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Unknown year Saginaw 4 spd.,newer pressure plate,disc,good flywheel surface,TO bearing,shop that replaced the tailshaft bushing said the internals looked real good.

Car is making a grrrr....grrrrr....grrr sound coming from the trans/bellhousing area.

Push the clutch in and it goes away,let it out and it's back with the trans in gear or out.

With the trans in neutral and the clutch out it goes grrr...grrr...grrr,but if I pop the parking brake and let it roll down the drive a few feet the noise stops,roll it a few more feet and the noise is back,I can make the noise appear and disappear all the way down the drive.

It doesn't seem like it's coming from the clutch if I can make it go away by only moving the car without touching the clutch pedal or could there be something misaligned in the clutch or bellhousing area,am I going to be shopping for a new trans,don't know if it's worth putting any money into the Saginaw?

Part of the symptoms you describe have me thinking it is the TO bearing. Really hard to diagnose a noise without hearing it in person.

I though the same thing Tom, but with the clutch out it should be quiet, assuming free travel in the pedal. (insert scratching head smilie here)

That's what I thought too,put a new Timkin one in a week ago,no change at all,rechecked the clutch alignment at the same time and the tool slid all the way into the pilot bearing like it should.Clutch adjustment is good and it engages good.When you drive it it almost sounds like a brake drum is out of round and the shoe is dragging but the sound is positively coming from the trans/bellhousing area.It's weird that I can have the car running in neutal and make the sound go away and return without touching any thing but the brake pedal as I roll it down the drive

ya, until that last part, I was saying TO bearing too.


That last part is putting it inside the trans.

Can you make it come and go rolling with the clutch pedal on the floor?
Is so, does it matter what gear it is in?

Clutch down it's quiet,seems to be more noticable in 1st and 2nd when your driving,but the frequency seems to increase with speed.

I'm probably in left field with this, but is the starter disengaging from the flywheel Steve?

Don

It starts fine,2 pumps on the gas and it kicks right over with no problem from the starter.Took it for a short drive this morn.,with the clutch down in gear or out all's quiet,clutch up and in neutral comes and goes every few feet(if I stop when it's quiet it stays that way,if i stop when it's making the noise it stays that way too),don't seem to hear it in 3rd and 4th,coming to a stop with it in 3rd it seems ok,downshift to 2nd and it's back,the frequency slows down as the car comes to a stop and then it's either quiet or noisey depending on exactly where you stopped,pull away and it's a on and off noise that increases in tempo with the car's speed.It just seems that if it was something bad in the trans it would be noisey all the time,with it rolling down the drive in neutral the only thing that changes position is whatever the yoke on the driveshaft moves.

Maybe you're not alone out there Don. If the return spring in the starter was broken or weak enough the drive could swing in and out of the flywheel and might cause a noise. I know it's a stretch but even a stopped watch is right twice a day.