Today we had a Hyundai Getz broken down. The vehicle had lost all drive from a failed clutch. While a failed clutch is not abnormal, We always ask if any noises or concerns have been happening recently. This time the owner mentioned a loud squealing had been occurring over the last few days..
When we removed the gearbox we found exactly what this squealing was.. The throw out bearing failing. The throw out bearing had collapsed and broken apart, This allowed the pivot fork to jam into the clutch pressure plate destroying the clutch. Unfortunately this failure damaged the gearbox input shaft and gearbox snout. This was not able to economically repaired, we went with replacing the gearbox with 2nd hand unit. This extra repair expense could have been avoided had a mechanic been contacted when the squealing begun. This is a excellent example of ignoring a noise/concern can lead to a larger and more expensive problem.
