

I've got massive clutch chatter, as well. Its definitely a rattling throw-out (release) bearing.

Its noticeable when the clutch is engaged, yes, and especially at idle, when ambient and road noise is low. However, its the most noticeable when engaging the clutch and starting out in first gear slowly. The rattle then gets louder until it sounds like grinding metal and until the engine note blocks out the sound. Its still there, but you just can't hear it over the engine noise.

My dealer, too, said it must be normal since its common. Apparently some people have no clue about causality. It may, in fact, be a normal condition, as my VR-4 had some clutch chatter all the time, too, and the concensus was that it was normal on that car. However, the very noticeable chatter when engaging the clutch and starting out in first makes me really wonder. Its a bit too loud for me to think its just a normally noisy bearing. I just made my dealer assure me that the cost to fix it wouldn't come out of my pocket if it was determined to be abnormal in the future. Clutches and clutch bearings are wear parts and normally not covered under warranty, so I'm a bit worried someone will try to stiff me with the cost to fix it later...

 

I have the same issue with my 08. I here it when in a drive through. I put it on the lift today and it turns out that it is coming from the rear of the transmission. It only happens with the clutch engaged in neutral, so im guessing that the gears are just chattering while turning with no load. I have no hum or noise when it is loaded so im going to change the fluid and see how that goes.

 

holy dead thread bump,

yeah you are on the right course, change the fluids

 

Lol. Well I changed the fluid and it was quiet until I put about 10 miles on it and got it hot. I guess I'll just see what happens.

 

OP, this is pretty much normal. The HR engine/tranny combination in particular do this. My Nismo with only 32k on it rattles like rocks in the tranny. I was assured by my tech guy (Rob at Z Car Garage) that there's nothing to worry about. Fact of life.

Only bad if it affects actual operation.

Trav, yup, dead thread bump but think about it, at least no one has to tell OP to "search" (or point to LMGTFY as a resource) as it's clear he already did, right? He found the 12 year old thread and knew it would come up in "New Posts" if he just piled on. Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaa....

 

If its the throwout bearing you can take care of it, if its the tranny in general the only thing that helps is thicker trans oil. But there are trade offs with that.

 

Ok, thanks for the info. I'm half tempted to tear it down to see what it is but in reality I'm pretty lazy so maybe if it gets worse I will.

 

hr's don't have a throwout bearing

 

My 06 does it as well and in low rpm/high gears it rattles , I’ve changed Clutch and Throw our bearing and it didn’t fix it

 

4 year dead thread

 

Do you know the answer?

 

original thread from 2003.
dont bump old threads. make new posts.
jesus.

 

i have an idea of what your issue is... been covered a million times

 

Hi JavonR. The noise you are experiencing is probably normal. The Z's transmission and clutch are noisy. You're sitting low in the car and very near the drivetrain, and there is little sound deadening material in the tunnel and floor. I just installed a single mass clutch, and that makes even more noise.

 

Spike is right. PROBABLY normal. (Without actually putting hands on, just a virtual guess.) \

But here's the question: Did it always do this or did it just appear recently? If its not a new sound, most likely just the normal CD-transmission gear noise. They're notorious for gear clatter. If it just appeared, consider changing the lubricant (using either OEM or Redline MT85) and see if it helps. If it doesn't and it persists, expect that you will likely need trans work at some point. But these things go on forever so don't really worry about it. No cause for alarm.

 

@JavonR What kind of flywheel went on it?