Question to all 7A flywheel users

[JP]

i see!, so it could be clutch disc related as well. thanks

You have a recording of the sound or maybe Jamo? As quite curious to know what it sounds like now.

[Bram]

I had FW clatter in the early moments as well when I put in the lightened 7A FW and sinter clutch. Most of the noises have gone over time. I have to admit that the exhaust sound and metal dizzy wheel add extra noises to camouflage any other small sound

[GazzaG60]

sounds like clutch judder to me.

its either bedding or its been hammered and its telling you so

[Rusty]

On the 3B FW I get a vibration at about 1300rpm, is that what you're referring to? it's fine after that, just rattles the looser trim a little...

[A80Avant]

basically its a resonating sound. it does not vibrate when this happens.

For example:
put it in first, start off, all fine, change into 2nd accelerate to 2500rpm, all fine(it wants to produce that sound, but i assume that different frequency prevents it), then put it into 3d gear and go below 1200rpm, no matter how hard i press the pedal,(i always go slow, like i say this is something that happens during slow city driving), when it reaches 1400, it brings a resonating sound from the engine,then at 1600rpm it goes away. The higher the gear, the more the rpms it is doing it although it does not last more than 300rpm or so.

If you try any engine to rev it on a higher gear on low revs, it will struggle, so any normal vibrations from the car will exaggerate i guess. I think this exaggeration is happening in my car, it is just having an added noise which im not sure if there is something metal just vibrating, or it is coming from a mechanical area of the engine. It seems to be heard from below the car, not in front,but it may well be the clutch bedding in.

I havent really pushed the clutch yet, no 1st accelerations, it doesnt slip or anything, BUT as one face of it is organic, it has smelled a few times when trying to put it up on a ramp. However that sound was apparent from day one, so i hope it is not disc wear, rather than bedding in....

Would the disc's springs cause something like this?

ill try to record something if at all possible.

Also it doesnt seem to do it stationary as the engine is not moving about or struggling

[A80Avant]

I also had a chat with my mechanic back home, and from the description he is certain that this is not an imbalance of the crank or clutch related issue, but rather a metal part hitting something while the engine is moving about. possibly the cat's springs or shield of some sort...

Thats a job for me this weekend to check under the car for any possible offending metal parts...

[GazzaG60]

sounds not like judder then.

you can feel judderr setting off in first.

id go for imbalance or a rattly bit.

if its only recently had the turbo fitted etc id check for loose bits. its common for a session on retightening.

[A80Avant]

would imbalance cause only noise? wouldnt it cause other symptoms on the higher rev range as well?

[A80Avant]

rechecked to be sure, when stationary there is no sound or vibration when i accelerate the revs through that region ( in neutral)

[GazzaG60]

revs on the spot has very little load on the engine.

its well worth checking for loose parts like you said.

[A80Avant]

yes, will do that.

i hope it is nothing serious!Ive just had enough of those

[A80Avant]

Yes balanced from factory to a specific crank and rod assembly. It's not like a 4pot where the flywheel is zero balanced to itself. As for vibrations they can happen harmonically at any rpm. It's like having an unbalanced wheel that starts vibrating on the motorway at say 60mph but you can pull through it if you do 80+mph.

i see what you mean. However, this instance of low rev vibrations when using a higher gear, is something that i have experienced with literally every car i have driven. I am not getting any more vibrations now, or even at that small window of revs, im only experiencing sound symptoms, not new vibrations.

am i wrong in assuming that if there was a balancing issue i should experiencing vibrations as well on all gears?

[JP]

If it was a balancing issue then it would be according to rpm not gears. So you can rule that out. Noisy friction plate springs are not unheard of either. Difficult to diagnose really without physically hearing it.
Be interesting to know if the sound goes away when you press the clutch pedal in as that can indicate an issue with the box.

[GazzaG60]

or thrust bearing or engine.

my mate did a subaru a couple of weeks ago. it reved ok but on decel made a chattereing noise. it had only just had a new box and ap clutch the other was turned to wire wool. never seen a clutch like it.

well it appears that the crank was walking 20mm or so. when on the clutch it held in position. on release it fluttered down. you can grab the flywheel. and pull the crank by hand backward and forward.

cant see this being your issue but another noise one.

the common one is at idle only and a slight press on the clutch makes noise go. thrust bearing.

[A80Avant]

i will do that test as well.(with the pedal that is)

the engine itself was not tampered, or changed at this instance.(other than belt change that is and crankshaft bearing-faheemo one-)

if the noise goes away on disingaging the clutch, what would that mean? could it be a clutch kit issue then?