Grinding sound at low RPMs and during quick deceleration (even in neutral)
 

Hi, I bought my FRS 3 months ago with 92K miles on it. It’s been a while since I’ve driven manual so I couldn’t test drive it very well as I was too focused on trying not to stall the car (which I did 4 times during the test drive anyway). But eventually I got the hang of not stalling but I noticed whenever I started driving from a stop there would be a grinding sound. I assumed that I was using the clutch wrong and when I asked the previous owner about the sound he said “the cars have weak synchros and that sound is normal”

But the sound has gotten worse

It used to be whenever I would start out driving (typically after sitting for a while) I would hear this grinding sound for about the half second spent at 1000rpms while gaining speed. But now the sound seems to stick around between 900-1500 rpms and is much more prevalent. It doesn’t make the sound at higher speed or higher gearing or at least I cannot recreate the sound in those conditions.

Another thing is a similar, yet quicker fainter noise is made when I decelerate quickly, doesn’t matter if I am coming from 25MPH or 80MPH if I decelerate to a crawl or stop very quickly the sound will happen for a short instance

I don’t think it’s worn synchros because I have no issues getting into gear or staying in gear and to the best of my knowledge the car drives like usual. But I’m almost certain the sound comes from the transmission because that’s about where I hear it, could be further up so I’m making my best guess.

If anyone knows or has experience please help, thank you

EDIT: I forgot to mention! The sound has started continually happening while driving at lower rpms, driving at about 10-20MPH the sound is not as aggressive as it is when starting out driving but still there and quite obvious

TOB
Change it
Change it soon

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126610

welcome - the twins are known for having many mechanical & agricultural sounds emanating from them. could be clutch or heat shield rattle which are common, but think we need a proper vid to hear what you're hearing..

and for your piece of mind, worn synchros are not common issues especially in regards to stock power...the throwout bearing on the other hand is really the main point of weakness for the manual trans.

The previous owner said he changed the throw out bearing at about 87K miles, how often do these need to be replaced?

Previous owner claims to have replaced clutch, TOB, clutch fork, trans and diff fluid just before I got the car (maybe 8k miles ago?)

And I bought it from a dealer not from him so he doesn’t really gain anything if he was lying

It should still be fine but depends on if installed properly.
Your symptoms as described really point to a TOB issue to me.

He said it was done at the Subaru dealership however when I first got this car I didn’t know stick that well but still drove it hard (at first) could shitty driving lead to accelerated wear the TOB?

You would REALLY have to beat on it.

when my TOB started to go out, mine would start squealing and the clutch pedal felt a little crunchy. I didn't get any sounds that I would describe as "rattling" or "grinding".. if they replaced the TOB and even if put the wrong grease in there it should still last much more than 15 K miles even if you aren't a great at MT. video!

It took me quite a while to get used to all the sounds. [emoji23][emoji28] You hear basically everything the car is doing, whether you want to hear it or not. That personality is what makes me love the twins so much though. I hope the 2nd gen hasn’t removed all of that. I would be ok with a little quieter. I think it will be perfect, and just the right balance.


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having experience with cars like the 240sx, ep civic si & mr2, the twins never seemed that noisy to me especially with my first twin that had the base exhaust. if you really want it to be quieter just grab some dynamat and apply it to tinny areas in the car. after we placed dynamat in a buddy's ep si, we had no more interior rattles from the sub and it was a night and day difference with how quiet it was on the road.

I'd suggest you find another car like that (at a dealer or a car meet) and take that car for a spin so you will have a basis of comparison.

If the work was done at a dealership. Call and ask if the work was actually done or the PO is FOS.

Normal gearbox rattle. Post a clip of the sound but I bet it's fine.