Help Needed: Some kind of 1st gear (TOB?) issue
 

Ok, so about 6k miles ago I installed my ACT clutch and Jun flywheel. I'm pretty sure I installed everything right...but you never know.

Recently I can hear the what I think is the throw out bearing chirping when I slightly depress the clutch, and every once in a while when the car is just idling with the clutch OUT.

But every so often when leaving from a dead stop in first (pulling away in second, I can't get it to happen, ever.) I can hear the chirping a bit louder than usual and then about 2800-3000RPMS a loud...screeching(?) sound happens and then the car revs normally. Any ideas? This usually happens more often when COLD and/or WET?? It sometimes happens when the car is in neutral, but almost always when the shift lever is in first.


Also, when coming to a stop, the idle droops sometimes, and the lights DIM, this makes me think that the alternator could be weak perhaps? But that wouldn't account for the clutch noise...

But the screeching is really annoying/potentially damaging....thoughts?

I dont know much, but I would say that the idle droop is probably due to the lighterflywheel and the ecu not acting fast enought to recover the idle.

As for the other issue, I'd guess that it's the pilot or throw out bearing. But again I'm not an expert. try asking over at .net

I've heard a lot of turbo guys say they have idle droop, but I'm NA. The weird thing is, sometimes it stalls after it droops. its annoying.

And no responses from the .net as of yet.

Try spraying some lithium grease on the end of the clutch slave cylinder pushrod.

Lights dimming when the idle droops is normal. When the alternator spins slower, it puts out a lower voltage.

As for the stalling on idle droop, try raising your base idle to 950-1000 rpms.

sounds like it could be the TOB. Try to get it to make the noise in nuetral, and then apply a little pressure to the clutch pedal. Don't disenguage the clutch, just enough to TOB against the pressure plate, and see if the sound goes away or changes as you change pressure against the TOB. That's an easy way to spot them.

FWIW, I think the idle droop is the motor going too lean at idle. Not sure how you could add fuel at idle, but I think that's part of your idle issue is it's running too lean, or going lean and dying. If you pump the brake pedal at idle, does idle get worse or improve and the motor rev up a bit?

No to the brake pedal.

The TOB noise is removed with clutch application.

The screeching noise is what blows my mind. It only happens when I hear the TOB noise get LOUDER right before it happens.

its a very quiet...chirp....the its CHIRP CHIRP....SCREECH....between 2-3k rpms and then...normal.

a TOB that is shot will screetch like crazy sometimes. I've seen it hapen on a honda, and it got much worse when you revd it off idle. Again, if you apply pressure, but don't fully disenguage the the clutch, does the noise go away? If it goes away with pressure, it's the TOB. If it only goes away when the trans input shaft quits spinning, it could be something in the trany, though I doubt it. The fact you recently replaced the TOB is almost a giveaway IMO. Sometimes you get a bad one, and it sounds like that's what hapened to you.

Mine was chirping as well, but no screeching. As soon as I dabbed some lithium grease in there as Bryceness suggested, it went away.

I'm going to try the grease next time I'm home...I guess when I get the GTI tagged I'll start pulling this thing back apart. :(