Service manager told me that it is a sealed bearing. No place to grease without removing it...

 

That is correct, but the inside surface that is slipped over the main shaft has a groove that is supposed to carry high temp lube added when installed. I found no lube on that surface, or on the splines that the FD slides on, or on the fork. When I put mine back together properly it was smoother and quieter.

 

This happened to me last night 2 days after I had the clutch plate replaced under the TSB for buzzing on deceleration!! Anyone else have this happen??

 

I'm resurrecting this thread because last Friday, I more or less experienced what airsport went through back in May.
While driving to work, I depressed the clutch pedal to shift from second to third -- and it failed to spring back. Long story short -- pried the pedal back up; drove home in second gear w/incredibly stiff clutch. Flatbedded to dealer.

Diagnosis: blown out release bearing. Bearing/clutch disc/pressure plate replaced under warranty. New clutch action is smoother than before, leading me to believe the tech applied some grease to areas not previously lubed. I just brought the car home tonight and will get more details tomorrow.

Quick facts: my car is an '02 w/14,850 miles. No high-rpm clutch drops. I never ride the clutch, try to rev-match when downshifting, and have never tracked or auto-crossed. 50/50 mix of backroads weekend drives and urban stop-and-go. I always tried to be gentle on the clutch, because I didn't want any problems, but I guess they just found me.

 

Did the service manager say it was probably your driving habits that cause the failure? Or that the warranty was over at 12,000 miles and they would do a good will warranty?

Or did they just fix it? The service department in Tallhassee just plain sucks.

 

[QUOTE] Originally posted by airsport