[bhill86]

I did replace that bearing I posted the photo of as it began making noise. It’s literally got less than a thousand miles on it. Maybe a few hundred actually. I assumed I’d had the linkage too tight which led me to check the newly installed bearing with the engine running. Even though the diaphragm fingers don’t appear to be touching, they must be at the top where I can’t see. That’s what’s led me to wonder about the spring clips on the fork and why I may seek a replacement.

As it happens, I have another throwout bearing that was in the car though I can’t recall for sure how long it was in there but it’s the one pictured below. It was definitely longer than the one pictured above with the orange seal. This one was replaced with the orange seal one as I was chasing some chatter issues. I just noticed it doesn’t have the same witness marks on it. Maybe slightly so perhaps it’s possible the orange seal one is just a victim of chineseium. I do recall seeing marks on older bearings in the past but I don’t recall the circumstances.

Having pulled the trans so many times recently I think my approach is to wait and see if/when the new T/O bearing makes noise again at which point I’ll pull the trans again and investigate. I just read about some of the replacement forks not being the proper geometry so I wondered who had info on correct forks should the need arise in the future.